Precept and Practice – SEPTEMBER 6 – Speech confirms Everything

Never speak ill of a person unless you are sure of your fact;  and, even if you could swear to it, ask yourself:  why do I make it known?

(Kaspar Lavater)

To let yourself say a true thing, when that thing is a pity, only makes it more real.   Speech confirms everything.

(E. F. Benson – The House of Defence)

Rehearse not unto another that which is told unto thee, and thou shalt fare never the worse.   Whether it be to friend or foe, talk not of other men’s lives;  and if thou can’st without offence, reveal them not.

If thou hast heard a word, let it die with thee, and be bold, it will not burst thee.

(The Apocrypha)

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From the Introduction to Precept and Practice

The kindly welcome given to my other little books, ‘Being and Doing’ and ‘Character and Conduct,’ must be my excuse for adding another collection of extracts to the number now in circulation.

The quotations are gathered from the books of many earnest thinkers, and deal with Life in all its length and breadth, with ourselves, our characters, our plain unvarnished faults and weaknesses, our often untoward circumstances, and with all that drags us down;-  with our purposes, our religion, our love and friendships, and with all that uplifts us;-  with our relation to others, our influence and responsibilities, and finally with those stages of our journey which bring us to the Road’s Last Turn and to the Silent Land.

CONSTANCE  M. WHISHAW