It does not require many words to speak the truth.
Interpretation
Truth can be expressed simply and clearly, without the need for elaborate language.
This quote emphasizes the idea that honesty and truth do not need to be complicated or embellished; they can be conveyed succinctly. Chief Joseph suggests that the essence of truth is straightforward and that genuine communication does not necessitate a multitude of words, but rather clarity and sincerity.
In practice
In a speech about integrity in business, one might cite this quote to emphasize the value of clear and honest communication.
We do not want churches because they will teach us to quarrel about God. We do not want to learn that. We may quarrel with men sometimes about things on this earth, but we never quarrel about the Great Spirit. We do not want to learn that.
Let me be a free man, free to travel, free to stop, free to work, free to trade where I choose, free to choose my own teachers, free to follow the religion of my fathers, free to talk, think and act for myself β and I will obey every law or submit to the penalty.
It makes my heart sick when I remember all the good words and the broken promises.
If the white man wants to live in peace with the Indian, he can live in peace. There need be no trouble. Treat all men alike. give them all the same law. Give them all an even chance to live and grow.
The earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it.
All men were made by the Great Spirit Chief. They are all brothers.
This was my moment to look for the kind of healing and peace that can only come from solitude.
I was lucky to learn early in life that you need money for food and shelter, but there's no ambition in having money in the bank for the sake of it!
The sleeping fox catches no poultry.
They say best men are molded out of faults, And, for the most, become much more the better For being a little bad
I covered the Vietnam War. I remember the lies that were told, the lives that were lost - and the shock when, twenty years after the war ended, former Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara admitted he knew it was a mistake all along.
Some people get into this business and they're so afraid to lose anything. They try to protect their position like clinging to a beachhead. These actors end up making really safe choices. I never wanted to go that route. If I go down, I'm going down swinging.
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