To the generous mind the heaviest debt is that of gratitude, when it is not in our power to repay it.
Benjamin FranklinRead
If you would keep your secret from an enemy, tell it not to a friend.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Protecting sensitive information is crucial, even from those we trust.
This quote by Benjamin Franklin emphasizes the importance of discretion in our relationships. It suggests that sharing secrets, even with close friends, can lead to unintended consequences, especially if the person we confide in is not trustworthy or may inadvertently reveal the information to others, including adversaries. It serves as a reminder to be judicious about whom we share our innermost thoughts and vulnerabilities.
Themes
SecretTrustFriendEnemyDiscretion
In practice
Example use cases
During a team meeting, someone might say this to remind colleagues to be discreet about sensitive information.
More from Benjamin Franklin
All quotes βHe'll cheat without scruple, who can without fear.
Benjamin FranklinRead
[E]very Man who comes among us, and takes up a piece of Land, becomes a Citizen, and by our Constitution has a Voice in Elections, and a share in the Government of the Country.
Benjamin FranklinRead
Our Constitution is in actual operation; everything appears to promise that it will last; but in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.
Benjamin FranklinRead
Let honesty and industry be thy constant companions, and spend one penny less than thy clear gains; then shall thy pocket begin to thrive; creditors will not insult, nor want oppress, nor hungerness bite, nor nakedness freeze thee
Benjamin FranklinRead
I think that a young state, like a young virgin, should modestly stay at home, and wait the application of suitors for an alliance with her; and not run about offering her amity to all the world; and hazarding their refusal. Our virgin is a jolly one; and tho at present not very rich, will in time be a great fortune, and where she has a favorable predisposition, it seems to me well worth cultivating.
Benjamin FranklinRead
Similar quotes
To let friendship die away by negligence and silence is certainly not wise. It is voluntarily to throw away one of the greatest comforts of the weary pilgrimage.
Samuel JohnsonRead
A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him I may think aloud. I am arrived at last in the presence of a man so real and equal, that I may drop even those undermost garments of dissimulation, courtesy, and second thought, which men never put off, and may deal with him with the simplicity and wholeness with which one chemical atom meets another.
Ralph Waldo EmersonRead
I dedicate the merit of the occasion to all beings. This gesture of universal friendship has been likened to a drop of fresh spring water. If we put it on a rock in the sunshine, it will soon evaporate. If we put it in the ocean, however, it will never be lost. Thus the wish is made that we not keep the teachings to ourselves but to use them to benefit others.
Pema ChodronRead
The reason we race isn't so much to beat each other... but to be with each other.
Christopher McdougallRead
So far be distant; and good night, sweet friend: thy love ne'er alter, till they sweet life end
William ShakespeareRead
To absent friends, lost loves, old gods, and the season of mists; and may each and every one of us always give the devil his due.
Neil GaimanRead