A spoken word is not a sparrow. Once it flies out, you can't catch it.
—European proverb
My method […] is to take the utmost trouble to find the right thing to say, and then to say it
with the utmost levity.
—George Bernard Shaw, 1896
No word is ill spoken that is not ill taken.
—European proverb
He who says what he likes, must hear what he does not like.
—European proverb
Always be ready to speak your mind and a base man will avoid you.
14
—William Blake, 1793
***
The truth shall make you free.
—The Bible (John 8:32)
The truth that makes men free is for the most part the truth which men prefer not to hear.
—Herbert Agar, 1945
The truth? The truth, Lazarus, is perhaps something so unbearable, so terrible, something so
deadly, that simple people could not live with it!
—Miguel de Unamuno, 1913
As a rule people are afraid of truth. Each truth we discover in nature or social life destroys
the crutches on which we need to lean.
—Ernst Toller, 1944
There are few nudities so objectionable as the naked truth.
—Agnes Repplier, 1891
The first reaction to truth is hatred.
—Tertullian, *97 AD
As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand.
—Josh Billings, 1865
In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
—Anonymous
15
Speak the truth, but leave immediately after.
—Slovenian proverb
14
I can testify that this old recipe still works fine.
15
Frequently misattributed to George Orwell.
On Speech and Silence, Truth and Lies
97