"The rules that I shall propose concerning secrecy, and from which I think it not safe to deviate without long and exact deliberation, are, never to solicit the knowledge of a secret,--not willingly, nor without many limitations, to accept such confidence when it is offered; when a secret is once admitted, to consider the trust as of a very high nature, important as society and sacred as truth, and therefore not to be violated for any incidental convenience, or slight appearance of contrary fitness."

6 likes

Source: Samuel Johnson (1810). “The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.: With An Essay on His Life and Genius”, p.87

About the author

Samuel Johnson

Lexicographer, Essayist, Critic

Samuel Johnson was an 18th-century English writer and lexicographer, known for his influential work 'A Dictionary of the English Language' and his profound insights into human nature.

All quotes by Samuel Johnson →

Same author

More quotes by Samuel Johnson

See all →