Proverbs - Junius - William Shakespeare - Duke of Wellington - Philip Roth - Lytton Strachey - Christine Keeler - Marquis de Sade - Marcus Tullius Cicero - Walter Scott - John Selden - Benjamin Franklin - Alexander Hamilton - Jane Austen -
Discretion is the better part of valour. Late 16th century proverb
Notable talents are not necessarily connected to discretion. Junius
Covering discretion with a coat of folly. William Shakespeare, Henry V II iv 38, Constable to Dauphin et al
You should be ruled and led
By some discretion that discerns your state
Better than you yourself. William Shakespeare, The History of King Lear II ii 306-308, Regan
Be discreet in all things, and so render it unnecessary to be mysterious. Duke of Wellington
I cannot and do not live in the word of discretion ... Discretion is, unfortunately, not for novelists. Philip Roth
Discretion is not the better part of biography. Lytton Strachey
Discretion is the polite word for hypocrisy. Christine Keeler
So long as the laws remain such as they are today, employ some discretion: loud opinion forces us to do so; but in privacy and silence let us compensate ourselves for that cruel chastity we are obliged to display in public. Marquis de Sade
Great is our admiration of the orator who speaks with fluency and discretion. Marcus Tullius Cicero
Discretion is the perfection of reason, and a guide to us in all the duties of life. Walter Scott
Philosophy is nothing but discretion. John Selden
There was great difference between persons, and discretion did not always accompany years nor was youth always without it. Benjamin Franklin
A prudent silence will frequently be taken for wisdom and a sentence or two cautiously thrown in will sometimes gain the palm of knowledge, while a man well informed but indiscreet and unreserved will not uncommonly talk himself out of all consideration and weight. Alexander Hamilton
She performed her promise of being discreet, to admiration. – She attended to all that Mrs Jennings had to say upon the subject, with an unchanging complexion, dissented from her in nothing, and was heard three times to say, ‘Yes, ma’am.’ – She listened to her praise of Lucy with only moving from one chair to another, and when Mrs Jennings talked of Edward’s affection, it cost her only a spasm in her throat. – Such advances towards heroism in her sister, made Elinor feel equal to any thing herself. Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility