Quotes about Discretion

quotes
11
authors
11
Origin
“Depart from discretion when it interferes with duty.”
Discretion
“Notable talents are not necessarily connected with discretion.”
— Junius
Discretion
“Be wiser than other people, if you can; but do not tell them so.”
VerifiedLetters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774), 19 November 1745 · evidenceDiscretion
“Nothing is more dangerous than a friend without discretion; even a prudent enemy is preferable.”
Discretion
“For he who fights and runs away May live to fight another day; But he who is in battle slain Can never rise and fight again.”
VerifiedThe Art of Poetry on a New Plan (1761), vol. ii. p. 147. · evidenceDiscretion
“Discretion of speech is more than eloquence, and to speak agreeably to him with whom we deal is more than to speak in good words, or in good order.”
Discretion
“I cannot and do not live in the world of discretion, not as a writer, anyway. I would prefer to, I assure you -- it would make life easier. But discretion is, unfortunately, not for novelists.”
VerifiedDeception: A Novel (1990) · evidenceDiscretion
“Be advised what thou dost discourse of, and what thou maintainest whether touching religion, state, or vanity; for if thou err in the first, thou shalt be accounted profane; if in the second, dangerous; if in the third, indiscreet and foolish.”
VerifiedInstructions to his Son and to Posterity (published 1632), Chapter IV · evidenceDiscretion