“If it is not right, don’t do it: if it is not true, don’t say it.”
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations (Page 118)
“Be afraid to destroy the unity of people by stirring bad feelings amongst them against another with your words.”
Leo Tolstoy, A Calendar of Wisdom (Page 17)
47 Quotes On Gossip: To Speak Or Not To Speak Of Others?
Excerpt: To speak or not to speak of others? THAT is the question this incredible list of quotes on gossip seeks to answer. Some might surprise you.
Read More »47 Quotes On Gossip: To Speak Or Not To Speak Of Others?
“Literature and gossip are closely related. People who are curious and imaginative long to know ‘what it’s like for other people.’ This longing can be satisfied in its basest, most banal form through gossip, just as it can attain a more refined and complex gratification in art. Both gossip and literature, each in its own way, are capable of offering a partial antidote to fanaticism, because they both relish the fascinating differences between people.”
Amos Oz
“When people come together—let’s say they come to a little party or something—you always hear them discuss character. They will say this one has a bad character, this one has a good character, this one Is a fool, this one is a miser. Gossip makes the conversation. They all analyze character. It seems that the analysis of character is the highest human entertainment. And literature does it, unlike gossip, without mentioning real names.
The writers who don’t discuss character but problems—social problems or any problems—take away from literature its very essence. They stop being entertaining. We, for some reason, always love to discuss and discover character. This is because each character is different, and human character is the greatest of puzzles.”
Isaac Bashevis Singer