Quotes on Secrets and Secrecy
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302. Anonymity; Secrecy
Boswell: "Supposing the person who wrote Junius were asked whether he was the authour, might he deny it?" Johnson: "I don't know what to say to this. If you were sure that he wrote Junius, would you, if he denied it, think as well of him afterwards? Yet it may be urged, that what a man has no right to ask, you may refuse to communicate; and there is no other effectual mode of preserving a secret, and an important secret, the discovery of which may be very hurtful to you, but a flat denial; for if you are silent, or hesitate, or evade, it will be held equivalent to a confession. But stay, Sir; here is another case. Supposing the authour had told me confidentially that he had written Junius, and I were asked if he had, I should hold myself at liberty to deny it, as being under a previous promise, express or implied, to conceal it. Now what I ought to do for the authour, may I not do for myself?"
Boswell: Life
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400. Anonymity; Secrecy
"Junius burst into notice with a blaze of impudence which has rarely glared upon the world before, and drew the rabble after him, as a monster makes a show. When he had provided for his safety, by impenetrable secrecy, he had nothing to combat but truth and justice, enemies whom he knows to be feeble in the dark. Being then at liberty to indulge himself in all the immunities of invisibility; out of reach of danger, he has been bold; out of the reach of shame, he has been confident."
Johnson: Thoughts on the Late Transactions Respecting Falkland's Islands
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538. Secrecy
"The vanity of being known to be trusted with a secret is generally one of the chief motives to disclose it; for, however absurd it may be thought to boast an honour by an act which shows that it was conferred without merit, yet most men seem rather inclined to confess the want of virtue than of importance."
Johnson: Rambler #13 (May 1, 1750)
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539. Secrecy
"To tell our own secrets is generally folly, but that folly is without guilt; to communicate those with which we are intrusted is always treachery, and treachery for the most part combined with folly."
Johnson: Rambler #13 (May 1, 1750)
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540. Secrecy
"All the arguments upon which a man who is telling the private affairs of another may ground his confidence of security, he must upon reflection know to be uncertain, because he finds them without effect upon himself."
Johnson: Rambler #13 (May 1, 1750)
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