August 26, 2025

Tell no one anything you want kept secret, for there are many things that move men to gossip. Some do it through foolishness, some for profit, others through vanity, to seem in the know. And if you unnecessarily told your secret to another, you need not be surprised if he does the same, since it matters less to him than to you that it be known.

Francesco Guicciardini (1483–1540), Italian historian and statesman, Ricordi, C, 49

How often have you been the blabbermouth who betrayed the secret you so stupidly shared with another?

Foolish gossipers I can pity. Profit-seeking gossipers I can understand. But vain gossipers—those who want only to be considered “in the know”—I cannot abide. They trade in other people’s secrets solely to puff up their egos.