Those that lack friends to open themselves unto are cannibals of their own hearts.
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English Philosopher
Candor is the brightest gem of criticism.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
The more we love our friends, the less we flatter them; it is by excusing nothing that pure love shows itself.
—Moliere (1622–73) French Playwright
There is no wisdom like frankness.
—Benjamin Disraeli (1804–81) British Head of State
To be candid, in Middlemarch phraseology, meant, to use an early opportunity of letting your friends know that you did not take a cheerful view of their capacity, their conduct, or their position; and a robust candor never waited to be asked for its opinion.
—George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) (1819–80) English Novelist
If we were all given by magic the power to read each other’s thoughts, I suppose the first effect would be to dissolve all friendships.
—Bertrand A. Russell (1872–1970) British Philosopher, Mathematician, Social Critic
Do not remove a fly from your friend’s forehead with a hatchet.
—Chinese Proverb
There is an unseemly exposure of the mind, as well as of the body.
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830) English Essayist
Always be ready to speak your mind, and a base man will avoid you.
—William Blake (1757–1827) English Poet, Painter, Printmaker
Every one must have felt that a cheerful friend is like a sunny day, which sheds its brightness on all around; and most of us can, as we choose, make of this world either a palace or a prison.
—John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury (1834–1913) British Banker, Scientist, Polymath
Examine what is said, not him who speaks.
—Arabic Proverb
Gracious to all, to none subservient, Without offense he spoke the word he meant.
—Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836–1907) American Writer, Poet, Critic, Editor
A ‘No’ uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater than a ‘Yes’ merely uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
Frank and explicit; that is the right line to take when you wish to conceal your own mind and to confuse the minds of others.
—Benjamin Disraeli (1804–81) British Head of State
It is great and manly to disdain disguise; it shows our spirit, and prove our strength.
—Edward Young (1683–1765) English Poet
It’s important to our friends to believe that we are unreservedly frank with them, and important to the friendship that we are not.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
Not to expose your true feelings to an adult seems to be instinctive from the age of seven or eight onwards.
—George Orwell (1903–50) English Novelist, Journalist
Candor is a proof of both a just frame of mind, and of a good tone of breeding. It is a quality that belongs equally to the honest man and to the gentleman.
—James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851) American Novelist
Candor is the seal of a noble mind, the ornament and pride of man, the sweetest charm of women, the scorn of rascals, and the rarest virtue of sociability.
—Karl Christian Ernst von Bentzel-Sternau (1767–1849) German Politician, Writer
A friend should be a master at guessing and keeping still.
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German Philosopher, Scholar, Writer
One’s friends are that part of the human race with which one can be human.
—George Santayana (1863–1952) Spanish-American Poet, Philosopher
A good friend can tell you what is the matter with you in a minute. He may not seem such a good friend after telling.
—Arthur Brisbane (1864–1936) American Newspaper Editor, Investor
Friends, if we be honest with ourselves, we shall be honest with each other.
—George MacDonald (1824–1905) Scottish Novelist, Lecturer, Poet
Friendship will not stand the strain of very much good advice for very long.
—Robert Wilson Lynd (1879–1949) Irish Essayist, Critic
Let us not be ashamed to speak what we shame not to think.
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–92) French Essayist
I lay it down as a fact that if all men knew what others say of them, there would not be four friends in the world.
—Blaise Pascal (1623–62) French Mathematician, Physicist, Theologian
The diligent fostering of a candid habit of mind, even in trifles, is a matter of high moment both to character and opinions.
—John Saul Howson
Confronted with the choice, the American people would choose the policeman’s truncheon over the anarchist’s bomb.
—Spiro Agnew (1918–96) American Politician, Vice President
What a wonderful thing it is to have a good friend. He identities your innermost desires, and spares you the embarrassment of disclosing them to him yourself.
—Jean de La Fontaine (1621–95) French Poet, Short Story Writer
A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him I may think aloud. I am arrived at last in the presence of a man so real and equal, that I may drop even those undermost garments of dissimulation, courtesy, and second thought, which men never put off, and may deal with him with the simplicity and wholeness with which one chemical atom meets another.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
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