“Let a defect, which is possibly but small, appear undisguised.
A fault concealed is presumed to be great.”

—  Martial , book Epigrammata

Variant translation: Conceal a flaw, and the world will imagine the worst.
III, 42.
Epigrams (c. 80 – 104 AD)

Original

Simpliciter pateat vitium fortasse pusillum: Quod tegitur, magnum creditur esse malum

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Let a defect, which is possibly but small, appear undisguised. A fault concealed is presumed to be great." by Martial?
Martial photo
Martial 31
Latin poet from Hispania 40–104

Related quotes

Edward Coke photo

“Thought the bribe be small, yet the fault is great.”

Edward Coke (1552–1634) English lawyer and judge

Institutes of the Laws of England, vol. 3.
Institutes of the Laws of England

Shams-i Tabrizi photo

“There may be one fault in a man that conceals a thousand qualities, or one excellence that conceals a thousand faults. The little indicates much.”

Shams-i Tabrizi (1185–1248) 1185-1248, spiritual instructor of Mewlānā Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhi.

Me & Rumi (2004)

Paracelsus photo

“Destruction perfects that which is good; for the good cannot appear on account of that which conceals it. The good is least good whilst it is thus concealed. The concealment must be removed so that the good may be able freely to appear in its own brightness. For example, the mountain, the sand, the earth, or the stone in which a metal has grown is such a concealment. Each one of the visible metals is a concealment of the other six metals.”

Paracelsus (1493–1541) Swiss physician and alchemist

Hermetic and Alchemical Writings http://books.google.com/books?id=_Q0MAAAAIAAJ& (1894), edited by Arthur Edward Waite; Coelum Philosophorum or Book of Vexations, originally 1543

George Washington photo

“The turning points of lives are not the great moments. The real crises are often concealed in occurrences so trivial in appearance that they pass unobserved.”

George Washington (1732–1799) first President of the United States
Benjamin Peirce photo

“I presume that to the uninitiated the formulae will appear cold and cheerless; but let it be remembered that, like other mathematical formulae, they find their origin in the divine source of all geometry.”

Benjamin Peirce Linear Associative Algebra

Preface.
Linear Associative Algebra (1882)
Context: I presume that to the uninitiated the formulae will appear cold and cheerless; but let it be remembered that, like other mathematical formulae, they find their origin in the divine source of all geometry. Whether I shall have the satisfaction of taking part in their exposition, or whether that will remain for some more profound expositor, will be seen in the future.

Ramakrishna photo

“If a white cloth is stained even with a small spot, the stain appears very ugly indeed. So the smallest fault of a holy man becomes painfully prominent.”

Ramakrishna (1836–1886) Indian mystic and religious preacher

Source: Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960), p. 299

Larry Niven photo

“If what you have to say is important and/or difficult to follow, use the simplest language possible. If the reader doesn't get it then, let it not be your fault.”

Larry Niven (1938) American writer

Niven's Laws, Niven's Laws For Writers
Context: 5) If you've nothing to say, say it any way you like. Stylistic innovations, contorted story lines or none, exotic or genderless pronouns, internal inconsistencies, the recipe for preparing your lover as a cannibal banquet: feel free. If what you have to say is important and/or difficult to follow, use the simplest language possible. If the reader doesn't get it then, let it not be your fault.

John Lancaster Spalding photo

“Have as little suspicion as possible and conceal that.”

John Lancaster Spalding (1840–1916) Catholic bishop

Source: Aphorisms and Reflections (1901), p. 76

Leonard Trelawny Hobhouse photo

“Other great sources of wealth are found in financial and speculative operations, often of distinctly anti-social tendency and possible only through the defective organization of our economy.”

Leonard Trelawny Hobhouse (1864–1929) British sociologist

Source: Liberalism (1911), Chapter VIII, Economic Liberalism, p. 97.

Related topics