“Never complain, never explain. Resist the temptation to defend yourself or make excuses.”
“He never complained. He seemed to have no instinct for the making much of oneself that complaining requires.”
Source: Jayber Crow
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Wendell Berry 189
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1960s, Statement on the Freedom of Information Act (1966)
Context: A democracy works best when the people have all the information that the security of the Nation permits. No one should be able to pull curtains of secrecy around decisions which can be revealed without injury to the public interest. At the same time, the welfare of the Nation or the rights of individuals may require that some documents not be made available. As long as threats to peace exist, for example, there must be military secrets. A citizen must be able in confidence to complain to his Government and to provide information, just as he is– and should be– free to confide in the press without fear of reprisal or of being required to reveal or discuss his sources.

“Those who make the worst use of their time are the first to complain of its brevity.”

“One who makes himself a worm cannot complain afterwards if people step on him.”
Original: (de) Wer sich aber zum Wurm macht, kann nachher nicht klagen, dass er mit Füßen getreten wird.
Source: Part two: Metaphysical Principles of Virtue page 98. note: Metaphysics of Morals (1797)
As quoted in Voyage of Purpose : Spiritual Wisdom from Near-Death Back to Life (2011) by David Bennett and Cindy Griffith-Bennett, p. 6; also at the official site of the Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Foundation http://www.ekrfoundation.org/quotes/

As quoted in Sunbeams : A Book of Quotations (1990) by Sy Safransky, p. 42

1860s, The Prayer of the Twenty Millions (1862)