“When in doubt tell the truth. It will confound your enemies and astound your friends.”

—  Mark Twain

Last update Sept. 27, 2023. History

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Mark Twain637
American author and humorist 1835–1910

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Pudd&#x27;nhead Wilson&#x27;s New Calendar, Ch. II <br class="br">Not in the text, but added by many sources is the sentence: &quot;It will confound your enemies and astound your friends.&quot; Compare this line to the advice attributed to Henry Wotton (1568 - 1639) to a young diplomat &quot;to tell the truth, and so puzzle and confound his enemies.&quot; E.g., Vol 24, Encyclopedia Britannica of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature, page 721 https://books.google.com/books?id=_GlJAAAAYAAJ&amp;pg=PA721&amp;lpg=PA721&amp;dq=truth+wotton+confound+advice&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=-cGk3UDLLj&amp;sig=ltOR1xtI9WFic1JWKiFmIZ8Yce0&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjVkZCsj-jRAhXCyFQKHTmsCkAQ6AEIODAG#v=onepage&amp;q=truth%20wotton%20confound%20advice&amp;f=false (9th Ed. 1894) <br class="br">Following the Equator (1897)

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