“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
Variant translation: Conceal a flaw, and the world will imagine the worst.
III, 42.
Epigrams (c. 80 – 104 AD)
“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 (1185–1248) 1185-1248, spiritual instructor of Mewlānā Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhi.
Me & Rumi (2004)
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
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 (1836–1886) Indian mystic and religious preacher
Source: Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960), p. 299
“… it takes great personal courage to let yourself appear weak.”
David Foster Wallace book Infinite Jest
Source: Infinite Jest
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.
“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 (1864–1929) British sociologist
Source: Liberalism (1911), Chapter VIII, Economic Liberalism, p. 97.