“My son, whoever wishes to keep a secret, must hide from us that he possesses one. Self complaisance over the concealed destroys its concealment.”

Bk. I, Ch. 5 http://books.google.com/books?id=q4JKAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Whoever+wishes+to+keep+a+secret+must+hide+from+us+that+he+possesses+one%22&pg=PA73#v=onepage
Wilhelm Meister's Wanderjahre (Journeyman Years) (1821–1829)

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Do you have more details about the quote "My son, whoever wishes to keep a secret, must hide from us that he possesses one. Self complaisance over the concealed …" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe?
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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 185
German writer, artist, and politician 1749–1832

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“Chorus: [We] must look beneath every stone, lest it conceal some orator ready to sting us.”

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