--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is but one way I know of conversing…" description: "\"There is but one way I know of conversing safely with all men; that is, not by concealing what we say or do, but by saying or doing nothing that deserv..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcb/alexander-pope-235_candor_there-is-but-one-way-i-know-of-conversin_1245521.jpg" --- # There is but one way I know of conversing safely with all… ![“There is but one way I know of conversing safely with all men; that is, not by concealing what we say or do, but by saying or doing nothing that deserves to be concealed.” quote by Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcb/alexander-pope-235_candor_there-is-but-one-way-i-know-of-conversin_1245521.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcb/alexander-pope-235_candor_there-is-but-one-way-i-know-of-conversin_1245521.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcb/alexander-pope-235_candor_there-is-but-one-way-i-know-of-conversin_1245521.jpg) > “There is but one way I know of conversing safely with all men; that is, not by concealing what we say or do, but by saying or doing nothing that deserves to be concealed.” [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Safe discourse requires transparency and restraint, avoiding hidden motives. **In simple terms:** Speak openly, conceal nothing. Key Takeaway Practice honest communication. Themes ethics communication integrity Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - political debates - team meetings - personal relationships Key Concepts transparency self-restraint trust building Questions to Reflect On - What topics do you avoid for fear of concealment? - How can you balance openness with discretion? A Different Perspective Complete honesty may expose vulnerabilities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Candor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/candor/) [Concealed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concealed/) [Concealing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concealing/) [Concealing Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concealing-say-3904937/) [Conversing Safely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversing-safely-3904936/) [Deserve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deserve/) [Deserves Concealed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deserves-concealed-3904939/) [Doing nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing-nothing/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [One way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-way/) [Safely Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safely-men-3904938/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [All black people who are even minimally conscious, black people who have ever experienced Europe's technological power crusading in the vanguard of a civilizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-nkosi/all-black-people-who-are-even-minimally-conscious-black-people-who/) [Lewis Nkosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-nkosi/) > [The constancy of the wise is only the talent of concealing the agitation of their hearts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/the-constancy-of-the-wise-is-only-the-talent-of-concealing-the/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [“If you want to spot a liar, just remember that concealing the truth is like swallowing a slow-acting poison. It might take a while,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-scarborough/if-you-want-to-spot-a-liar-just-remember-that-concealing-the-truth-is/) [Sheryl Scarborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-scarborough/) > [Don't think you are going to conceal thoughts by concealing evidence that they ever existed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/don-t-think-you-are-going-to-conceal-thoughts-by-concealing-evidence/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [They clichés will construct your sentences for you - even think your thoughts for you, to a certain extent - and at need they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/they-clich-s-will-construct-your-sentences-for-you-even-think-your/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [All corporatism – even when practised in societies where hard work, enterprise and cooperation are as highly valued as in Korea – encourages inflexibility,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/all-corporatism-even-when-practised-in-societies-where-hard-work/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [People actually live with their I'd exposed. They're not good at concealing what's going on inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-actually-live-with-their-i-d-exposed-they-re-not-good-at/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Writing the book was itself a process of concealing and revealing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/writing-the-book-was-itself-a-process-of-concealing-and-revealing/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [Art lies in concealing art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/art-lies-in-concealing-art/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“The truth doesn’t make you vulnerable—concealing it does.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-mcman/the-truth-doesn-t-make-you-vulnerable-concealing-it-does/) [Ann McMan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-mcman/) > [Slander is perhaps the only vice which no circumstance can palliate, as well as being one which we are most ingenious in concealing from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-massillon/slander-is-perhaps-the-only-vice-which-no-circumstance-can-palliate/) [Jean Baptiste Massillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-massillon/) > [Racism is still alive they just be concealing it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/racism-is-still-alive-they-just-be-concealing-it/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/by-and-large-language-is-a-tool-for-concealing-the-truth/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Frying gives cooks numerous ways of concealing what appeared the day before and in a pinch facilitates sudden demands, for it takes little more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-anthelme-brillat-savarin/frying-gives-cooks-numerous-ways-of-concealing-what-appeared-the-day/) [Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-anthelme-brillat-savarin/) > [Ambition is the subtlest beast of the intellectual and moral field. It is wonderfully adroit in concealing itself from its owner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/ambition-is-the-subtlest-beast-of-the-intellectual-and-moral-field-it/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) ## More by Alexander Pope > [How do we know that we have a right to kill creatures that we are so little above, as dogs, for our curiosity or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/how-do-we-know-that-we-have-a-right-to-kill-creatures-that-we-are-so/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [To wake the soul by tender strokes of art, To raise the genius, and to mend the heart; To make mankind, in conscious virtue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/to-wake-the-soul-by-tender-strokes-of-art-to-raise-the-genius-and-to/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [A mighty maze! But not without a plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/a-mighty-maze-but-not-without-a-plan/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Let such teach others who themselves excel, And censure freely who have written well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/let-such-teach-others-who-themselves-excel-and-censure-freely-who/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [For I, who hold sage Homer's rule the best, Welcome the coming, speed the going guest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/for-i-who-hold-sage-homer-s-rule-the-best-welcome-the-coming-speed/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Like following life through creatures you dissect, You lose it in the moment you detect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/like-following-life-through-creatures-you-dissect-you-lose-it-in-the/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [When two people compliment each other with the choice of anything, each of them generally gets that which he likes least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/when-two-people-compliment-each-other-with-the-choice-of-anything/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Such labour'd nothings, in so strange a style, Amaze th' unlearn'd and make the learned smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/such-labour-d-nothings-in-so-strange-a-style-amaze-th-unlearn-d-and/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/charms-strike-the-sight-but-merit-wins-the-soul/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [She went from opera, park, assembly, play, To morning walks, and prayers three hours a day. To part her time 'twixt reading and bohea,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/she-went-from-opera-park-assembly-play-to-morning-walks-and-prayers/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [I am satisfied to trifle away my time, rather than let it stick by me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/i-am-satisfied-to-trifle-away-my-time-rather-than-let-it-stick-by-me/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [The greatest advantage I know of being thought a wit by the world is, that it gives one the greater freedom of playing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/the-greatest-advantage-i-know-of-being-thought-a-wit-by-the-world-is/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Then say not Man's imperfect,Heav'n in fault; Say rather, Man's as perfect ashe ought:](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/then-say-not-man-s-imperfect-heav-n-in-fault-say-rather-man-s-as/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [First follow Nature, and your judgment frame By her just standard, which is still the same: Unerring nature, still divinely bright, One clear, unchanged,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/first-follow-nature-and-your-judgment-frame-by-her-just-standard/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Who shall decide when doctors disagree, And soundest casuists doubt, like you and me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/who-shall-decide-when-doctors-disagree-and-soundest-casuists-doubt/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) [Explore all 850 Alexander Pope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) ## More Candor quotes > [Take lack of candor. ... I'm not talking about boldface lying, but a tendency to withhold information. That behavior is far more common, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/take-lack-of-candor-i-m-not-talking-about-boldface-lying-but-a/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [I have to declare in all candor that no one interested in being published in our time can afford to be so naive as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-curtis/i-have-to-declare-in-all-candor-that-no-one-interested-in-being/) [Richard Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-curtis/) > [“I struggle to keep my hard, expressionless mask in place. The doctor's most powerful weapon has always been his particular brand of brutal honesty.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristin-terrill/i-struggle-to-keep-my-hard-expressionless-mask-in-place-the-doctor-s/) [Cristin Terrill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristin-terrill/) > [Truth is a risky proposition. It's the nature of mediocre human beings to believe that lies are necessary, that they serve a purpose, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/truth-is-a-risky-proposition-it-s-the-nature-of-mediocre-human-beings/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [Honesty is always the best policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/honesty-is-always-the-best-policy/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [And he’s right to say that every faction loses something when it gains a virtue: the Dauntless, brave but cruel; the Erudite, intelligent but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/and-he-s-right-to-say-that-every-faction-loses-something-when-it/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [Jennifer Fulwiler's story of finding God when you aren't looking for Him is a universal tale which will touch many hearts. With warmth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-arroyo/jennifer-fulwiler-s-story-of-finding-god-when-you-aren-t-looking-for/) [Raymond Arroyo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-arroyo/) > [Michelle Alexander's brave and bold new book paints a haunting picture in which dreary felon garb, post-prison joblessness, and loss of voting rights now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lani-guinier/michelle-alexander-s-brave-and-bold-new-book-paints-a-haunting/) [Lani Guinier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lani-guinier/) > [Yet if strict criticism should till frown on our method, let candor and good humor forgive what is done to the best of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-fielding/yet-if-strict-criticism-should-till-frown-on-our-method-let-candor/) [Sarah Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-fielding/) > [“He is the kind of person I should expect to rescue one from a mad dog at any risk but then insist on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-foote/he-is-the-kind-of-person-i-should-expect-to-rescue-one-from-a-mad-dog/) [Shelby Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-foote/) > [“Clare wasn't worried anymore about their being mean to each other. She imagined that someday she'd be part of a friendship in which she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisa-de-los-santos/clare-wasn-t-worried-anymore-about-their-being-mean-to-each-other-she/) [Marisa de los Santos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisa-de-los-santos/) > [I have ventured to write more intimately about my personal life than is customary for a member of the Supreme Court, and with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/i-have-ventured-to-write-more-intimately-about-my-personal-life-than/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [Getting candor right - with your reports, your peers, and your boss - is a skill that can make or break your career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/getting-candor-right-with-your-reports-your-peers-and-your-boss-is-a/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [Judicial excellence requires candor before confirmation. We are being asked to give the nominee enormous power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-kohl/judicial-excellence-requires-candor-before-confirmation-we-are-being/) [Herb Kohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-kohl/) > [“Instead of fleeing God scrutiny, David welcomed it. It's like he was saying, "Look God, since I can't hide from you, since you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-davis-jr/instead-of-fleeing-god-scrutiny-david-welcomed-it-it-s-like-he-was/) [Will Davis Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-davis-jr/) [Browse all 176 Candor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/candor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is but one way I know of conversing safely with all men; that is, not by concealing what we say or do, but by saying or doing nothing that deserves to be concealed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexander Pope" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/there-is-but-one-way-i-know-of-conversing-safely-with-all-men-that-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Candor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/there-is-but-one-way-i-know-of-conversing-safely-with-all-men-that-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcb/alexander-pope-235_candor_there-is-but-one-way-i-know-of-conversin_1245521.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcb/alexander-pope-235_candor_there-is-but-one-way-i-know-of-conversin_1245521.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcb/alexander-pope-235_candor_there-is-but-one-way-i-know-of-conversin_1245521.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is but one way I know of conversing safely with all men; that is, not by concealing what we say or do…” — Alexander Pope", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alexander Pope", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is but one way I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/there-is-but-one-way-i-know-of-conversing-safely-with-all-men-that-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/there-is-but-one-way-i-know-of-conversing-safely-with-all-men-that-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```