--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It requires as much caution to tell the…" description: "\"It requires as much caution to tell the truth as to conceal it.\" — Baltasar Gracian" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/baltasar-gracian-1090_caution_it-requires-as-much-caution-to-tell-the_2490201.jpg" --- # It requires as much caution to tell the truth as to… ![“It requires as much caution to tell the truth as to conceal it.” quote by Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/baltasar-gracian-1090_caution_it-requires-as-much-caution-to-tell-the_2490201.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/baltasar-gracian-1090_caution_it-requires-as-much-caution-to-tell-the_2490201.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/baltasar-gracian-1090_caution_it-requires-as-much-caution-to-tell-the_2490201.jpg) > “It requires as much caution to tell the truth as to conceal it.” [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Telling the truth requires as much caution as hiding it. **In simple terms:** Truth‑telling needs careful handling. Key Takeaway Balance honesty with discretion. Themes truth caution communication Mood cautious analytical Type ethical practical When to use this quote - politics - journalism - personal relationships Key Concepts ethics strategic honesty social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - When is honesty more harmful than helpful? - How do you decide what to reveal? A Different Perspective May be context‑dependent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Caution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caution/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Telling the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-the-truth/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [It requires as much to tell the truth as to conceal it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/it-requires-as-much-to-tell-the-truth-as-to-conceal-it/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [“…there’s nothing in this world that demands more caution than the truth. To tell the truth is like leeching one’s own heart...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/there-s-nothing-in-this-world-that-demands-more-caution-than-the/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [No one demands more caution than a spy, and when someone has the skeleton key to minds, counter him by leaving the key of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/no-one-demands-more-caution-than-a-spy-and-when-someone-has-the/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [We reveal our joys and successes, we conceal our pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/we-reveal-our-joys-and-successes-we-conceal-our-pain/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [Everyone can know what is in my heart because I find it hard to conceal myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/everyone-can-know-what-is-in-my-heart-because-i-find-it-hard-to/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [The greatest part of our faults are more excusable than the methods that are commonly taken to conceal them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/the-greatest-part-of-our-faults-are-more-excusable-than-the-methods/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [It is art to conceal art. -Ars est celare artem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-art-to-conceal-art-ars-est-celare-artem/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [There are some occasions in which a man must tell half his secret, in order to conceal the rest: but there is seldom one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/there-are-some-occasions-in-which-a-man-must-tell-half-his-secret-in/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Our friends don't see our faults, or conceal them, or soften them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/our-friends-don-t-see-our-faults-or-conceal-them-or-soften-them/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Speech was given to the ordinary sort or men, whereby to communicate their mind; but to wise men, whereby to conceal it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-south/speech-was-given-to-the-ordinary-sort-or-men-whereby-to-communicate/) [Robert South](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-south/) > [When you got nothing, you got nothin' to lose You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/when-you-got-nothing-you-got-nothin-to-lose-you-re-invisible-now-you/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Nothing more powerfully excites any affection than to conceal some part of its object, by throwing it into a kind of shade, whichat the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/nothing-more-powerfully-excites-any-affection-than-to-conceal-some/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [It is always a poor way of reading the hearts of others to try to conceal our own. \[Fr., C'est toujours un mauvais moyen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/it-is-always-a-poor-way-of-reading-the-hearts-of-others-to-try-to/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The more identities a man has, the more they express the person they conceal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/the-more-identities-a-man-has-the-more-they-express-the-person-they/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [The same words conceal and declare the thoughts of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-same-words-conceal-and-declare-the-thoughts-of-men/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) ## More by Baltasar Gracian > [To be at ease is better than to be at business. Nothing really belongs to us but time, which even he has who has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/to-be-at-ease-is-better-than-to-be-at-business-nothing-really-belongs/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [It requires as much to tell the truth as to conceal it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/it-requires-as-much-to-tell-the-truth-as-to-conceal-it/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [There are friendships merely for pleasure, some for the exchange of ideas. Rarest are those friends of one's inmost self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/there-are-friendships-merely-for-pleasure-some-for-the-exchange-of/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [What is not seen is as if it was not. Even the Right does not receive proper consideration if it does not seem right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/what-is-not-seen-is-as-if-it-was-not-even-the-right-does-not-receive/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [What the multitude says, is so, or soon will be so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/what-the-multitude-says-is-so-or-soon-will-be-so/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the other one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/a-synonym-is-a-word-you-use-when-you-can-t-spell-the-other-one/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [It is good to vary in order that you may frustrate the curious, especially those who envy you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/it-is-good-to-vary-in-order-that-you-may-frustrate-the-curious/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [Hope has a good memory, gratitude a bad one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/hope-has-a-good-memory-gratitude-a-bad-one/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [Knowing how to keep a friend is more important than gaining a new one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/knowing-how-to-keep-a-friend-is-more-important-than-gaining-a-new-one/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [Leave your luck while still winning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/leave-your-luck-while-still-winning/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [Superiority is always detested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/superiority-is-always-detested/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [“We have eyelids but not earlids, for the ears are the portals of learning, and Nature wanted to keep them wide open.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/we-have-eyelids-but-not-earlids-for-the-ears-are-the-portals-of/) [Baltasar Gracián](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [The wise persono would rather see others needing him than thanking him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/the-wise-persono-would-rather-see-others-needing-him-than-thanking-him/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [No one demands more caution than a spy, and when someone has the skeleton key to minds, counter him by leaving the key of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/no-one-demands-more-caution-than-a-spy-and-when-someone-has-the/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [Keep the extent of your abilities unknown.The wise man does not allow his knowledge and abilities to be sounded to the bottom, if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/keep-the-extent-of-your-abilities-unknown-the-wise-man-does-not-allow/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) [Explore all 288 Baltasar Gracian quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) ## More Caution quotes > [Popular culture as a whole is popular, but in today's fragmented market it's a jostle of competing unpopular popular cultures. As the critic Stanley…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/popular-culture-as-a-whole-is-popular-but-in-today-s-fragmented/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [It requires as much to tell the truth as to conceal it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/it-requires-as-much-to-tell-the-truth-as-to-conceal-it/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [“…there’s nothing in this world that demands more caution than the truth. To tell the truth is like leeching one’s own heart...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/there-s-nothing-in-this-world-that-demands-more-caution-than-the/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [ \[D\]on't grow old. With age comes caution, which is another name for cowardice… Whatever else you do in life, don't cultivate a conscience. Without… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesketh-pearson/d-on-t-grow-old-with-age-comes-caution-which-is-another-name-for/) [Hesketh Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesketh-pearson/) > [When I became successful, I put up a caution. I didn't think it was fair to have the shadow of that kind of success…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-redford/when-i-became-successful-i-put-up-a-caution-i-didn-t-think-it-was/) [Robert Redford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-redford/) > [There is one stark fact facing us: three quarters of all crime that results in a caution or sentence happens because of reoffending. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gauke/there-is-one-stark-fact-facing-us-three-quarters-of-all-crime-that/) [David Gauke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gauke/) > [The four cautions: Beware a woman in front of you, beware a horse behind of you, beware a cart beside of you, and beware…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-o-neill/the-four-cautions-beware-a-woman-in-front-of-you-beware-a-horse/) [Jamie O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-o-neill/) > [“Oh ... why not?' he smiled. "This valley is a pleasant spot for meditation. I like New England... it is here that I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/oh-why-not-he-smiled-this-valley-is-a-pleasant-spot-for-meditation-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fear and caution are two different things. Be cautious - be conscious - but do not be fearful. Fear only paralyzes, while consciousness mobilizes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/fear-and-caution-are-two-different-things-be-cautious-be-conscious/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [ “\[U\]se extreme caution, and please remember that 451 degrees Fahrenheit is more than just a book a title…” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammon-shea/u-se-extreme-caution-and-please-remember-that-451-degrees-fahrenheit/) [Ammon Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammon-shea/) > [I often found myself in situations where I had, without thinking, said too much to too many with too little caution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-corey-whaley/i-often-found-myself-in-situations-where-i-had-without-thinking-said/) [John Corey Whaley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-corey-whaley/) > [The future is inherently full of discontinuities, and lessons of the past must be applied with enormous caution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zbigniew-brzezinski/the-future-is-inherently-full-of-discontinuities-and-lessons-of-the/) [Zbigniew Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zbigniew-brzezinski/) > [Every human being has, like Socrates, an attendant spirit; and wise are they who obey its signals. If it does not always tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/every-human-being-has-like-socrates-an-attendant-spirit-and-wise-are/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [“Love everyone but chose your friends with caution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mensah-oteh/love-everyone-but-chose-your-friends-with-caution/) [Mensah Oteh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mensah-oteh/) [Browse all 640 Caution quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caution/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It requires as much caution to tell the truth as to conceal it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Baltasar Gracian" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/it-requires-as-much-caution-to-tell-the-truth-as-to-conceal-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Caution" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/it-requires-as-much-caution-to-tell-the-truth-as-to-conceal-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/baltasar-gracian-1090_caution_it-requires-as-much-caution-to-tell-the_2490201.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/baltasar-gracian-1090_caution_it-requires-as-much-caution-to-tell-the_2490201.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/baltasar-gracian-1090_caution_it-requires-as-much-caution-to-tell-the_2490201.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It requires as much caution to tell the truth as to conceal it.” — Baltasar Gracian", "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": "Baltasar Gracian", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It requires as much caution to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/it-requires-as-much-caution-to-tell-the-truth-as-to-conceal-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/it-requires-as-much-caution-to-tell-the-truth-as-to-conceal-it/#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 } } ] } ```