--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It requires as much to tell the truth as…" description: "\"It requires as much to tell the truth as to conceal it.\" — Baltasar Gracian" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/baltasar-gracian-1090_caution_it-requires-as-much-to-tell-the-truth-as_8560.jpg" --- # It requires as much to tell the truth as to conceal it. ![“It requires as much to tell the truth as to conceal it.” quote by Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/baltasar-gracian-1090_caution_it-requires-as-much-to-tell-the-truth-as_8560.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/baltasar-gracian-1090_caution_it-requires-as-much-to-tell-the-truth-as_8560.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/baltasar-gracian-1090_caution_it-requires-as-much-to-tell-the-truth-as_8560.jpg) > “It requires as much 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. Truth-telling demands the same effort as deception because both involve careful selection and presentation of facts. **In simple terms:** Truth and concealment require equal effort. Key Takeaway Both honesty and deceit are labor-intensive. Themes ethics communication psychology strategy integrity Mood thoughtful serious reflective Type proverb aphorism When to use this quote - political speech - corporate reporting - personal relationships - media journalism Key Concepts cognitive load social perception moral decision-making Practical Applications - ethical training - critical thinking curricula Questions to Reflect On - When does honesty become a strategic choice? - How does effort influence moral judgment? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Caution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caution/) [Conceal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceal/) [Requires Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/requires-tell-342139/) [Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell/) [Tell Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell-truth/) [Telling the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-the-truth/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Conceal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-conceal-342138/) ## Related quotes > [It requires as much caution to tell the truth as to conceal it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/it-requires-as-much-caution-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/) > [When you're playing country music, you have to tell the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-kane/when-you-re-playing-country-music-you-have-to-tell-the-truth/) [Christian Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-kane/) > [a writer must always tell the truth (unless he's a journalist)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/a-writer-must-always-tell-the-truth-unless-he-s-a-journalist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Just tell the truth, and they'll accuse you of writing black humor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-willeford/just-tell-the-truth-and-they-ll-accuse-you-of-writing-black-humor/) [Charles Willeford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-willeford/) > [If you hate something, you hate it, and if you like something or somebody, you like it, but tell the truth. And most celebrities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/if-you-hate-something-you-hate-it-and-if-you-like-something-or/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [Start telling the truth now and never stop. Begin by telling the truth to yourself about yourself. Then tell the truth to yourself about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/start-telling-the-truth-now-and-never-stop-begin-by-telling-the-truth/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [But one of the things I learned is that when you fight for something you believe in and you tell the truth and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-kerry/but-one-of-the-things-i-learned-is-that-when-you-fight-for-something/) [Vanessa Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-kerry/) > [Tell the truth and you won't have so much to remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/tell-the-truth-and-you-won-t-have-so-much-to-remember/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Always tell the truth or the truth will tell on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-k-sonnenberg/always-tell-the-truth-or-the-truth-will-tell-on-you/) [Frank K. Sonnenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-k-sonnenberg/) > [When you get real old, honey, you realize there are certain things that just don't matter anymore. You lay it all on the table.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-louise-delany/when-you-get-real-old-honey-you-realize-there-are-certain-things-that/) [Sarah Louise Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-louise-delany/) > [ \[Eugene Smith\] was always writing these diatribes about truth, and how he wanted to tell the truth, the truth, the truth. It was a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-clark/eugene-smith-was-always-writing-these-diatribes-about-truth-and-how/) [Larry Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-clark/) > [Tell the truth or trump-but get the trick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/tell-the-truth-or-trump-but-get-the-trick/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Tell the truth and not the facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/tell-the-truth-and-not-the-facts/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## 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/) > [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/) > [Never open the door to the lesser evil, for other and greater ones invariably slink in after it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/never-open-the-door-to-the-lesser-evil-for-other-and-greater-ones/) [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/) > [“…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/) > [You go for it. All the stops are out. Caution is to the wind, and you're battling with everything you have. That's the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-dierdorf/you-go-for-it-all-the-stops-are-out-caution-is-to-the-wind-and-you-re/) [Dan Dierdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-dierdorf/) [Browse all 640 Caution quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caution/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It requires as much 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-to-tell-the-truth-as-to-conceal-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Caution" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/it-requires-as-much-to-tell-the-truth-as-to-conceal-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/baltasar-gracian-1090_caution_it-requires-as-much-to-tell-the-truth-as_8560.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/baltasar-gracian-1090_caution_it-requires-as-much-to-tell-the-truth-as_8560.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/baltasar-gracian-1090_caution_it-requires-as-much-to-tell-the-truth-as_8560.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It requires as much 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 to tell...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/it-requires-as-much-to-tell-the-truth-as-to-conceal-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/it-requires-as-much-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 } } ] } ```