--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Secrets are things we give to others to…" description: "\"Secrets are things we give to others to keep for us.\" — Elbert Hubbard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/elbert-hubbard-510_secret_secrets-are-things-we-give-to-others-to_3218688.png" --- # Secrets are things we give to others to keep for us. ![“Secrets are things we give to others to keep for us.” quote by Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/elbert-hubbard-510_secret_secrets-are-things-we-give-to-others-to_3218688.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/elbert-hubbard-510_secret_secrets-are-things-we-give-to-others-to_3218688.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/elbert-hubbard-510_secret_secrets-are-things-we-give-to-others-to_3218688.png) > “Secrets are things we give to others to keep for us.” [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He suggests that secrets are shared to create trust, but they also bind the giver to the receiver. **In simple terms:** Giving secrets builds trust but creates obligations. Key Takeaway Share wisely, protect yourself. Themes trust communication relationships Mood cautious reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - friendships - business deals - family - counseling Key Concepts confidentiality reciprocity psychology Questions to Reflect On - When should you keep something private? - What are the risks of sharing secrets? A Different Perspective Over‑sharing can lead to vulnerability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Secrets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secrets/) [Secrets Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secrets-things-328925/) [Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things/) ## Related quotes > [The intellect is a cleaver; it discerns and rifts its way into the secrets of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-intellect-is-a-cleaver-it-discerns-and-rifts-its-way-into-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Keeping big secrets, particularly secrets about things of one's own doing, is a tough proposition for even very bright people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/keeping-big-secrets-particularly-secrets-about-things-of-one-s-own/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Those secrets are things that most people don't learn, because they are not enthusiastic enough, or bright enough, or patient enough, or funny enough;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/those-secrets-are-things-that-most-people-don-t-learn-because-they/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [You don't have to know anything about art to appreciate it or to look at it. There aren't any hidden secrets or things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-haring/you-don-t-have-to-know-anything-about-art-to-appreciate-it-or-to-look/) [Keith Haring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-haring/) > [“They tried to bury us. They didn’t know we were seeds.” —Mexican proverb There are some secrets we don’t share because they’re embarrassing. Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/they-tried-to-bury-us-they-didn-t-know-we-were-seeds-mexican-proverb/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [Many things which are called 'secrets' are only things withheld from people until they can understand or effectively experience them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/many-things-which-are-called-secrets-are-only-things-withheld-from/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“In life, we have secrets, things we regret, dreams we can’t reach and a love that we will never forget.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reviandari-azmi/in-life-we-have-secrets-things-we-regret-dreams-we-can-t-reach-and-a/) [ReviAndari Azmi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reviandari-azmi/) > [After all, everybody has secrets and there are some things that nobody knows about you but only you, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halle-berry/after-all-everybody-has-secrets-and-there-are-some-things-that-nobody/) [Halle Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halle-berry/) > [“To let one into your mind was to give him or her all your secrets.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-patrick-kennedy/to-let-one-into-your-mind-was-to-give-him-or-her-all-your-secrets/) [John Patrick Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-patrick-kennedy/) > [I wonder if it's ever really possible to know the truth about someone else, or if the best we can do is just stumble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/i-wonder-if-it-s-ever-really-possible-to-know-the-truth-about-someone/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [The value of secrets is ever fluctuating although ladies who have been in society for a long time learn that a secret kept can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/the-value-of-secrets-is-ever-fluctuating-although-ladies-who-have/) [Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/) > [Some secrets are better left at that -as secrets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candace-bushnell/some-secrets-are-better-left-at-that-as-secrets/) [Candace Bushnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candace-bushnell/) > [“It hardly needs to be said: sooner or later secrets have a way of making themselves known.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/it-hardly-needs-to-be-said-sooner-or-later-secrets-have-a-way-of/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [Every person has at least one secret that will break your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana/every-person-has-at-least-one-secret-that-will-break-your-heart/) [AnA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana/) > [Women know things that men will never know. We keep the best secrets. We tell the best stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/women-know-things-that-men-will-never-know-we-keep-the-best-secrets/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) ## More by Elbert Hubbard > [The teacher is one who makes two ideas grow where only one grew before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-teacher-is-one-who-makes-two-ideas-grow-where-only-one-grew-before/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The highest reward that God gives us for good work is the ability to do better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-highest-reward-that-god-gives-us-for-good-work-is-the-ability-to/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Art is nothing; it's a way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/art-is-nothing-it-s-a-way/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Library: A place where the dead lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/library-a-place-where-the-dead-lie/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [“If we cannot be happy and powerful and prey on others, we invent conscience and prey on ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-we-cannot-be-happy-and-powerful-and-prey-on-others-we-invent/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The poor and ignorant will continue to lie and steal as long as the rich and educated show them how.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-poor-and-ignorant-will-continue-to-lie-and-steal-as-long-as-the/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [So long as governments set the example of killing their enemies, private individuals will occasionally kill theirs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/so-long-as-governments-set-the-example-of-killing-their-enemies/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [If I supply you with a thought, you may remember it and you may not. But if I can make you think a thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-i-supply-you-with-a-thought-you-may-remember-it-and-you-may-not/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 A conservative is a man who is too cowardly to fight and too fat to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/1-2-3-4-5-a-conservative-is-a-man-who-is-too-cowardly-to-fight-and/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The great man is not so great as folks think, and the dull man is not quite so stupid as he seems. The difference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-great-man-is-not-so-great-as-folks-think-and-the-dull-man-is-not/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Every knock is a boost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/every-knock-is-a-boost/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [What boy well raised can compare with your street gamin who has the knowledge and the shrewdness of a grown-up broker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/what-boy-well-raised-can-compare-with-your-street-gamin-who-has-the/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Don't make excuses, make good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/don-t-make-excuses-make-good/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [What people need and what they want may be very different… Teachers are those who educate the people to appreciate the things they need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/what-people-need-and-what-they-want-may-be-very-different-teachers/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Men who sit back and pride themselves on their culture haven't any to speak of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/men-who-sit-back-and-pride-themselves-on-their-culture-haven-t-any-to/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) [Explore all 506 Elbert Hubbard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) ## More Secret quotes > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [(knitting while on a motorcycle) "For several years she knitted in secret (my father would not approve; she was to concentrate on motorcycling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/knitting-while-on-a-motorcycle-for-several-years-she-knitted-in/) [Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [“By so giving up, of course, it renews itself- that is the secret”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/by-so-giving-up-of-course-it-renews-itself-that-is-the-secret/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [The CIA has concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/the-cia-has-concluded-in-a-secret-assessment-that-russia-intervened/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [I have a lot of secret uses for sour cream, which is the magic ingredient in my mac and cheese. It's an old-timey, Southern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/i-have-a-lot-of-secret-uses-for-sour-cream-which-is-the-magic/) [Paula Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [It is no secret that I have read 'The Da Vinci Code' several times. I genuinely believe that 'The Da Vinci Code' and 'Angels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/it-is-no-secret-that-i-have-read-the-da-vinci-code-several-times-i/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) > [Women know things that men will never know. We keep the best secrets. We tell the best stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/women-know-things-that-men-will-never-know-we-keep-the-best-secrets/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [A place has almost the shyness of a person, with strangers; and its secret is not to be surprised by a too direct interrogation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-symons/a-place-has-almost-the-shyness-of-a-person-with-strangers-and-its/) [Arthur Symons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-symons/) > [When I talked to him earlier, he said he had to work tonight,” Peter explained, “but that we should go ahead and draw for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/when-i-talked-to-him-earlier-he-said-he-had-to-work-tonight-peter/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [ No wonder that Churchill described this effort \[the British codebreakers working at Bletchley Park\] as "Britian"s secret weapon," a weapon far more effective than… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hilton/no-wonder-that-churchill-described-this-effort-the-british/) [Peter Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hilton/) > [I don't know if it's naivete or just narcissism, but I start out with this notion that I can do anything. It's not until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-pfeiffer/i-don-t-know-if-it-s-naivete-or-just-narcissism-but-i-start-out-with/) [Michelle Pfeiffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-pfeiffer/) > [Children, Never look Back!" and this meant that we must never allow the future to be weighed down by memory . for children have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/children-never-look-back-and-this-meant-that-we-must-never-allow-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) [Browse all 8,958 Secret quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Secrets are things we give to others to keep for us.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elbert Hubbard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/secrets-are-things-we-give-to-others-to-keep-for-us/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Secret" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/secrets-are-things-we-give-to-others-to-keep-for-us/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/elbert-hubbard-510_secret_secrets-are-things-we-give-to-others-to_3218688.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/elbert-hubbard-510_secret_secrets-are-things-we-give-to-others-to_3218688.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/elbert-hubbard-510_secret_secrets-are-things-we-give-to-others-to_3218688.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Secrets are things we give to others to keep for us.” — Elbert Hubbard", "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": "Elbert Hubbard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Secrets are things we give to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/secrets-are-things-we-give-to-others-to-keep-for-us/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/secrets-are-things-we-give-to-others-to-keep-for-us/#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 } } ] } ```