--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do not wonder if the common people speak…" description: "\"Do not wonder if the common people speak more truly than those above them: they speak more safely.\" — Francis Bacon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3d/francis-bacon-297_common_do-not-wonder-if-the-common-people-speak_973140.jpg" --- # Do not wonder if the common people speak more truly than… ![“Do not wonder if the common people speak more truly than those above them: they speak more safely.” quote by Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3d/francis-bacon-297_common_do-not-wonder-if-the-common-people-speak_973140.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3d/francis-bacon-297_common_do-not-wonder-if-the-common-people-speak_973140.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3d/francis-bacon-297_common_do-not-wonder-if-the-common-people-speak_973140.jpg) > “Do not wonder if the common people speak more truly than those above them: they speak more safely.” [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Common people often speak truthfully because they have less to lose, unlike those in power who may conceal. **In simple terms:** Ordinary people speak more honestly than elites. Key Takeaway Value honest voices. Themes truth power speech Mood cautious reflective Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - Everyday conversation - political debate - media analysis Key Concepts Sociology political theory Questions to Reflect On - How does power affect truthfulness? - When should we trust authority? A Different Perspective Honesty can be compromised by fear of repercussions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Common people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-people/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-speak/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Speak Safely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak-safely-1882355/) [Speak Truly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak-truly-386630/) [Truly Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truly-speak-1882356/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [Everyone may speak truly, but to speak logically, prudently, and adequately is a talent few possess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/everyone-may-speak-truly-but-to-speak-logically-prudently-and/) [Michel De Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Every man may speak truly, but to speak methodically, prudently, and fully is a talent that few men have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/every-man-may-speak-truly-but-to-speak-methodically-prudently-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [We do not truly speak except at a distance. There is no word not severed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmond-jab-s/we-do-not-truly-speak-except-at-a-distance-there-is-no-word-not/) [Edmond Jabes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmond-jab-s/) > [I've been saying it at all our Senate Democratic retreats we need to speak to the heart, not in a manipulative way, not in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mazie-hirono/i-ve-been-saying-it-at-all-our-senate-democratic-retreats-we-need-to/) [Mazie Hirono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mazie-hirono/) > [The less people speak of their greatness, the more we think of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-less-people-speak-of-their-greatness-the-more-we-think-of-it/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Shall I speak truly what I now see below? The World is all a carkass, smoak and vanity, The shadow of a shadow, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-feltham/shall-i-speak-truly-what-i-now-see-below-the-world-is-all-a-carkass/) [Owen Feltham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-feltham/) > [“And what does that signify to you?" he said, perhaps forgetting that if she could speak truly to the world, she would not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/and-what-does-that-signify-to-you-he-said-perhaps-forgetting-that-if/) [Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) > [Think truly, and thy thoughts shall the world's famine feed. Speak truly, and each word of thine Shall be a fruitful seed. Live truly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/think-truly-and-thy-thoughts-shall-the-world-s-famine-feed-speak/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Speak boldly and speak truly, shame the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fletcher/speak-boldly-and-speak-truly-shame-the-devil/) [John Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fletcher/) > [“let the speaker speak truly and the judge decide justly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/let-the-speaker-speak-truly-and-the-judge-decide-justly/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“And therefore, all of those for whom authentic transformation has deeply unseated their souls must, I believe, wrestle with the profound moral obligation to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/and-therefore-all-of-those-for-whom-authentic-transformation-has/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Does a man speak foolishly?--suffer him gladly, for you are wise. Does he speak erroneously?--stop such a man's mouth with sound words that cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-cromwell/does-a-man-speak-foolishly-suffer-him-gladly-for-you-are-wise-does-he/) [Oliver Cromwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-cromwell/) > [Praise from the common people is generally false, and rather follows the vain than the virtuous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/praise-from-the-common-people-is-generally-false-and-rather-follows/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Some people you speak to you speak into their heads. It's logical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-hunt/some-people-you-speak-to-you-speak-into-their-heads-it-s-logical/) [Johnny Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-hunt/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) ## More by Francis Bacon > [Princes are like heavenly bodies, which cause good or evil times, and which have much veneration, but no rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/princes-are-like-heavenly-bodies-which-cause-good-or-evil-times-and/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The best preservative to keep the mind in health is the faithful admonition of a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-best-preservative-to-keep-the-mind-in-health-is-the-faithful/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Since custom is the principal magistrate of man's life, let men by all means endeavor to obtain good customs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/since-custom-is-the-principal-magistrate-of-man-s-life-let-men-by-all/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Painting today is pure intuition and luck and taking advantage of what happens when you splash the stuff down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/painting-today-is-pure-intuition-and-luck-and-taking-advantage-of/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [I usually accept bribes from both sides so that tainted money can never influence my decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-usually-accept-bribes-from-both-sides-so-that-tainted-money-can/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Much bending breaks the bow; much unbending the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/much-bending-breaks-the-bow-much-unbending-the-mind/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [When Christ came into the world, peace was sung; and when He went out of the world, peace was bequeathed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/when-christ-came-into-the-world-peace-was-sung-and-when-he-went-out/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [...neither is it possible to discover the more remote and deeper parts of any science, if you stand but upon the level of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/neither-is-it-possible-to-discover-the-more-remote-and-deeper-parts/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The divisions of science are not like different lines that meet in one angle, but rather like the branches of trees that join in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-divisions-of-science-are-not-like-different-lines-that-meet-in/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The human understanding, when any preposition has been once laid down... forces everything else to add fresh support and confirmation; and although more cogent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-human-understanding-when-any-preposition-has-been-once-laid-down/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [I should have been, I don't know, a con-man, a robber or a prostitute. But it was vanity that made me choose painting, vanity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-should-have-been-i-don-t-know-a-con-man-a-robber-or-a-prostitute/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Wounds cannot be cured without searching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/wounds-cannot-be-cured-without-searching/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The French are wiser than they seem, and the Spaniards seem wiser than they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-french-are-wiser-than-they-seem-and-the-spaniards-seem-wiser-than/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [When a man laughs at his troubles he loses a great many friends. They never forgive the loss of their prerogative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/when-a-man-laughs-at-his-troubles-he-loses-a-great-many-friends-they/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Believing that I was born for the service of mankind, and regarding the care of the commonwealth as a kind of common property which,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/believing-that-i-was-born-for-the-service-of-mankind-and-regarding/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) [Explore all 711 Francis Bacon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) ## More Common quotes > [I'm Fine!, the most common LIE in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/i-m-fine-the-most-common-lie-in-the-world/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [ Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a \[Soviet socialistic\] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-national-socialism-have-anything/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [When you have a cavity in your tooth and you let it get worse, eventually you have to get a root canal. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/when-you-have-a-cavity-in-your-tooth-and-you-let-it-get-worse/) [Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/common-sense-is-nothing-more-than-a-deposit-of-prejudices-laid-down/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [Those who advocate common usage in philosophy sometimes speak in a manner that suggests the mystique of the 'common man.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/those-who-advocate-common-usage-in-philosophy-sometimes-speak-in-a/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) [Browse all 7,866 Common quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Do not wonder if the common people speak more truly than those above them: they speak more safely.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Francis Bacon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/do-not-wonder-if-the-common-people-speak-more-truly-than-those-above/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Common" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/do-not-wonder-if-the-common-people-speak-more-truly-than-those-above/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3d/francis-bacon-297_common_do-not-wonder-if-the-common-people-speak_973140.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3d/francis-bacon-297_common_do-not-wonder-if-the-common-people-speak_973140.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3d/francis-bacon-297_common_do-not-wonder-if-the-common-people-speak_973140.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Do not wonder if the common people speak more truly than those above them: they speak more safely.” — Francis Bacon", "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": "Francis Bacon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Do not wonder if the common...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/do-not-wonder-if-the-common-people-speak-more-truly-than-those-above/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/do-not-wonder-if-the-common-people-speak-more-truly-than-those-above/#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 } } ] } ```