---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never think it necessary to repeat…"
description: "\"I never think it necessary to repeat calumnies; they are sparks, which, if you do not blow them, will go out of themselves.\" — Herman Boerhaave"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1d/herman-boerhaave-43728_blow_i-never-think-it-necessary-to-repeat-cal_207641.jpg"
---

#  I never think it necessary to repeat calumnies; they are…

![“I never think it necessary to repeat calumnies; they are sparks, which, if you do not blow them, will go out of themselves.” quote by Herman Boerhaave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1d/herman-boerhaave-43728_blow_i-never-think-it-necessary-to-repeat-cal_207641.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1d/herman-boerhaave-43728_blow_i-never-think-it-necessary-to-repeat-cal_207641.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1d/herman-boerhaave-43728_blow_i-never-think-it-necessary-to-repeat-cal_207641.jpg)

> “I never think it necessary to repeat calumnies; they are sparks, which, if you do not blow them, will go out of themselves.”

[Herman Boerhaave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-boerhaave/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Repeated accusations lose impact unless acted upon; they fade on their own if ignored.

**In simple terms:** Sparks die without fuel.

Key Takeaway

Ignore unfounded criticism.

Themes

communication reputation conflict ethics psychology

Mood

cautious reflective

Type

ethical philosophical

When to use this quote

- workplace disputes
- online harassment
- political rhetoric
- personal relationships

Key Concepts

social dynamics defamation self‑control

Questions to Reflect On

- When should you address a rumor?
- What are the risks of ignoring criticism?

A Different Perspective

Some accusations may persist despite neglect.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Blow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blow/) [Calumnies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calumnies-2151765/) [Calumnies Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calumnies-sparks-2151762/) [Calumny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calumny/) [Calumny is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calumny-is/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Repeat Calumnies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repeat-calumnies-2151763/) [Repeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repeats/) [Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sparks/) [Sparks Blow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sparks-blow-2151764/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/)

## Related quotes

> [The best calumnies are spiced with truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-calumnies-are-spiced-with-truth/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Calumnies are answered best with silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/calumnies-are-answered-best-with-silence/)

[Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/)

> [Nothing is so swift as calumny, nothing is more easily propagated, nothing more readily credited, nothing more widely circulated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/nothing-is-so-swift-as-calumny-nothing-is-more-easily-propagated/)

[Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/)

> [Calumny is like the wasp which worries you, and which it is not best to try to get rid of unless you are sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/calumny-is-like-the-wasp-which-worries-you-and-which-it-is-not-best/)

[Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/)

> [No might nor greatness in mortality Can censure 'scape; back- wounding calumny The whitest virtue strikes. What king so strong Can tie the gall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/no-might-nor-greatness-in-mortality-can-censure-scape-back-wounding/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [I am beholden to calumny, that she hath so endeavored to belie me.-It shall make me set a surer guard on myself, and keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/i-am-beholden-to-calumny-that-she-hath-so-endeavored-to-belie-me-it/)

[Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/)

> [Calumny is like counterfeit money; many people who would not coin it circulate it without qualms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-de-poitiers/calumny-is-like-counterfeit-money-many-people-who-would-not-coin-it/)

[Diane de Poitiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-de-poitiers/)

> [Neglected, calumny soon expires, show that you are hurt, and you give it the appearance of truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/neglected-calumny-soon-expires-show-that-you-are-hurt-and-you-give-it/)

[Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/)

> [Our credulity is greatest concerning the things we know least about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/our-credulity-is-greatest-concerning-the-things-we-know-least-about-2/)

[Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/)

> [There are calumnies against which even innocence loses courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/there-are-calumnies-against-which-even-innocence-loses-courage/)

[Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/)

> [If thou dost marry, I'll give thee this plague for thy dowry: be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/if-thou-dost-marry-i-ll-give-thee-this-plague-for-thy-dowry-be-thou/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Pessimism like calumny is easy to do, and attracts immediate attention. The gossiper and the writer may find this out soon enough, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-berenson/pessimism-like-calumny-is-easy-to-do-and-attracts-immediate-attention/)

[Bernard Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-berenson/)

> [The world will never be long without some good reason to hate the unhappy; their real faults are immediately detected; and if those are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-world-will-never-be-long-without-some-good-reason-to-hate-the/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [His calumny is not only the greatest benefit a rogue can confer on us, but the only service he will perform for nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/his-calumny-is-not-only-the-greatest-benefit-a-rogue-can-confer-on-us/)

[Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/)

> [He has outsoared the shadow of our night; envy and calumny and hate and pain, and that unrest which men miscall delight, can touch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/he-has-outsoared-the-shadow-of-our-night-envy-and-calumny-and-hate/)

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

## More by Herman Boerhaave

> [The great seal of truth is simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-boerhaave/the-great-seal-of-truth-is-simplicity/)

[Herman Boerhaave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-boerhaave/)

> [For chemistry is no science form'd à priori; 'tis no production of the human mind, framed by reasoning and deduction: it took its rise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-boerhaave/for-chemistry-is-no-science-form-d-priori-tis-no-production-of-the/)

[Herman Boerhaave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-boerhaave/)

> [Generation by male and female is a law common to animals and plants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-boerhaave/generation-by-male-and-female-is-a-law-common-to-animals-and-plants/)

[Herman Boerhaave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-boerhaave/)

> [My poor are my best patients. God pays for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-boerhaave/my-poor-are-my-best-patients-god-pays-for-them/)

[Herman Boerhaave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-boerhaave/)

> [A disease which new and obscure to you, Doctor, will be known only after death; and even then not without an autopsy will you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-boerhaave/a-disease-which-new-and-obscure-to-you-doctor-will-be-known-only/)

[Herman Boerhaave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-boerhaave/)

> [The surest method against scandal is to live it down by perseverance in well-doing, and by prayer to God that He would cure the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-boerhaave/the-surest-method-against-scandal-is-to-live-it-down-by-perseverance/)

[Herman Boerhaave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-boerhaave/)

> [The surest method against scandal is live it down in well-doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-boerhaave/the-surest-method-against-scandal-is-live-it-down-in-well-doing/)

[Herman Boerhaave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-boerhaave/)

> [“Simplicity is the seal of truth!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-boerhaave/simplicity-is-the-seal-of-truth/)

[Herman Boerhaave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-boerhaave/)

[Explore all 9 Herman Boerhaave quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-boerhaave/)

## More Blow quotes

> [The wind always seems to blow against catchers when they are running.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-garagiola/the-wind-always-seems-to-blow-against-catchers-when-they-are-running/)

[Joe Garagiola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-garagiola/)

> [Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow! You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout Till you have drenched our teeples, drowned the cocks! You sulphurour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/blow-winds-and-crack-your-cheeks-rage-blow-you-cataracts-and/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [If he wants to blow his head off, let him. I don't give a damn about Jim Bakker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-hahn/if-he-wants-to-blow-his-head-off-let-him-i-don-t-give-a-damn-about/)

[Jessica Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-hahn/)

> [If we blow ourselves up we will do it by misapplication of science; if we manage to keep from blowing ourselves up, it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/if-we-blow-ourselves-up-we-will-do-it-by-misapplication-of-science-if/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [Not I, not I, but the wind that blows through me! A fine wind is blowing the new direction of Time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/not-i-not-i-but-the-wind-that-blows-through-me-a-fine-wind-is-blowing/)

[D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/)

> [The only two good words that can be said for a hurricane are that it gives sufficient warning of its approach, and that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-atherton/the-only-two-good-words-that-can-be-said-for-a-hurricane-are-that-it/)

[Gertrude Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-atherton/)

> [Music is a wind that blows away the years, memories, and fear, that crouching animal I carry inside me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/music-is-a-wind-that-blows-away-the-years-memories-and-fear-that/)

[Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/)

> [The supposedly immaterial soul, we now know, can be bisected with a knife, altered by chemicals, started or stopped by electricity, and extinguished by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-supposedly-immaterial-soul-we-now-know-can-be-bisected-with-a/)

[Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/)

> [One of the wonderful things about Portlandia - and I'm not just blowing smoke, although I can blow smoke, but I'm not - is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-raab/one-of-the-wonderful-things-about-portlandia-and-i-m-not-just-blowing/)

[Scott Raab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-raab/)

> [I would always find a way to blow the deal and I'm not sure why. I think there was part of me that wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-isaac/i-would-always-find-a-way-to-blow-the-deal-and-i-m-not-sure-why-i/)

[Oscar Isaac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-isaac/)

> [Letters crossing in the post, unfamiliar tunes heard three times in one day, the way that blows of fate descend upon the same bowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/letters-crossing-in-the-post-unfamiliar-tunes-heard-three-times-in/)

[Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/)

> [Truth is, right now two bombs could drop out of the sky and blow up this house and whatever building you're in and just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mackaye/truth-is-right-now-two-bombs-could-drop-out-of-the-sky-and-blow-up/)

[Ian MacKaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mackaye/)

> [The old saying is true: If you have only the Word, you dry up. If you have only the Spirit, you blow up. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cymbala/the-old-saying-is-true-if-you-have-only-the-word-you-dry-up-if-you/)

[Jim Cymbala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cymbala/)

> [I can turn an idea into a business before you know it's going to be important. My first step will blow by you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-cuban/i-can-turn-an-idea-into-a-business-before-you-know-it-s-going-to-be/)

[Mark Cuban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-cuban/)

> [The Brick House was one of the toughest joints I ever played in ... Guys would drink and fight one another like circle saws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-armstrong/the-brick-house-was-one-of-the-toughest-joints-i-ever-played-in-guys/)

[Louis Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-armstrong/)

[Browse all 2,324 Blow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blow/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I never think it necessary to repeat calumnies; they are sparks, which, if you do not blow them, will go out of themselves.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Herman Boerhaave"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-boerhaave/i-never-think-it-necessary-to-repeat-calumnies-they-are-sparks-which/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Blow"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-boerhaave/i-never-think-it-necessary-to-repeat-calumnies-they-are-sparks-which/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1d/herman-boerhaave-43728_blow_i-never-think-it-necessary-to-repeat-cal_207641.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1d/herman-boerhaave-43728_blow_i-never-think-it-necessary-to-repeat-cal_207641.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1d/herman-boerhaave-43728_blow_i-never-think-it-necessary-to-repeat-cal_207641.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I never think it necessary to repeat calumnies; they are sparks, which, if you do not blow them, will go out…” — Herman Boerhaave",
                "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": "Herman Boerhaave",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-boerhaave/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I never think it necessary to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-boerhaave/i-never-think-it-necessary-to-repeat-calumnies-they-are-sparks-which/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-boerhaave/i-never-think-it-necessary-to-repeat-calumnies-they-are-sparks-which/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
