--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What prevents a man's speaking good sense…" description: "\"What prevents a man's speaking good sense with a smile on his face?\" — Horace" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/horace-172_faces_what-prevents-a-man-s-speaking-good-sens_1177233.jpg" --- # What prevents a man's speaking good sense with a smile on… ![“What prevents a man's speaking good sense with a smile on his face?” quote by Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/horace-172_faces_what-prevents-a-man-s-speaking-good-sens_1177233.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/horace-172_faces_what-prevents-a-man-s-speaking-good-sens_1177233.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/horace-172_faces_what-prevents-a-man-s-speaking-good-sens_1177233.jpg) > “What prevents a man's speaking good sense with a smile on his face?” [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A smile can mask true intentions, preventing honest speech. **In simple terms:** Smiles can hide honest words. Key Takeaway Seek truth beyond polite appearances. Themes honesty communication social masks Mood reflective cautious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - political debate - personal relationships - customer service Key Concepts rhetoric psychology ethics Questions to Reflect On - When have you hidden truth behind a smile? - How can you encourage honest dialogue? A Different Perspective Politeness may suppress necessary critique. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Good sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-sense/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Smile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smile/) ## Related quotes > [Caelen?” “Aye, lass?” “You were right.” “What was I right about?” “Kissing. ’Tis a most wondrous thing.” She could sense his smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-banks/caelen-aye-lass-you-were-right-what-was-i-right-about-kissing-tis-a/) [Maya Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-banks/) > [Speaking and doing are two different actions springing up the two completely different results. But, the best result arrives when a mans speaking of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anuj-somany/speaking-and-doing-are-two-different-actions-springing-up-the-two/) [Anuj Somany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anuj-somany/) > [“If you are not good at speaking, be good at listening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alin-sav/if-you-are-not-good-at-speaking-be-good-at-listening/) [Alin Sav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alin-sav/) > [I don't think the elite class is only speaking the good English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mamata-banerjee/i-don-t-think-the-elite-class-is-only-speaking-the-good-english/) [Mamata Banerjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mamata-banerjee/) > [A vain man finds his account in speaking good or evil of himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/a-vain-man-finds-his-account-in-speaking-good-or-evil-of-himself/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [ “It \[speaking with words that bring about harmony\] consists of speaking of what is good about people, instead of what is wrong with them.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-yves-leloup/it-speaking-with-words-that-bring-about-harmony-consists-of-speaking/) [Jean-Yves Leloup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-yves-leloup/) > [When one man speaks to another man who doesn't understand him, and when a man who's speaking no longer understands, it's metaphysics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/when-one-man-speaks-to-another-man-who-doesn-t-understand-him-and/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [A man speaking sense to himself is no madder than a man speaking nonsense not to himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/a-man-speaking-sense-to-himself-is-no-madder-than-a-man-speaking/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [There may be other reasons for a man's not speaking in publick than want of resolution: he may have nothing to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-may-be-other-reasons-for-a-man-s-not-speaking-in-publick-than/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [To speak well of a base man is much the same as speaking ill of a good man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/to-speak-well-of-a-base-man-is-much-the-same-as-speaking-ill-of-a/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [We have for too long been taught that the sight of a man speaking to himself is a sign of eccentricity or madness; we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/we-have-for-too-long-been-taught-that-the-sight-of-a-man-speaking-to/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [It is not the man speaking through the woman, it is the woman speaking through the man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlene-croce/it-is-not-the-man-speaking-through-the-woman-it-is-the-woman-speaking/) [Arlene Croce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlene-croce/) > [I know in London a Welsh hairdresser who has striven so vehemently to abolish his accent that he sounds like a man speaking with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/i-know-in-london-a-welsh-hairdresser-who-has-striven-so-vehemently-to/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [Good sense is both the first principal and the parent source of good writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/good-sense-is-both-the-first-principal-and-the-parent-source-of-good/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Horace > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“Finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca loquentis. (To action little, less to words inclinded.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/finxerunt-animi-raro-et-perpauca-loquentis-to-action-little-less-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [No verse can give pleasure for long, nor last, that is written by drinkers of water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/no-verse-can-give-pleasure-for-long-nor-last-that-is-written-by/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Fate with impartial hand turns out the doom of high and low; her capacious urn is constantly shaking the names of all mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/fate-with-impartial-hand-turns-out-the-doom-of-high-and-low-her/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [A word, once sent abroad, flies irrevocably.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/a-word-once-sent-abroad-flies-irrevocably/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“Natales grate numeras? (Do you count your birthdays with gratitude?)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/natales-grate-numeras-do-you-count-your-birthdays-with-gratitude/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [ In a moment comes either death or joyful victory. \[Lat., Horae Momento cita mors venit aut victoria laeta.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/in-a-moment-comes-either-death-or-joyful-victory-lat-horae-momento/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori - It is a sweet and becoming thing to die for ones country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/dulce-et-decorum-est-pro-patria-mori-it-is-a-sweet-and-becoming-thing/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [ Neither men, nor gods, nor booksellers' shelves permit ordinary poets to exist. \[Lat., Mediocribus esse poetis Non homines, non di, non concessere columnae.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/neither-men-nor-gods-nor-booksellers-shelves-permit-ordinary-poets-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Don't yield to that alluring witch, laziness, or else be prepared to surrender all that you have won in your better moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/don-t-yield-to-that-alluring-witch-laziness-or-else-be-prepared-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Avoid inquisitive persons, for they are sure to be gossips, their ears are open to hear, but they will not keep what is entrusted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/avoid-inquisitive-persons-for-they-are-sure-to-be-gossips-their-ears/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“You may drive out Nature with a pitchfork, yet she still will hurry back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/you-may-drive-out-nature-with-a-pitchfork-yet-she-still-will-hurry/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [There is a proper measure in all things, certain limits beyond which and short of which right is not to be found. Who so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/there-is-a-proper-measure-in-all-things-certain-limits-beyond-which/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Never despair while under the guidance and auspices of Teucer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/never-despair-while-under-the-guidance-and-auspices-of-teucer/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Alas, Postumus, the fleeting years slip by, nor will piety give any stay to wrinkles and pressing old age and untamable death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/alas-postumus-the-fleeting-years-slip-by-nor-will-piety-give-any-stay/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) [Explore all 1,000 Horace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) ## More Faces quotes > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [Because the truth is that gossip is as good as gospel in this town. You can save face but you won't ever save your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/because-the-truth-is-that-gossip-is-as-good-as-gospel-in-this-town/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [His fingertips slid down from my face, lightly stroking the line of my neck, down toward my shoulder. Everywhere he touched, a trail of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/his-fingertips-slid-down-from-my-face-lightly-stroking-the-line-of-my/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [I've seen every one, from Motley Crue to John Denver, with tears running down my face. I had no idea everyone had such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-nicks/i-ve-seen-every-one-from-motley-crue-to-john-denver-with-tears/) [Stevie Nicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-nicks/) > [So," I said. "Seems you're going to be stuck with me for a while." He smiled. A real smile that lit up his whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/so-i-said-seems-you-re-going-to-be-stuck-with-me-for-a-while-he/) [Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [If I had a million dollars, I just wouldn't just completely set back. I'd have to get out there and show my face to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muddy-waters/if-i-had-a-million-dollars-i-just-wouldn-t-just-completely-set-back-i/) [Muddy Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muddy-waters/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [If enough money is involved and enough people believe that two plus two equals five the media will report the story with a straight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/if-enough-money-is-involved-and-enough-people-believe-that-two-plus/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [Here comes old Rosie she's looking mighty fine, here comes hot Nancy she's steppin' right on time. There go the street lights bringing on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-seger/here-comes-old-rosie-she-s-looking-mighty-fine-here-comes-hot-nancy/) [Bob Seger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-seger/) > [A face is too slight a foundation for happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wortley-montagu/a-face-is-too-slight-a-foundation-for-happiness/) [Mary Wortley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wortley-montagu/) > [ That's probably why my face was looking so crazy when I was crying \[in "Hardball"\] because it was some real. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-b-jordan/that-s-probably-why-my-face-was-looking-so-crazy-when-i-was-crying-in/) [Michael B. Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-b-jordan/) > [Are we fighting?" I asked Morelli. "No. Were discussing." "Are you sure?" "Am I yelling?" Morelli asked. "Is my face purple? Are the cords…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/are-we-fighting-i-asked-morelli-no-were-discussing-are-you-sure-am-i/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) [Browse all 13,128 Faces quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What prevents a man's speaking good sense with a smile on his face?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Horace" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/what-prevents-a-man-s-speaking-good-sense-with-a-smile-on-his-face/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Faces" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/what-prevents-a-man-s-speaking-good-sense-with-a-smile-on-his-face/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/horace-172_faces_what-prevents-a-man-s-speaking-good-sens_1177233.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/horace-172_faces_what-prevents-a-man-s-speaking-good-sens_1177233.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/horace-172_faces_what-prevents-a-man-s-speaking-good-sens_1177233.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What prevents a man's speaking good sense with a smile on his face?” — Horace", "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": "Horace", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What prevents a man's speaking good...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/what-prevents-a-man-s-speaking-good-sense-with-a-smile-on-his-face/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/what-prevents-a-man-s-speaking-good-sense-with-a-smile-on-his-face/#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 } } ] } ```