--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The epitaph that I would write for…" description: "\"The epitaph that I would write for history would say: I conceal nothing. It is not enough not to lie. One should strive not to lie in a negative sense ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ef/leo-tolstoy-55_conceal_the-epitaph-that-i-would-write-for-histo_498074.png" --- # The epitaph that I would write for history would say: I… ![“The epitaph that I would write for history would say: I conceal nothing. It is not enough not to lie. One should strive not to lie in a negative sense by remaining silent.” quote by Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ef/leo-tolstoy-55_conceal_the-epitaph-that-i-would-write-for-histo_498074.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ef/leo-tolstoy-55_conceal_the-epitaph-that-i-would-write-for-histo_498074.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ef/leo-tolstoy-55_conceal_the-epitaph-that-i-would-write-for-histo_498074.png) > “The epitaph that I would write for history would say: I conceal nothing. It is not enough not to lie. One should strive not to lie in a negative sense by remaining silent.” [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Truth demands full disclosure; silence can be a form of deceit. **In simple terms:** Being honest means speaking truth, not just avoiding lies. Key Takeaway Speak openly, avoid harmful silence. Themes honesty integrity communication Mood reflective serious Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - journalism - politics - legal testimony Key Concepts ethical responsibility truthfulness Questions to Reflect On - When does silence protect others? - Is all silence deceitful? A Different Perspective Silence may protect privacy or safety; not all secrets are harmful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conceal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceal/) [Conceal Lie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceal-lie-2607218/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Epitaph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epitaph/) [Epitaph Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epitaph-write-4247736/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Lie Negative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lie-negative-4247735/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Negative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negative/) [Remaining silent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remaining-silent/) [Say Conceal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-conceal-4247734/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Silent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silent/) [Strive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strive/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [All confidence which is not absolute and entire, is dangerous. There are few occasions but where a man ought either to say all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-beaumont/all-confidence-which-is-not-absolute-and-entire-is-dangerous-there/) [Francis Beaumont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-beaumont/) > [“There is no moment in which we say good-bye, there is no finality as he slips into peacefulness, he simply leaves us, and though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-o-donnell/there-is-no-moment-in-which-we-say-good-bye-there-is-no-finality-as/) [Lisa O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-o-donnell/) > [Whoever criticizes capitalism, while approving immigration, whose working class is its first victim, had better shut up. Whoever criticizes immigration, while remaining silent about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-benoist/whoever-criticizes-capitalism-while-approving-immigration-whose/) [Alain de Benoist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-benoist/) > [I'm intrigued that the same letters from the alphabet are used in the word silent and in the word listen. Perhaps it's evidence that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-herjavec/i-m-intrigued-that-the-same-letters-from-the-alphabet-are-used-in-the/) [Robert Herjavec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-herjavec/) > [Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/sometimes-one-creates-a-dynamic-impression-by-saying-something-and/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“Humans were capable of incredible cruelty, our father wanted me, my sister, and my brothers to understand. And just as dangerous, he made us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/humans-were-capable-of-incredible-cruelty-our-father-wanted-me-my/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [“You can quicker get back a million dollars that was stolen than a word that you gave away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/you-can-quicker-get-back-a-million-dollars-that-was-stolen-than-a/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [“Silence does not mean remaining silent both in speech and on paper. You can keep your mouth shut while communicating thousands of words to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/silence-does-not-mean-remaining-silent-both-in-speech-and-on-paper/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [“Only the person who is essentially capable of remaining silent is capable of speaking essentially.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kierkegaard/only-the-person-who-is-essentially-capable-of-remaining-silent-is/) [Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kierkegaard/) > [Sadly, the same leaders who call on Palestinians to abandon violence have been silent in the face of Israeli repression. By condemning violent Palestinian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yousef-munayyer/sadly-the-same-leaders-who-call-on-palestinians-to-abandon-violence/) [Yousef Munayyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yousef-munayyer/) > [“It's odd," the Warrior of the Light says to himself. "I have met so many people who, at the first opportunity, try to show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-s-odd-the-warrior-of-the-light-says-to-himself-i-have-met-so-many/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Then one day I realized that a false picture of the German camps had been created and that the problem of the concentration camps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rassinier/then-one-day-i-realized-that-a-false-picture-of-the-german-camps-had/) [Paul Rassinier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rassinier/) > [Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremiah/even-a-fool-when-he-holdeth-his-peace-is-counted-wise/) [Jeremiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremiah/) > [silence is the language of god, all else is poor translation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/silence-is-the-language-of-god-all-else-is-poor-translation/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“Take responsibility. Just as you can't deny that you can feel love and hate, happiness and sadness, anger and ease of mind, or tiredness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/najwa-zebian/take-responsibility-just-as-you-can-t-deny-that-you-can-feel-love-and/) [Najwa Zebian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/najwa-zebian/) ## More by Leo Tolstoy > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The only significance of life consists in helping to establish the kingdom of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-only-significance-of-life-consists-in-helping-to-establish-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Energy rests upon love; and come as it will, there's no forcing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/energy-rests-upon-love-and-come-as-it-will-there-s-no-forcing-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“If you only knew what those society women are, and women in general! My father is right. Selfish, vain, stupid, trivial in everything—that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/if-you-only-knew-what-those-society-women-are-and-women-in-general-my/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To speak of it would be giving importance to that which has none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-speak-of-it-would-be-giving-importance-to-that-which-has-none/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Once we're thrown off our habitual paths, we think all is lost, but it's only here that the new and the good begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/once-we-re-thrown-off-our-habitual-paths-we-think-all-is-lost-but-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“He knew she was there by the rapture and the terror that seized on his heart. She was standing talking to a lady at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-knew-she-was-there-by-the-rapture-and-the-terror-that-seized-on/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Rest, nature, books, music...such is my idea of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/rest-nature-books-music-such-is-my-idea-of-happiness/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“He was not to blame for being born with an irrepressible charachter and a mind some how constrained.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-was-not-to-blame-for-being-born-with-an-irrepressible-charachter/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [I ask one thing only: I ask for the right to hope, to suffer as I do. But if even that cannot be, command…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-ask-one-thing-only-i-ask-for-the-right-to-hope-to-suffer-as-i-do/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The idea shared by many that life is a vale of tears is just as false as the idea shared by the great majority,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-idea-shared-by-many-that-life-is-a-vale-of-tears-is-just-as-false/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To say that a work of art is good, but incomprehensible to the majority of men, is the same as saying of some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-say-that-a-work-of-art-is-good-but-incomprehensible-to-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [True life is lived when tiny changes occur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/true-life-is-lived-when-tiny-changes-occur/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) [Explore all 1,754 Leo Tolstoy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## More Conceal quotes > [We reveal our joys and successes, we conceal our pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/we-reveal-our-joys-and-successes-we-conceal-our-pain/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [It requires as much to tell the truth as to conceal it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/it-requires-as-much-to-tell-the-truth-as-to-conceal-it/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [The more identities a man has, the more they express the person they conceal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/the-more-identities-a-man-has-the-more-they-express-the-person-they/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [It is always a poor way of reading the hearts of others to try to conceal our own. \[Fr., C'est toujours un mauvais moyen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/it-is-always-a-poor-way-of-reading-the-hearts-of-others-to-try-to/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Nothing more powerfully excites any affection than to conceal some part of its object, by throwing it into a kind of shade, whichat the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/nothing-more-powerfully-excites-any-affection-than-to-conceal-some/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [When you got nothing, you got nothin' to lose You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/when-you-got-nothing-you-got-nothin-to-lose-you-re-invisible-now-you/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Speech was given to the ordinary sort or men, whereby to communicate their mind; but to wise men, whereby to conceal it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-south/speech-was-given-to-the-ordinary-sort-or-men-whereby-to-communicate/) [Robert South](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-south/) > [Our friends don't see our faults, or conceal them, or soften them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/our-friends-don-t-see-our-faults-or-conceal-them-or-soften-them/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [There are some occasions in which a man must tell half his secret, in order to conceal the rest: but there is seldom one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/there-are-some-occasions-in-which-a-man-must-tell-half-his-secret-in/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [It is art to conceal art. -Ars est celare artem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-art-to-conceal-art-ars-est-celare-artem/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [The greatest part of our faults are more excusable than the methods that are commonly taken to conceal them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/the-greatest-part-of-our-faults-are-more-excusable-than-the-methods/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Everyone can know what is in my heart because I find it hard to conceal myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/everyone-can-know-what-is-in-my-heart-because-i-find-it-hard-to/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [The same words conceal and declare the thoughts of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-same-words-conceal-and-declare-the-thoughts-of-men/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [A woman, especially, if she have the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/a-woman-especially-if-she-have-the-misfortune-of-knowing-anything/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Men conceal the past scenes of their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/men-conceal-the-past-scenes-of-their-lives/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) [Browse all 128 Conceal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The epitaph that I would write for history would say: I conceal nothing. 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