--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Little secrets are commonly told again…" description: "\"Little secrets are commonly told again, but great ones generally kept.\" — Lord Chesterfield" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47c/lord-chesterfield-757_great-ones_little-secrets-are-commonly-told-again-b_2384774.jpg" --- # Little secrets are commonly told again, but great ones… ![“Little secrets are commonly told again, but great ones generally kept.” quote by Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47c/lord-chesterfield-757_great-ones_little-secrets-are-commonly-told-again-b_2384774.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47c/lord-chesterfield-757_great-ones_little-secrets-are-commonly-told-again-b_2384774.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47c/lord-chesterfield-757_great-ones_little-secrets-are-commonly-told-again-b_2384774.jpg) > “Little secrets are commonly told again, but great ones generally kept.” [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Valuable knowledge is shared openly, while truly profound insights are guarded. **In simple terms:** Important secrets are kept hidden. Key Takeaway Protect and cherish deep wisdom. Themes knowledge secrecy wisdom Mood thoughtful cautious Type philosophical advisory When to use this quote - teaching - leadership - confidential negotiations - strategic planning Key Concepts Intellectual humility information hierarchy Questions to Reflect On - What knowledge should be shared widely? - When is secrecy justified? A Different Perspective Overprotecting secrets can hinder collective progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Commonly Told](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commonly-told-5918495/) [Generally Kept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generally-kept-5918496/) [Great ones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-ones/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Little Secrets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-secrets-865078/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Secrets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secrets/) [Secrets Commonly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secrets-commonly-5918494/) ## Related quotes > [“I don’t know why I feel so compelled to tell Olivia all my dirty little secrets, but I do”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-leighton/i-don-t-know-why-i-feel-so-compelled-to-tell-olivia-all-my-dirty/) [M. Leighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-leighton/) > [Little minds mistake little objects for great ones, and lavish away upon the former that time and attention which only the latterdeserve. To such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/little-minds-mistake-little-objects-for-great-ones-and-lavish-away/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [One of the dirty little secrets of my job is that I don't do ANY food or cooking shows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-stuever/one-of-the-dirty-little-secrets-of-my-job-is-that-i-don-t-do-any-food/) [Hank Stuever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-stuever/) > [people like to keep their little secrets to themselves. It's like growing mushrooms in the cellar and running down to take a look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-kellogg/people-like-to-keep-their-little-secrets-to-themselves-it-s-like/) [Marjorie Kellogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-kellogg/) > [We are often jealous of our little secrets, though to another ear they generally convey neither profit nor entertainment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eden-phillpotts/we-are-often-jealous-of-our-little-secrets-though-to-another-ear-they/) [Eden Phillpotts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eden-phillpotts/) > [“We all have our little secrets, and as long as they're harmless, who really cares? With time, the secrets often go away and things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grisham/we-all-have-our-little-secrets-and-as-long-as-they-re-harmless-who/) [John Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grisham/) > [“Some of them will welcome me as small boys do a teacher, telling me the little secrets better to conceal the big ones.For I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talbot-mundy/some-of-them-will-welcome-me-as-small-boys-do-a-teacher-telling-me/) [Talbot Mundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talbot-mundy/) > [Little secrets can create bigger problems. Just be real, honest and remain loyal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/little-secrets-can-create-bigger-problems-just-be-real-honest-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The two of us locked up our own little secrets from the real world. We had experienced countless sleepless nights when we would share…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-sehyun-song/the-two-of-us-locked-up-our-own-little-secrets-from-the-real-world-we/) [Erica Sehyun Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-sehyun-song/) > [A miserable collection of little secrets, that's all any of us is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-musso/a-miserable-collection-of-little-secrets-that-s-all-any-of-us-is/) [Guillaume Musso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillaume-musso/) > [“No mother and daughter in Perdido were closer than Mary Love Caskey and Sister. But it was not to be supposed that either told…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mcdowell/no-mother-and-daughter-in-perdido-were-closer-than-mary-love-caskey/) [Michael McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mcdowell/) > [Maybe all of us at Hailsam had little secrets like that -- little private nooks created out of thin air where we could go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/maybe-all-of-us-at-hailsam-had-little-secrets-like-that-little/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [I love my stuff - you're not supposed to say that. But because I'm performer as well as a writer, I'm constantly interacting with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-robert-brown/i-love-my-stuff-you-re-not-supposed-to-say-that-but-because-i-m/) [Jason Robert Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-robert-brown/) > [Liberating but hard to remember we're just bit-parts in the lives of people we know, who care very little for our secrets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derren-brown/liberating-but-hard-to-remember-we-re-just-bit-parts-in-the-lives-of/) [Derren Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derren-brown/) > [Women, and young men, are very apt to tell what secrets they know, from the vanity of having been trusted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/women-and-young-men-are-very-apt-to-tell-what-secrets-they-know-from/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) ## More by Lord Chesterfield > [Cultivate the habit of thinking ahead, and of anticipating the necessary and immediate consequences of all your actions… Likewise in your pleasures, ask yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/cultivate-the-habit-of-thinking-ahead-and-of-anticipating-the/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [No woman ever yet either reasoned or acted long together consequentially; but some little thing, some love, some resentment, somepresent momentary interest, some supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/no-woman-ever-yet-either-reasoned-or-acted-long-together/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [I am in the pitiable situation of feeling all the force of temptation without having the strength to succumb to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/i-am-in-the-pitiable-situation-of-feeling-all-the-force-of-temptation/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Mankind is made up of inconsistencies, and no man acts invariably up to his predominant character. The wisest man sometimes acts weakly, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/mankind-is-made-up-of-inconsistencies-and-no-man-acts-invariably-up/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Compliments of congratulation are always kindly taken, and cost nothing but pen, ink and paper. I consider them as draughts upon good breeding, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/compliments-of-congratulation-are-always-kindly-taken-and-cost/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [The insolent civility of a proud man is, if possible, more shocking than his rudeness could be; because he shows you, by his manner,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/the-insolent-civility-of-a-proud-man-is-if-possible-more-shocking/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [“Secret thoughts and an open countenance will take you safely the world over”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/secret-thoughts-and-an-open-countenance-will-take-you-safely-the/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Virtue and learning, like gold, have their intrinsic value: but if they are not polished, they certainly lose a great deal of their luster:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/virtue-and-learning-like-gold-have-their-intrinsic-value-but-if-they/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Knowledge is a comfortable and necessary retreat and shelter for us in an advanced age; and if we do not plant it while young,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/knowledge-is-a-comfortable-and-necessary-retreat-and-shelter-for-us/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Promptness is the soul of business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/promptness-is-the-soul-of-business/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Style is the dress of thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/style-is-the-dress-of-thoughts/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [It is commonly said that ridicule is the best test of truth; for that it will not stick where it is not just. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/it-is-commonly-said-that-ridicule-is-the-best-test-of-truth-for-that/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [There is hardly any place or any company where you may not gain knowledge, if you please; almost everybody knows some one thing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/there-is-hardly-any-place-or-any-company-where-you-may-not-gain/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Assurance and intrepidity, under the white banner of seeming modesty, clear the way for merit, that would otherwise be discouraged by difficulties...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/assurance-and-intrepidity-under-the-white-banner-of-seeming-modesty/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [“Many a man would rather you heard his story than grant his request.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/many-a-man-would-rather-you-heard-his-story-than-grant-his-request/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) [Explore all 378 Lord Chesterfield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) ## More Great ones quotes > [Alien's a great one. That's a scary movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judd-nelson/alien-s-a-great-one-that-s-a-scary-movie/) [Judd Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judd-nelson/) > [There are people that I am in love with, totally in love with them. I would die for them. I love Michelangelo. I love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/there-are-people-that-i-am-in-love-with-totally-in-love-with-them-i/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [The great ones are about winning and winning only.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skip-bayless/the-great-ones-are-about-winning-and-winning-only/) [Skip Bayless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skip-bayless/) > [Ruth and I don't have a perfect marriage, but we have a great one. How can I say two things that seem so contradictory?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/ruth-and-i-don-t-have-a-perfect-marriage-but-we-have-a-great-one-how/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [This party spirit has so ill an effect on our morals, it has likewise a very great one upon our judgments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/this-party-spirit-has-so-ill-an-effect-on-our-morals-it-has-likewise/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“Great is a great one whose great ones are great”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stein/great-is-a-great-one-whose-great-ones-are-great/) [John Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stein/) > [Certainly we're always rooting for our particular contingent moment to be a great one. Pain-free. But the more expansive vision has to include the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/certainly-we-re-always-rooting-for-our-particular-contingent-moment/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The chief secret of comfort lies in not suffering trifles to vex us, and in prudently cultivating our undergrowth of small pleasures, since very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-sharp/the-chief-secret-of-comfort-lies-in-not-suffering-trifles-to-vex-us/) [Richard Sharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-sharp/) > [Jesus was a brilliant Jewish stand-up comedian, a phenomenal improviser. His parables are great one-liners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/jesus-was-a-brilliant-jewish-stand-up-comedian-a-phenomenal/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [Directing requires great discipline, that ability to be in and out at the same time. The great ones I've worked with are like generals.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/directing-requires-great-discipline-that-ability-to-be-in-and-out-at/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [The truth is that Ron is my hero. He's always there for his friends - sometimes belligerently, but there nevertheless. He's also the comic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-grint/the-truth-is-that-ron-is-my-hero-he-s-always-there-for-his-friends/) [Rupert Grint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-grint/) > [As the few adepts in such things well know, universal morality is to be found in little everyday penny-events just as much as in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/as-the-few-adepts-in-such-things-well-know-universal-morality-is-to/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [An acknowledged love sanctifies every little freedom; and little freedoms beget great ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-richardson/an-acknowledged-love-sanctifies-every-little-freedom-and-little/) [Samuel Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-richardson/) > [Fishes live in the sea, as men do a-land; the great ones eat up the little ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/fishes-live-in-the-sea-as-men-do-a-land-the-great-ones-eat-up-the/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There are very few real teachers. Teaching is not a job; it is a vocation. To be a great one many qualities must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-von-hildebrand/there-are-very-few-real-teachers-teaching-is-not-a-job-it-is-a/) [Alice von Hildebrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-von-hildebrand/) [Browse all 182 Great ones quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-ones/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Little secrets are commonly told again, but great ones generally kept.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lord Chesterfield" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/little-secrets-are-commonly-told-again-but-great-ones-generally-kept/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Great ones" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/little-secrets-are-commonly-told-again-but-great-ones-generally-kept/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47c/lord-chesterfield-757_great-ones_little-secrets-are-commonly-told-again-b_2384774.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47c/lord-chesterfield-757_great-ones_little-secrets-are-commonly-told-again-b_2384774.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47c/lord-chesterfield-757_great-ones_little-secrets-are-commonly-told-again-b_2384774.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Little secrets are commonly told again, but great ones generally kept.” — Lord Chesterfield", "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": "Lord Chesterfield", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Little secrets are commonly told again,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/little-secrets-are-commonly-told-again-but-great-ones-generally-kept/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/little-secrets-are-commonly-told-again-but-great-ones-generally-kept/#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 } } ] } ```