--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Caution is the confidential agent of…" description: "\"Caution is the confidential agent of selfishness.\" — Woodrow Wilson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fa/woodrow-wilson-534_caution_caution-is-the-confidential-agent-of-sel_1566821.png" --- # Caution is the confidential agent of selfishness. ![“Caution is the confidential agent of selfishness.” quote by Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fa/woodrow-wilson-534_caution_caution-is-the-confidential-agent-of-sel_1566821.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fa/woodrow-wilson-534_caution_caution-is-the-confidential-agent-of-sel_1566821.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fa/woodrow-wilson-534_caution_caution-is-the-confidential-agent-of-sel_1566821.png) > “Caution is the confidential agent of selfishness.” [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Selfishness hides behind secrecy, undermining trust. **In simple terms:** Secrecy fuels selfish motives. Key Takeaway Promote transparency to curb selfishness. Themes ethics trust selfishness Mood cautious thoughtful Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - business negotiations - government policy - personal relationships Key Concepts political theory human behavior Questions to Reflect On - How does secrecy affect your decisions? - What benefits arise from openness? A Different Perspective Transparency can expose vulnerabilities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Caution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caution/) [Selfishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfishness/) ## Related quotes > [There was or is always someone somewhere to say the same thing that somebody thought at some time that no one would speak out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anuj-somany/there-was-or-is-always-someone-somewhere-to-say-the-same-thing-that/) [Anuj Somany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anuj-somany/) > [When I was writing 'Kitchen Confidential,' I was in my 40s, I had never paid rent on time, I was 10 years behind on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/when-i-was-writing-kitchen-confidential-i-was-in-my-40s-i-had-never/) [Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/) > [... for nearly 40 years, while producing the now-banned industrial coolants known as PCBs at a local factory, Monsanto Co. routinely discharged toxic waste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-grunwald/for-nearly-40-years-while-producing-the-now-banned-industrial/) [Michael Grunwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-grunwald/) > [“Entirely confidential, check,” Bob said. “And it would take a lot more than one night working with you to build up enough momentum to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/entirely-confidential-check-bob-said-and-it-would-take-a-lot-more/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [Today's biggest headlines are stories about people who thought they were doing something that was secret: Jesse Jackson's secret girlfriend and child, Monica Lewinski's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-haggard/today-s-biggest-headlines-are-stories-about-people-who-thought-they/) [Ted Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-haggard/) > [Brilliant. . . . Marriage Confidential is both laugh-out-loud funny and gasp-out-loud shocking, and nothing less than a Feminine Mystique for our time. Mark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debby-applegate/brilliant-marriage-confidential-is-both-laugh-out-loud-funny-and-gasp/) [Debby Applegate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debby-applegate/) > [The Enemy, who wears her mother's usual face and confidential tone, has access; doubtless stares into her writing case and listens on the phone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/the-enemy-who-wears-her-mother-s-usual-face-and-confidential-tone-has/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [You do not walk into any hearing or committee meeting and reveal confidential communications with the president of the United States, who's entitled to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-sessions/you-do-not-walk-into-any-hearing-or-committee-meeting-and-reveal/) [Jeff Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-sessions/) > [There are, in the King case in particular, e names of confidential informants, persons to whom we promised confidentiality in return for their testimony.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-stokes/there-are-in-the-king-case-in-particular-e-names-of-confidential/) [Louis Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-stokes/) > [He was an author whose works were so well known as to be almost confidential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-walker/he-was-an-author-whose-works-were-so-well-known-as-to-be-almost/) Stanley Walker > [Working on an adaptation is not as satisfying, because it's not your original work: you're interpreting. 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Confidential, and say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-demme/what-i-think-happens-today-is-that-a-lot-of-filmmakers-look-at-other/) [Ted Demme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-demme/) > [I don't really write with living actors in mind. I guess I write for dead actors. I'll think of like, you know, Burt Lancaster…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-helgeland/i-don-t-really-write-with-living-actors-in-mind-i-guess-i-write-for/) [Brian Helgeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-helgeland/) ## More by Woodrow Wilson > [If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if fifteen minutes, three days; if half an hour, two days;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/if-i-am-to-speak-ten-minutes-i-need-a-week-for-preparation-if-fifteen/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [There is here a great melting pot in which we must compound a precious metal. That metal is the metal of nationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/there-is-here-a-great-melting-pot-in-which-we-must-compound-a/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [One cannot pay the price of self-respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/one-cannot-pay-the-price-of-self-respect/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [I would rather lose in a cause that will some day win, than win in a cause that will some day lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/i-would-rather-lose-in-a-cause-that-will-some-day-win-than-win-in-a/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [I have received delegations of working men who, apparently speaking with the utmost sincerity, have declared that they would regard it as a genuine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/i-have-received-delegations-of-working-men-who-apparently-speaking/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [Absolute identity with one's cause is the first and great condition of successful leadership.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/absolute-identity-with-one-s-cause-is-the-first-and-great-condition/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [America cannot be an ostrich with its head in the sand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/america-cannot-be-an-ostrich-with-its-head-in-the-sand/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [...We are intensely proud of their noble record and are glad to have had the whole world see how irresistible they are in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/we-are-intensely-proud-of-their-noble-record-and-are-glad-to-have-had/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [ The facts of the case will always have the better of \[an\] argument. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/the-facts-of-the-case-will-always-have-the-better-of-an-argument/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [The greatest embarrassment of my political career has been that active duties seem to deprive me of time for careful investigation. 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When we resist, therefore, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/the-history-of-liberty-is-the-history-of-limitations-on-the-power-of/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [When I think of the flag… I see alternate strips of parchment upon which are written the rights of liberty and justice, and stripes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/when-i-think-of-the-flag-i-see-alternate-strips-of-parchment-upon/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if an hour, I am ready now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/if-i-am-to-speak-ten-minutes-i-need-a-week-for-preparation-if-an-hour/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [Energy in a nation is like sap in a tree; it rises from bottom up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/energy-in-a-nation-is-like-sap-in-a-tree-it-rises-from-bottom-up/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) [Explore all 492 Woodrow Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) ## More Caution quotes > [Popular culture as a whole is popular, but in today's fragmented market it's a jostle of competing unpopular popular cultures. As the critic Stanley…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/popular-culture-as-a-whole-is-popular-but-in-today-s-fragmented/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [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/) > [“…there’s nothing in this world that demands more caution than the truth. To tell the truth is like leeching one’s own heart...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/there-s-nothing-in-this-world-that-demands-more-caution-than-the/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [ \[D\]on't grow old. With age comes caution, which is another name for cowardice… Whatever else you do in life, don't cultivate a conscience. Without… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesketh-pearson/d-on-t-grow-old-with-age-comes-caution-which-is-another-name-for/) [Hesketh Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesketh-pearson/) > [When I became successful, I put up a caution. I didn't think it was fair to have the shadow of that kind of success…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-redford/when-i-became-successful-i-put-up-a-caution-i-didn-t-think-it-was/) [Robert Redford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-redford/) > [There is one stark fact facing us: three quarters of all crime that results in a caution or sentence happens because of reoffending. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gauke/there-is-one-stark-fact-facing-us-three-quarters-of-all-crime-that/) [David Gauke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gauke/) > [The four cautions: Beware a woman in front of you, beware a horse behind of you, beware a cart beside of you, and beware…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-o-neill/the-four-cautions-beware-a-woman-in-front-of-you-beware-a-horse/) [Jamie O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-o-neill/) > [“Oh ... why not?' he smiled. "This valley is a pleasant spot for meditation. I like New England... it is here that I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/oh-why-not-he-smiled-this-valley-is-a-pleasant-spot-for-meditation-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fear and caution are two different things. Be cautious - be conscious - but do not be fearful. Fear only paralyzes, while consciousness mobilizes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/fear-and-caution-are-two-different-things-be-cautious-be-conscious/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [ “\[U\]se extreme caution, and please remember that 451 degrees Fahrenheit is more than just a book a title…” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammon-shea/u-se-extreme-caution-and-please-remember-that-451-degrees-fahrenheit/) [Ammon Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammon-shea/) > [I often found myself in situations where I had, without thinking, said too much to too many with too little caution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-corey-whaley/i-often-found-myself-in-situations-where-i-had-without-thinking-said/) [John Corey Whaley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-corey-whaley/) > [The future is inherently full of discontinuities, and lessons of the past must be applied with enormous caution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zbigniew-brzezinski/the-future-is-inherently-full-of-discontinuities-and-lessons-of-the/) [Zbigniew Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zbigniew-brzezinski/) > [Every human being has, like Socrates, an attendant spirit; and wise are they who obey its signals. 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Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [“Love everyone but chose your friends with caution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mensah-oteh/love-everyone-but-chose-your-friends-with-caution/) [Mensah Oteh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mensah-oteh/) [Browse all 640 Caution quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caution/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Caution is the confidential agent of selfishness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Woodrow Wilson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/caution-is-the-confidential-agent-of-selfishness/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Caution" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/caution-is-the-confidential-agent-of-selfishness/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fa/woodrow-wilson-534_caution_caution-is-the-confidential-agent-of-sel_1566821.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fa/woodrow-wilson-534_caution_caution-is-the-confidential-agent-of-sel_1566821.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fa/woodrow-wilson-534_caution_caution-is-the-confidential-agent-of-sel_1566821.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Caution is the confidential agent of selfishness.” — Woodrow Wilson", "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": "Woodrow Wilson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Caution is the confidential agent of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/caution-is-the-confidential-agent-of-selfishness/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/caution-is-the-confidential-agent-of-selfishness/#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 } } ] } ```