In nine times out of ten, the slanderous tongue belongs to a disappointed person. – George Bancroft
Slander is a poison which kills charity, both in the slanderer and the one who listens. – St. Bernard
I am not going to spend any time whatsoever in attacking the Foreign Secretary. If we complain about the tune, there is no reason to attack the monkey when the organ grinder is present. – Aneurin Bevan
Backbite. To speak of a man as you find him when he cant find you. – Ambrose Bierce
Never offend people with style when you can offend them with substance. – Sam Brown
An injury is much sooner forgotten than an insult. – Lord Chesterfield
Men are apt to offend (tis true) where they find most goodness to forgive. – William Congreve
Calumny is only the noise of madmen. – Diogenes
It is not he who gives abuse that affronts, but the view that we take of it as insulting; so that when one provokes you it is your own opinion which is provoking. – Epictetus
Write your injuries in dust, your benefits in marble. – Benjamin Franklin
I am about courting a girl I have had but little acquaintance with. How shall I come to a knowledge of her faults, and whether she has the virtues I imagine she has? Answer. Commend her among her female acquaintances. – Benjamin Franklin
The first human being who hurled an insult instead of a stone was the founder of civilization. – Sigmund Freud
A generous confession disarms slander. – Thomas Fuller
No one can be as calculatedly rude as the British, which amazes Americans, who do not understand studied insult and can only offer abuse as a substitute. – Paul Gallico
You will find that silence or very gentle words are the most exquisite revenge for insult. – Judge Hall
The best way to procure insults is to submit to them. – William Hazlitt
