Divulge not to thy friend a secret, the secret which thou wouldst conceal from thy foe. When thy friend revealeth a secret unto thee, forget it, and dismiss it from thy mind.

When men reveal unto thee a secret, keep thou dark the relation and also the author.

If thy friend doth transmit a secret by letter, and deemeth thee worthy of his confidence, then destroy the epistle, as though it had never been seen by thee; forget it, and let it depart from thy heart.

When a man tells thee his secret, hide both the secret and him that tells it; hide it as a treasure-trove, and let thy heart for ever be its grave.

When a man reveal a matter, and lay bare a secret, how can he be trusted with silver and gold?

If thou entrust thy secret to another, and he feel in his judgment that he cannot but disclose it, then do not attach to thy friend all the blame, thy own heart was not wide enough to contain it.

If a man's heart be too narrow to keep a secret, but it burneth like a fire in the range, it boots not to guard his mouth with a muzzle, for his tongue and his lips cannot be barred.

A secret not told is thine as a prisoner for ever; once told to thy friend, thou art its prisoner, and thou mayest fall. When thou tellest a hidden secret to another, see that thou make the right choice; for it should never be told unto two; it is for thee to judge who is the one.

A secret between two is locked in the heart; the secret of three is one cried in the street.

Why blame a man for unfolding thy secret, if thine own heart was distressed in keeping it hid? If thou thyself thy secret cannot conceal, why expect another to keep it, seeing that the thing is not his?

Of him who from a friend a secret doth bear to a third, it may be said that from the right path *he hath turned;*¹ =19, the number of lines in this section.] keep, therefore, thy mouth as with a bridle.

footnotes: ¹ ["He hath turned"