Keep your words sweet – you may have to eat them sometime.
There is one very similar subhashita in Sanskrit, which always been my favorite.
प्रियवाक्यप्रदानेन सर्वे तुश्यंति जंतवः | तस्मात्तदेव वक्तव्यं वचने का दरीद्रता ||
(To read: priyavAkyapradAnEna sarvE tushanti jantavah tasmattadEva vaktavyam vachanE ka darIdratA )
All living creatures love listening to you, if you talk sweet. So why poverty of sweet words ?
purAnamityeva na sAdhu sarvam , na chApi kAvyam navamityavadyam
santaha parikshatart bhajante, muDhah parapratyayena buddhihi
पुरणमित्येव न साधु सर्वं न चापि काव्यं नवमित्यवद्यं |
सनः परीक्श्तरत भजन्ते मूढः परप्रत्ययेन बुद्दिः ||
– Unknown
Can be interpreted as :
Concepts need not be valid just because they are told in books (holy books especially ;-))), mythologies etc. Nor things are right if they are modern. Gentlemen test and then trust, fools believe what is told and written.
I don’t remember who wrote it, guess it is Brutruharai. This is the best spelling I can give for the quote here. If anyone finds better please comment. And also if you find a similar one.
Quote is quite relevant. People when can not justify what they are practicing and what they believe, just hold some outdated books responsible. “Since it is written in…”
The Bach 