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 People when can not justify what they are practicing and what they believe, just hold some outdated books responsible.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…”
