The flying rumours gather'd as the roll'd,
Scarce any tale was sooner heard than told;
And all read more

The flying rumours gather'd as the roll'd,
Scarce any tale was sooner heard than told;
And all who told it added something new.
And all who heard it made enlargements too.

An expert gossiper knows how much to leave out of a conversation

An expert gossiper knows how much to leave out of a conversation

Whoever keeps an open ear
For tattlers will be sure to hear
The trumpet of contention.

Whoever keeps an open ear
For tattlers will be sure to hear
The trumpet of contention.

Some report elsewhere whatever is told them; the measure of
fiction always increases, and each fresh narrator adds something read more

Some report elsewhere whatever is told them; the measure of
fiction always increases, and each fresh narrator adds something
to what he has heard.
[Lat., Hi narrata ferunt alio; mensuraque ficti
Crescit et auditus aliquid novus adjicit auctor.]

Count not him among your friends who will retail your privacies to the world.

Count not him among your friends who will retail your privacies to the world.

Gossip needn't be false to be evil - there's a lot of truth that shouldn't be passed around.

Gossip needn't be false to be evil - there's a lot of truth that shouldn't be passed around.

It is perfectly monstrous the way people go about nowadayssaying things against one, behind one's back, that are absolutely and read more

It is perfectly monstrous the way people go about nowadayssaying things against one, behind one's back, that are absolutely and entirely true.

Gossip is what no one claims to like -- but everyone enjoys.

Gossip is what no one claims to like -- but everyone enjoys.

What is this the sound and rumor? What is this that all men hear, Like the wind in hollow valleys read more

What is this the sound and rumor? What is this that all men hear, Like the wind in hollow valleys when the storm is drawing near, Like the rolling of the ocean in the eventide of fear? 'Tis the people marching on