Quote of the day by Cicero: 'If we are not ashamed to think it, we should not be ashamed to say it'

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BCE) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, philosopher, and one of history's greatest orators A boardroom full of executives sits in silence, agreeing with an aggressive expansion plan that several of them privately believe will fail. Each person can see the serious problems, but no one chooses to speak.This gap between what people think and what they say creates a culture of silent agreement. It is this kind of self-censorship that the Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero criticized when he wrote: “If we are not ashamed to think it, we should not be ashamed to say it.” (Si non pudet quia cogitatur, ne subeat quidem pudor quia dicitur.)In simple terms, Cicero argues that our thoughts and words should match. If an idea passes your own moral judgment, staying silent because of fear, social pressure, or a desire to avoid conflict is a failure of courage. His words remain a challenge to empty politeness, political posturing, and silence in the face of truth.A letter to a friend in a collapsing RepublicCicero wrote these words in his Epistulae ad Familiares (Letters to Friends), a collection of private letters written during the final years of the Roman Republic ...