Daily Inspiration Quote by John Tillotson

Tillotson draws a shrewd moral ledger, and he balances it with a Puritan accountant's calm: praise is "an easy obligation", but refraining from harm is cheaper still. The line works because it demotes virtue from heroic performance to basic hygiene. You do not need eloquence, charisma, or even sincerity to meet the minimum standard of decency; sometimes all that's required is to stop yourself from becoming the conduit for someone else's humiliation.

The subtext is a quiet indictment of social pleasure. Speaking ill is rarely framed as cruelty in the moment; it masquerades as wit, intimacy, even civic duty ("I'm just being honest"). Tillotson punctures that self-justification by pointing out how little sacrifice is involved in abstaining. Silence "costs us nothing" is less comfort than accusation: if restraint is free, what does it say about us when we still choose the cheap thrill of disparagement?

Context matters. As a late-17th-century Anglican divine and Archbishop of Canterbury in the wake of civil war, Restoration backlash, and sectarian suspicion, Tillotson preached a Christianity of moderation and public order. Words were not merely personal expression; they were social forces that could inflame factions, damage reputations in tight communities, and corrode trust. The quote carries that pastoral pragmatism: curb the tongue, reduce the temperature, keep the peace.

Read now, it feels eerily tailored to the economics of modern attention. Outrage and gossip are monetized; silence is framed as weakness. Tillotson insists it's often the most ethical bargain you'll ever make.