"Depart from discretion when it interferes with duty"
About this Quote
Polite restraint is overrated when it becomes a moral alibi. Hannah More's line is a neat piece of ethical dynamite: it gives you permission to stop confusing "good judgment" with "goodness". Discretion, in her formulation, isn't wisdom; it's often the social lubricant that keeps conflict from surfacing, reputations intact, injustices undisturbed. The quote works because it identifies the most seductive enemy of duty: not vice, but prudence.
More wrote in a world where "discretion" was a prized survival skill, especially for women and for anyone navigating the tight hierarchies of Georgian Britain. She moved between elite circles and evangelical reform, championing moral education and philanthropy while policing manners and conduct. That tension sits inside the sentence. It's not a call to be reckless; it's a warning that caution can become complicity. When discretion interferes, it's no longer a virtue but a mask worn by fear: fear of being thought unladylike, of losing access, of making the room uncomfortable.
The subtext is almost managerial: triage your values. If there's a collision between appearing sensible and doing what's right, choose the latter and accept the social cost. That's why the aphorism still lands. It speaks to every workplace "let's not rock the boat", every family silence around harm, every institutional instinct to handle problems quietly. More is telling you the quiet option is rarely neutral.
More wrote in a world where "discretion" was a prized survival skill, especially for women and for anyone navigating the tight hierarchies of Georgian Britain. She moved between elite circles and evangelical reform, championing moral education and philanthropy while policing manners and conduct. That tension sits inside the sentence. It's not a call to be reckless; it's a warning that caution can become complicity. When discretion interferes, it's no longer a virtue but a mask worn by fear: fear of being thought unladylike, of losing access, of making the room uncomfortable.
The subtext is almost managerial: triage your values. If there's a collision between appearing sensible and doing what's right, choose the latter and accept the social cost. That's why the aphorism still lands. It speaks to every workplace "let's not rock the boat", every family silence around harm, every institutional instinct to handle problems quietly. More is telling you the quiet option is rarely neutral.
Quote Details
| Topic | Ethics & Morality |
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