"Your secret is your prisoner; once you reveal it, you become its slave"
- Solomon Ibn Gabriol
About this Quote
This quote by Solomon Ibn Gabriol speaks with the power and weight of concealing. It suggests that when we hold onto a secret, we are in control of it and it is our prisoner. Nevertheless, once we reveal it, we lose that control and end up being shackled to the trick. This can be interpreted in a few various methods. On one hand, it might indicate that by keeping a trick, we have power and control over it, once it is visible, we lose that power and end up being susceptible to the repercussions of the secret. On the other hand, it could also indicate that by keeping a secret, we are continuously strained by the weight of it and when we reveal it, we are devoid of that problem and no longer have to bring it alone. Overall, this quote highlights the importance of bearing in mind the secrets we keep and the potential repercussions of exposing them.
"The whole commerce between master and slave is a perpetual exercise of the most boisterous passions, the most unremitting despotism on the one part, and degrading submissions on the other. Our children see this, and learn to imitate it"