If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him.

As quoted in The Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations (1896) by Jehiel K̀eeler Hoyt, p. 763 | David Hackett Fischer, in Champlain's Dream (2009), Simon & Schuster, p. 704, n. 14, says it's a paraphrase of Quintilian and there is no source closer to Richelieu than Francoise Bertaut's Memoires pour servir à l'histoire d'Anne d'Autriche. | Give me six lines written by the most honest man in the world, and I will find enough in them to hang him. | Attributed in Dictionary of Foreign Phrases and Classical Quotations (1908) edited by Hugh Percy Jones, p. 327 | If one would give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest man, I would find something in them to have him hanged. | As quoted in America Debates Privacy Versus Security‎ (2007) by Jeri Freedman | Give me six lines written by the most honest man, and I will find something there to hang him. | As quoted in Champlain's Dream‎ (2008), Simon & Schuster, p. 391, by David Hackett Fischer, footnoted with disputation above.

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