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Let a defect, which is possibly but small, appear undisguised.
A fault concealed is presumed to be great.

— Martial Epigrams (104)

Simpliciter pateat vitium fortasse pusillum:
Quod tegitur, magnum creditur esse malum

Original text (Latin)

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Variants

Conceal a flaw, and the world will imagine the worst.

More quotes by Martial

Life is not living, but living in health.

Epigrams (104)

Virtue extends our days: he lives two lives who relives his past with pleasure.

Epigrams (104)

Believe me, wise men don't say ‘I shall live to do that’, tomorrow's life is too late; live today.

Epigrams (104)

The African lions rush to attack bulls; they do not attack butterflies.

Joys do not stay, but take wing and fly away.

All Martial quotes →

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Martial (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.