One man came to Socrates and asked: “Do you know what your friend told me about you?” “Wait,” Socrates stopped him, “First sift what you are going to say through three sieves.” - Three sieves? “Before you say anything, you need to sift it three times.” First, through the sieve of truth. Are you sure what you say is true? - No. I just heard... - Very good. So you don't know if it's true or not. Then we will sift through the second sieve - the sieve of kindness. Do you want to say something good about my friend? - No! Against! “So,” Socrates continued, “you’re going to say something bad about him, but you’re not even sure that it’s true.” Let's try the third sieve - the sieve of benefit. Do I really need to hear what you have to say? - No, this is not necessary. “So,” Socrates concluded, “there is no goodness, no benefit, no necessity in what you want to say.” Why talk then?...
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru