Gossip isn’t scandal and it’s not merely malicious. It’s chatter about the human race by lovers of the same.

The world is for thousands a freak show; the images flicker past and vanish.

Attacks on me will do no harm, and silent contempt is the best answer to them.

A false report rides post.

A private sin is not so prejudicial in this world as a public indecency.

It is one thing to slander, another to accuse.

Until you’ve lost your reputation, you never realize what a burden it was or what freedom really is.

Scandal begins where the police leave off.

The purest joy is to live without disguise, unconstrained by the ties of a grave reputation.

Show me someone who never gossips, and I’ll show you someone who isn’t interested in people.

A cruel story runs on wheels, and every hand oils the wheels as they run.

There is a vital force in rumor. Though crushed to earth, to all intents and purposes buried, it can rise again without apparent effort.

Gossip is a sort of smoke that comes from the dirty tobacco pipes of those who diffuse it; it proves nothing but the bad taste of the smoker.