“The second most deadly instrument of destruction is a loaded gun. The first is the human tongue. The gun merely kills bodies. The tongue kills reputations and oftentimes ruins characters. Each gun works alone; each loaded tongue has hundreds of accomplices. The havoc of the gun is visible at once. The full evil of the tongue lives through all the years beyond what a man might see in his lifetime.”

William George Jordan (1864-1928), writer

“The second most deadly instrument of destruction is a loaded gun. The first is the human tongue. The gun merely kills bodies. The tongue kills reputations and oftentimes ruins characters. Each gun works alone; each loaded tongue has hundreds of accomplices. The havoc of the gun is visible at once. The full evil of the tongue lives through all the years beyond what a man might see in his lifetime.”

William George Jordan (1864-1928), writer