The senate has a standing rule never to discuss a matter on the same day when it was first introduced; all new business is deferred to the next meeting. They do this so that a man will not blurt out the first thought that occurs to him, and then devote all his energies to defending those foolish impulses, instead of considering impartially the public good. They know that some men would rather jeopardize the welfare of the state than admit to having been heedless and shortsighted — so perverse and preposterous is their sense of pride. They should have had enough foresight at the beginning to speak with prudence rather than haste.
[Quin id quoque moris habet senatus, ut nihil, quo die primum proponitur, eodem disputetur. sed in sequentem senatum differatur, ne quis ubi quod in buccam primum uenerit, temere effutierit, ea potius excogitet postea, quibus decreta tueatur sua, quam quae ex reipublicae usu sint. malitque salutis publicae, quam opinionis de se iacturam facere, peruerso quodam ac praepostero pudore, ne initio parum prospexisse uideatur. Cui prospiciendum initio fuit, ut consulto potius, quam cito loqueretur.]
Thomas More (1478-1535) English lawyer, social philosopher, statesman, humanist, Christian martyr
Utopia, Book 2, ch. 3 “Of Their Magistrates” (1518 ed.) [tr. Adams (1992 ed.)]
More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/more-thomas/85255/
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