Secrets. Seneca, Epistulae 1.3.3-4

Try to avoid secrets. When they appear, know how to share with friends without inviting the whole world. That being said, it is nobler to trust too much rather than too little. You can hear me read this passage <here>.

Tu quidem ita vive ut nihil tibi committas nisi quod committere etiam inimico tuo possis; sed quia interveniunt quaedam quae consuetudo fecit arcana, cum amico omnes curas, omnes cogitationes tuas misce. Fidelem si putaveris, facies; nam quidam fallere docuerunt dum timent falli, et illi ius peccandi suspicando fecerunt. Quid est quare ego ulla verba coram amico meo retraham? quid est quare me coram illo non putem solum? Quidam quae tantum amicis committenda sunt obviis narrant, et in quaslibet aures quidquid illos urit exonerant; quidam rursus etiam carissimorum conscientiam reformidant et, si possent, ne sibi quidem credituri interius premunt omne secretum. Neutrum faciendum est; utrumque enim vitium est, et omnibus credere et nulli, sed alterum honestius dixerim vitium, alterum tutius.

Live in such fashion that you share nothing, not even with yourself, that you could not share with an enemy. But when something normally secret crops up, then invite your friend to partake in all your worries, all your thoughts. If you deem him faithful, you will make him so. But some teach associates to betray them because they fear to be betrayed, making their own suspicion of fault an occasion and justification for it. Why would I hold back any words in the presence of my friend? What reason is there for me to suspect, in his presence, that I am not alone? Of course some people take things that should remain with friends and broadcast them to all and sundry, pouring out anything that itches them into whatever ears they find. Meanwhile, other folk fear the confidence of those dearest to them and would repress every secret deeper, if they could, not trusting even themselves. Neither method is for us, and both are vices: trusting all and trusting nobody. Of the two, I would say that the first is more honest, the second safer.