“Let your discourse be consistent with your life, that your words may teach no less than your deeds. Speak not to please, but to profit; not to flatter, but to edify. For the tongue of the wise is a tree of life, and the mouth of fools pours out folly.”
— Alcuin of York (c. 735 – 804)
Source: Alcuin of York, Epistolae, in Monumenta Alcuiniana, ed. Ernst Dümmler (Berlin: Weidmann, 1881), 204.
Reflective Question: How can I ensure that my speech reflects both integrity and purpose—serving not just to impress, but to build up others in truth and love?