• As quoted in The Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations (1896) by Jehiel K̀eeler Hoyt, p. 763
• Édouard Fournier, in L'Espirit dans l'Historie (1867), 3rd edition, Ch. 51, p. 260, disputes the traditional attribution, and suggests various agents of Richelieu might have been the actual author.
• David Hackett Fischer, in Champlain's Dream (2009), Simon & Schuster, p. 704, n. 14, says it's a paraphrase of Quintilian and there is no source closer to Richelieu than Francoise Bertaut's Memoires pour servir à l'histoire d'Anne d'Autriche.
• Variant translations:
• Give me six lines written by the most honest man in the world, and I will find enough in them to hang him.
• Attributed in Dictionary of Foreign Phrases and Classical Quotations (1908) edited by Hugh Percy Jones, p. 327
• If one would give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest man, I would find something in them to have him hanged.
• As quoted in America Debates Privacy Versus Security (2007) by Jeri Freedman
• Give me six lines written by the most honest man, and I will find something there to hang him.
• As quoted in Champlain's Dream (2008), Simon & Schuster, p. 391, by David Hackett Fischer, footnoted with disputation above.
Qu'on me donne six lignes écrites de la main du plus honnête homme, j'y trouverai de quoi le faire pendre.
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Qu'on me donne six lignes écrites de la main du plus honnête homme, j'y trouverai de quoi le faire pendre." in the context of "If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him.
• As quoted in The Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations (1896) by Jehiel K̀eeler Hoyt, p. 763
• Édouard Fournier, in L'Espirit dans l'Historie (1867), 3rd edition, Ch. 51, p. 260, disputes the traditional attribution, and suggests various agents of Richelieu might have been the actual author.
• David Hackett Fischer, in Champlain's Dream (2009), Simon & Schuster, p. 704, n. 14, says it's a paraphrase of Quintilian and there is no source closer to Richelieu than Francoise Bertaut's Memoires pour servir à l'histoire d'Anne d'Autriche.
• Variant translations:
• Give me six lines written by the most honest man in the world, and I will find enough in them to hang him.
• Attributed in Dictionary of Foreign Phrases and Classical Quotations (1908) edited by Hugh Percy Jones, p. 327
• If one would give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest man, I would find something in them to have him hanged.
• As quoted in America Debates Privacy Versus Security (2007) by Jeri Freedman
• Give me six lines written by the most honest man, and I will find something there to hang him.
• As quoted in Champlain's Dream (2008), Simon & Schuster, p. 391, by David Hackett Fischer, footnoted with disputation above." to mean that wisdom is timeless.
About Cardinal Richelieu