अप्रियमुक्ताः पुरूषाः प्रयतन्ते द्विगुणम् अप्रियं वक्तुम् ।
तस्मादवाच्यमप्रियमप्रियमश्रोतुकामेन ॥
apriyam uktāḥ purūṣāḥ prayatante dvi-guṇam apriyaṁ vaktum |
tasmād avācyam apriyam apriyam aśrotu-kāmena ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 2192)
“People to whom something unpleasant is spoken [typically] try hard to speak something twice as unpleasant [in response]. Therefore, the unpleasant should not be spoken by one who does not wish to hear the unpleasant.”