Full Idea
Nothing which a gentleman says can seem worse than the shame of his unsaying it under duress from authority.
Gist of Idea
Nothing we say can be worse than unsaying it in the face of authority
Source
Michel de Montaigne (III.10 On Restraining your Will [1580], p.1153)
Book Reference
Montaigne,Michel de: 'The Complete Essays', ed/tr. Screech,M.A. [Penguin 1987], p.1153
A Reaction
The point is that you have to fight every day for free speech, because no matter what the law says, there are always people in power who want to shut you up.