...or it is only gossip.

You must see the infinite, i.e., the universal, in your particular, or it is only gossip.

O. W. Holmes, Jr.
(VBA p. 339)

An open mind

An open mind is all very well in its way, but it ought not to be so open that there is no keeping anything in or out of it. It should be capable of shutting its doors sometimes, or it may be found a little drafty.

Samuel Butler (II)
VBA p. 354