Mark Twain wrote a piece that he was afraid to publish. According to his earliest biographers, this was more out of concern for his family than concern for himself. The money that he earned by writing provided for his family. He didn’t want to endanger that income.

Twain wrote a piece called “The War Prayer” which attacked war in general and religious fervor surrounding war in particular. His family feared the piece would be considered sacrilegious. Others around him also discouraged Twain from publishing the piece. When his illustrator, Dan Beard, asked him if he would press ahead and publish “The War Prayer” anyway, Twain replied:

“No, I have told the whole truth in that, and only dead men can tell the truth in this world. It can be published after I am dead.”

Do you agree? Can dead men tell truth in a way that isn’t permitted to the living? Does an author’s death lend strength to his words or do they lose power without his presence to support them?

Is it true that only dead men can tell the truth in this world?

(some information taken from Wikipedia)