True friends stab you in the front? The importance of debate in today’s world

“True friends stab you in the front?” This is a quote most likely to be misattributed to Oscar Wilde. What he wrote instead in The Devoted Friend was: “But what is the good of friendship if one cannot say exactly what one means? Anybody can say charming things and try to please and to flatter, but a true friend always says unpleasant things, and does not mind giving pain.” This is Legal Tales’ 70th and final column. Over 70 columns, we will not have pleased or persuaded every reader, and neve...

By Jose-Antonio Maurellet