A word once spoken cannot be retracted even by a team of four horses. This is from The Analects of Confucius, meaning the same as the English idiom that "A word spoken is past recalling." What is said ...

This idiom originates in The Analects of Confucius. It advocates keeping one's promise and being resolute in one's actions. The Confucian school held that a ruler must keep his word and win the trust ...