Men are disposed to live honestly, if the means of doing so are open to them.
—Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American Head of State, Lawyer
The trite saying that honesty is the best policy has met with the just criticism that honesty is not policy. The real honest man is honest from conviction of what is right, not from policy.
—Robert E. Lee (1807–70) American Military Leader, Engineer
He that loseth his honesty hath nothing else to lose.
—John Lyly (1554–1606) English Dramatist, Novelist, Writer
When you accept yourself completely you do not have to maintain a phony front, drive yourself to “achieve” or feel insecure if people tune-in to you and what you are doing.
—Ken Keyes, Jr. (1921–95) American Motivational Speaker, Author, Lecturer
The true measure of life is not length, but honesty.
—John Lyly (1554–1606) English Dramatist, Novelist, Writer
Private and public life are subject to the same rules; and truth and manliness are two qualities that will carry you through this world much better than policy, or tact, or expediency, or any other word that was ever devised to conceal or mystify a deviation from the straight line.
—Robert E. Lee (1807–70) American Military Leader, Engineer
Many people today don’t want honest answers insofar as honest means unpleasant or disturbing. They want a soft answer that turneth away anxiety.
—Louis Kronenberger (1904–80) American Critic, Novelist, Biographer, Dramatist
Honesty is better than any policy.
—Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) Prussian German Philosopher, Logician
Confession is always weakness. The grave soul keeps its own secrets, and takes its own punishment in silence.
—Dorothy Dix (1861–1951) American Journalist, Columnist
Like all valuable commodities, truth is often counterfeited.
—James Gibbons (1834–1921) American Catholic Religious Leader, Clergyman
An honest man’s the noblest work of God.
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744) English Poet
Everybody has a little bit of Watergate in him.
—Billy Graham (1918-91) American Baptist Religious Leader
Honesty is for the most part less profitable than dishonesty.
—Plato (428BCE–347BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Mathematician, Educator
A few honest men are better than numbers.
—Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658) British Head of State, Military Leader
Almost any difficulty will move in the face of honesty. When I am honest I never feel stupid. And when I am honest I am automatically humble.
—Hugh Prather (1938–2010) American Christian Author, Minister, Counselor
It is not the criminal things that are hardest to confess, but the ridiculous and the shameful.
—Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78) Swiss Philosopher, Writer, Composer
To believe all men honest would be folly. To believe none so, is something worse.
—John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) American Head of State, Lawyer
Honesty: The ability to resist small temptations.
—John Ciardi (1916–86) American Poet, Teacher, Etymologist, Translator
The darkest hour in the history of any young man is when he sits down to study how to get money without honestly earning it.
—Horace Greeley (1811–72) American Elected Rep, Politician, Reformer, Editor
When the thief has no opportunity to steal he considers himself an honest man.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
The hardest tumble a man can make is to fall over his own bluff.
—Ambrose Bierce (1842–1913) American Editor, Journalist, Short Story Writer, Satirist
The truth is the only thing worth having, and, in a civilized life, like ours, where so many risks are removed, facing it is almost the only courageous thing left to do.
—E. V. Lucas (1868–1938) English Author, Historian
I saved a girl from being attacked last night. I controlled myself.
—Rodney Dangerfield (1921–2004) American Comedian, TV Personality, Actor
Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.
—Walter Scott (1771-1832) Scottish Novelist, Poet, Playwright, Lawyer
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet
If we put the emphasis upon the right things, if we live the life that is worth while and then fail, we will survive all disasters, we will out-live all misfortune. We should be so well balanced and symmetrical, that nothing which could ever happen could throw us off our center, so that no matter what misfortune should overtake us, there would still be a whole magnificent man or woman left after being stripped of everything else.
—Orison Swett Marden (1850–1924) American New Thought Writer, Physician, Entrepreneur
Honesty is the cornerstone of character. The honest man or woman seeks not merely to avoid criminal or illegal acts, but to be scrupulously fair, upright, fearless in both action and expression. Honesty pays dividends both in dollars and in peace of mind.
—B. C. Forbes (1880-1954) Scottish-born American Journalist, Publisher
It is impossible to calculate the moral mischief, if I may so express it, that mental lying has produced in society. When a man has so far corrupted and prostituted the chastity of his mind as to subscribe his professional belief to things he does not believe he has prepared himself for the commission of every other crime.
—Thomas Paine (1737–1809) American Nationalist, Author, Pamphleteer, Radical, Inventor
When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.
—Henri Nouwen (1932–96) Dutch Catholic Priest, Writer, Theologian
Ninety-eight out of 100 of the rich men in America are honest. That is why they are rich.
—Russell Conwell (1843–1925) American Baptist Minister, Orator, Philanthropist, Lawyer, Academic
Honesty has a beautiful and refreshing simplicity about it. No ulterior motives. No hidden meanings. An absence of hypocrisy, duplicity, political games, and verbal superficiality. As honesty and real integrity characterize our lives, there will be no need to manipulate others.
—Chuck Swindoll (b.1934) American Christian Pastor, Author, Educator, Radio Personality
Before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.
—Harper Lee (1926–2006) American Novelist
It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet
Respect for the truth is an acquired taste.
—Mark Van Doren (1894–1972)
The truth brings with it a great measure of absolution, always.
—R. D. Laing (1927–89) Scottish Psychiatrist
There’s one way to find out if a man is honest – ask him. If he says, “Yes,” you know he is a crook.
—Groucho Marx (1890-1977) American Actor, Comedian, Singer
Money dishonestly acquired is never worth its cost, while a good conscience never costs as much as it is worth.
—Jean Antoine Petit-Senn (1792–1870) Swiss Poet
It is not the amount of trade that makes the man poor or rich, but honest working and dealing.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
No mask like open truth to cover lies,|As to go naked is the best disguise.
—William Congreve (1670–1729) English Playwright, Poet
People who are brutally honest get more satisfaction out of the brutality than out of the honesty.
—Richard J. Needham (1912–96) Canadian Humorist, Columnist, Writer
Lands mortgaged may return, but honesty once pawned is ne’er redeemed.
—Conyers Middleton (1683–1750) English Clergyman, Theologian