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I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is the best policy.
GEORGE WASHINGTON, Farewell Address to the People of the United States
Honest people don't hide their deeds.
EMILY BRONTE, Wuthering Heights
Children and fools speak true.
I'm just honest, I like that I don't have to worry about what I say. I really don't have the time or energy to pretend and I don't want to live that way.
ANGELINA JOLIE, interview, Jun. 13, 2001
Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise.
SIGMUND FREUD, letter to Wilhelm Fliess, Oct. 15, 1897
A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.
OSCAR WILDE, The Critic as Artist
I would replace the quality of sincerity with honesty, since one can hold a conviction sincerely without examining it, while honesty would require that one subject one's convictions to frequent scrutiny.
CHRISTOPHER PHILLIPS, Socrates Cafe
Honest people are never touchy about the matter of being trusted.
A few honest men are better than numbers.
OLIVER CROMWELL, letter to Sir W. Spring, Sept. 1643
The truth is never dangerous. Except when told.
PHILIP MOELLER, Helena's Husband
A man who is as honest as the day is long often needs watching at night.
ROBERT ELLIOTT GONZALES, Poems and Paragraphs
The purifying influence of public confession springs from the fact, that by it the hope in lies is forever swept away, and the soul recovers the noble attitude of simplicity.
I will be honest if only to differ from my neighbors.
ABRAHAM MILLER, Unmoral Maxims
Clear and round dealing is the honor of man's nature; and ... mixture of falsehood is like alloy in coin of gold and silver, which may make the metal work the better, but embaseth it.
When folks find I ain't afeard to speak my mind on their affairs, they kinder guess I'm tellin' the truth about my own.
BRET HARTE, "The Argonauts of North Liberty"
An honest man will continue to be so though surrounded on all sides by rogues.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON, Lacon
An honest man is respected by all parties.
WILLIAM HAZLITT, Characteristics
An honest man's the noblest work of God.
ALEXANDER POPE, Essay on Man
Honesty needs no disguise nor ornament; be plain.
People who are brutally honest get more satisfaction out of the brutality than out of the honesty.
RICHARD J. NEEDHAM, attributed, The Harper Book of Quotations
No legacy is so rich as honesty.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, All's Well that Ends Well
The man who is so conscious of the rectitude of his intentions as to be willing to open his bosom to the inspection of the world, is already in possession of one of the strongest pillars of a decided character. The course of such a man will be firm and steady, because he has nothing to fear from the world, and is sure of the approbation and support of Heaven.
WILLIAM WIRT, speech at Rutgers College, Jul. 20, 1830
- Honesty is such a lonely word.
- Everyone is so untrue.
- Honesty is hardly ever heard.
- And mostly what I need from you.
To be honest as this world goes is to be one man picked out of ten thousand.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, Hamlet
Honesty is a person's most valuable asset. His or her good name, good reputation, and good word depend on the individual's quality of honesty. A business that operates under the principles of profound honesty is elevated within the community. It is respected and treasured. The absence of honesty is a liability to an individual or business.
JAMES H. MERKEL & ABDUL WAHAD AL-FALAIJ, On the Art of Business
The more honesty a man has, the less he affects the air of a saint.
JOHANN CASPAR LAVATER, Aphorisms on Man
Lies get people into trouble, but honesty is its own defense.
DAVID HUDDLESTON, Life's Little Spiritual Instruction Book
The man who pauses in his honesty wants little of a villain.
H. MARTYN, attributed, Many Thoughts of Many Minds
Honesty is as rare as a man without self-pity.
STEPHEN VINCENT BENET, attributed, The Harper Book of Quotations
Honesty's praised, then left to freeze.
JUVENAL, Sixteen Satires upon the Ancient Harlot
Honesty is the best policy.
MIGUEL DE CERVANTES SAAVEDRA, Don Quixote de la Mancha
Honesty is not a value shared by all societies. In some Eastern subcultures there is a saying: "Any fool can tell the truth. It requires a man of some sense to lie well." The society espousing this idea, suffers abject poverty above others.
DANIEL M. KEERAN, If There Is No God
Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.
THOMAS JEFFERSON, letter to Nathaniel Macon, Jan. 12, 1819
With death comes honesty.
SALMAN RUSHDIE, The Satanic Verses
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