HONESTY QUOTES III

quotations about honesty

The elegance of honesty needs no adornment.

MERRY BROWNE

attributed, The Book of Positive Quotations


Honesty is the best policy.

MIGUEL DE CERVANTES SAAVEDRA

Don Quixote de la Mancha


There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats;
For I am arm'd so strong in honesty,
That they pass by me as the idle wind,
Which I respect not.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Julius Caesar


It would seem that indolence itself would incline a person to be honest; as it requires infinitely greater pains and contrivance to be a knave.

WILLIAM SHENSTONE

Essays on Men and Manners


Honest men fear neither the light nor the dark.

ENGLISH PROVERB


The more honesty a man has, the less he affects the air of a saint.

JOHANN CASPAR LAVATER

Aphorisms on Man


Make yourself an honest man, and you can be sure there is one less rascal in the world.

THOMAS CARLYLE

attributed, Proceedings of the Pennsylvania Yearly Meeting of Progressive Friends, 1887


Honesty is like an icicle--if once it melts that is the end of it.

AMERICAN PROVERB


When we are not honest, we are cut off from a significant resource of ourselves, a vital dimension that is necessary for unity and wholeness.

CLARK MOUSTAKAS

attributed, Webster's Quotations


Honesty is an eternal principle in the government of God; a great pillar in his magnificent house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens; an attribute of his immortal and glorious being. In a man it is a God-like thing, simple in its beauty, grand in its simplicity.

GEORGE SUMNER WEAVER

The Ways of Life


Just be honest with yourself. That opens the door.

VERNON HOWARD

attributed, Webster's Quotations


Honest people are never touchy about the matter of being trusted.

AYN RAND

Atlas Shrugged


Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise.

SIGMUND FREUD

letter to Wilhelm Fliess, Oct. 15, 1897


Honesty's praised, then left to freeze.

JUVENAL

Sixteen Satires upon the Ancient Harlot


The plain truth is that honesty is critical to the moral fiber of every individual. Experts agree that people who are honest feel better about themselves. They are able to enjoy stronger friendships, are more successful in school and in other pursuits and, in the long run, have deeper, happier marriages. It is from honesty that so many other desirable traits spring forth.

BETSY BROWN BRAUN

You're Not the Boss of Me


Let me tell you a secret, which ought not to be a secret, seeing it is written in the Scriptures--be honest and your whole body will be full of light; and this of every kind; you will actually see further and see clearer than shrewd and cunning men, and you will be less liable to be duped than they, provided that your honesty be combined with a determination to protect honesty, and to discountenance every kind of brand.

EDWARD IRVING

Sermons, Lectures and Occasional Discourses: vol. 2


I like children ... pretty much all the honest truth-telling there is in the world is done by them.

OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES

The Poet at the Breatfast Table

Tags: Oliver Wendell Holmes


A few honest men are better than numbers.

OLIVER CROMWELL

letter to Sir W. Spring, Sept. 1643


Persons lightly dipped, not grain'd in generous honesty are but pale in goodness and faint-hued in integrity. But be thou what thou virtuously art, and let not the ocean wash away thy tincture. Stand magnetically upon that axis, when prudent simplicity hath fixed there; and let no attraction invert the poles of thy honesty.

THOMAS BROWNE

Christian Morals


An honest man is like a plain coat, which, without welt or guard, keepeth the body from wind and weather, and being well made, fits him best that wears it; and where the stuff is more regarded than the fashion, there is not much ado in the putting of it on. So the mind of an honest man, without trick or compliments, keeps the credit of a good conscience from the scandal of the world and the worm of iniquity, which, being wrought by the workman of heaven, fits him best that wears it to his service; and where virtue is more esteemed than vanity, it is put on and worn with that ease that shows the excellency of the workman. His study is virtue, his word truth, his life the passage of patience, and his death the rest of his spirit. His travail is a pilgrimage, his way is plainness, his pleasure peace, and his delight is love. His care is his conscience, his wealth is his credit, his charge is his charity, and his content is his kingdom. In sum, he is a diamond among jewels, a phoenix among birds, an unicorn among beasts, and a saint among men.

NICHOLAS BRETON

A Bower of Delights