quotations about honesty
If you wanted to do something absolutely honest, something true, it always turned out to be a thing that had to be done alone.
RICHARD YATES
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Revolutionary Road
Honest hearts produce honest actions.
BRIGHAM YOUNG
Discourses of Brigham Young
Honesty is never seen sitting astride the fence.
LEMUEL K. WASHBURN
attributed, Quote Unquote
A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.
OSCAR WILDE
The Critic as Artist
To be honest as this world goes is to be one man picked out of ten thousand.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Hamlet
A few honest men are better than numbers.
OLIVER CROMWELL
letter to Sir W. Spring, Sept. 1643
The man who pauses in his honesty wants little of a villain.
H. MARTYN
attributed, Many Thoughts of Many Minds
If a man lived properly, not according to what any priests said, but according to what seemed decent and honest inside, then it would, at the end, more or less, turn out all right.
TERRY PRATCHETT
Small Gods
Where is the man who has the strength to be true, and to show himself as he is?
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE
Conversations of Goethe
I'm going to tell it like it is. I hope you can take it like it is.
MALCOLM X
speech at founding rally of the Organization of Afro-American Unity, Jun. 28, 1964
Sneakiness and underhanded dealing are doubtless to be reckoned among the arts of self-advancement. Honesty is, in many cases, unquestionably the very worst policy. But though honesty be so, honesty is the right thing after all. But honest men sometimes think to possess together two inconsistent things. They think to possess the high sense of scrupulous integrity, and at the same time the favour, patronage, and profit which can be had only by parting with that.
ANDREW KENNEDY HUTCHISON BOYD
The Commonplace Philosopher in Town and Country
Honesty is the rarest wealth anyone can possess, and yet all the honesty in the world ain't lawful tender for a loaf of bread.
JOSH BILLINGS
attributed, The Modern Handbook of Humor
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.
GEORGE ELIOT
Romola
An honest man is the man who keeps his own counsel, and will not divide the plunder.
HONORÉ DE BALZAC
Father Goriot
There is an honesty which is but decided selfishness in disguise. The man who will not refrain from expressing his sentiments and manifesting his feelings, however unfit the time, however inappropriate the place, however painful this expression may be, lays claim, forsooth, to our approbation as an honest man, and sneers at those of finer sensibilities as hypocrites.
ARTHUR HELPS
Thoughts in the Cloister and the Crowd
Some people are honest in the strict sense of the word; but they habitually push bargains so hard that their honesty is suspected. They tread so near the line dividing integrity from fraud, that the public entertain grave doubts respecting the legitimacy of their dealings. But it is a duty imperative on every man to avoid the perilous extreme bordering on theft, and to appear honest as well as be honest. Aim at living not only above dishonesty, but above suspicion, as well. "Provide things honest." Is that all? No; "provide things honest in the sight of all men." Not only be upright, but convince others of your uprightness. Let your life be honourable, entirely exempt from meanness and trickery.
JOHN CYNDDYLAN JONES
Studies in the Acts of the Apostles
The line of honesty is so differently drawn by different persons, that one would be led to think that there was an honesty in the abstract. Practical honesty, however, in the strictest sense, will always be the object of him who wishes to settle a just account with himself.
WILLIAM DALBY
attributed, A Homiletic and Illustrative Treasury of Religious Thought
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
KENT M. KEITH
The Silent Revolution
An honest man is respected by all parties.
WILLIAM HAZLITT
Characteristics
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