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Honesty Quotes by Famous Authors

1. “However, I know myself as a very unhappy person.”

Ivan Turgenev

Sadness, Self-awareness, Pain, Honesty, Emotion

2. “I don’t see why it’s impossible to express everything that’s on one’s mind.”

Ivan Turgenev

Expression, Freedom, Thought, Honesty, Mind

3. “I do not remember in my whole life I ever willfully misrepresented anything to anybody at any time. I have never knowingly had connection with a fraudulent scheme.”

J.P. Morgan

Honesty, Integrity, Truth, Ethics, Trust

4. “Let us be like the man of the frontier and always reveal with utmost honesty our real reasons for all that we do.”

J.P. Morgan

Honesty, Truth, Integrity, Transparency, Principle

5. “The key to living a moral life is this: Do nothing in private that you would be ashamed to discuss openly with your mother.”

J.P. Morgan

Morality, Integrity, Honesty, Ethics, Character

6. “Next to doing the right thing, the most important thing is to let people know you are doing the right thing.”

John D. Rockefeller

Integrity, Leadership, Reputation, Honesty, Influence

7. “Would that the simple maxim, that honesty is the best policy, might be laid to heart; that a sense of the true aim of life might elevate the tone of politics and trade till public and private honor become identical.”

Margaret Fuller

Honesty, Policy, Life, Politics, Integrity

8. “It is astonishing what force, purity, and wisdom it requires for a human being to keep clear of falsehoods.”

Margaret Fuller

Truth, Integrity, Wisdom, Honesty, Strength

9. “We need to hear the excuses men make to themselves for their worthlessness.”

Margaret Fuller

Excuses, Reflection, Worth, Accountability, Honesty

10. “Give me truth; cheat me by no illusion.”

Margaret Fuller

Truth, Honesty, Reality, Integrity, Clarity

11. “Most of life's problems are a result of our inability to have an honest and objective conversation with our own selves.”

Ankur Warikoo

Problems, Honesty, Self-reflection, Clarity, Growth

12. “"I need help!" 3 words that are not said enough.”

Ankur Warikoo

Help, Vulnerability, Courage, Honesty, Support

13. “Do not wait for another moment to share what you felt in the moment!”

Ankur Warikoo

Expression, Timing, Honesty, Courage, Connection

14. “If being nice to people supersedes being truthful to people, you are not an effective leader.”

Ankur Warikoo

Leadership, Honesty, Kindness, Effectiveness, Integrity

15. “In life, actively choose to be around those people with whom you can be honest.”

Ankur Warikoo

Honesty, Relationships, Choice, Authenticity, Connection

16. “If you didn't say it earlier, don't say it during your exit interview.”

Ankur Warikoo

Timing, Honesty, Feedback, Restraint, Professionalism

17. “We say yes more often just because we want people to feel good about us! We thus end up feeling worse because of these tiny betrayals.”

Ankur Warikoo

People-pleasing, Boundaries, Self-betrayal, Honesty, Guilt

18. “In the beginning, I was so chintzy I really didn't pay my employees well.”

Sam Walton

Frugality, Wages, Employees, Beginnings, Honesty

19. “All I want is the same thing you want. To have a nation with a government that is as good and honest and decent and competent and compassionate and as filled with love as are the American people.”

Jimmy Carter

Government, Honesty, Compassion, Leadership, Nation

20. “I’ll never tell a lie. I’ll never make a misleading statement. I’ll never betray the confidence that any of you had in me. And I’ll never avoid a controversial issue.”

Jimmy Carter

Honesty, Leadership, Integrity, Politics, Trust

21. “I don't want to tell President Obama how to make a speech. He's a much better speech maker than I am. But I think always to tell the truth in a sometimes blatant way, even though it might be temporarily unpopular, is the best approach.”

Jimmy Carter

Truth, Honesty, Politics, Leadership, Speech

22. “A nation’s domestic and foreign policies and actions should be derived from the same standards of ethics, honesty and morality which are characteristic of the individual citizens of the nation.”

Jimmy Carter

Ethics, Politics, Society, Morality, Honesty

23. “Unless one always speaks the truth, one cannot find God Who is the soul of truth.”

Ramakrishna

Truth, Speech, God, Honesty, Realization

24. “One must be very particular about telling the truth. Through truth one can realize God.”

Ramakrishna

Truth, Realization, Honesty, Spirituality, Wisdom

25. “Don’t try to cover your mistakes with false words. Rather, correct your mistakes with examination.”

Pythagoras

Mistakes, Truth, Correction, Honesty, Reflection

26. “You can tell the man who rings true from the man who rings false, not by his deeds alone, but also his desires.”

Democritus

Truth, Character, Deeds, Integrity, Honesty

27. “The man enslaved to wealth can never be honest.”

Democritus

Wealth, Honesty, Greed, Integrity, Slavery

28. “The flatterer’s object is to please in everything he does; whereas the true friend always does what is right, and so often gives pleasure, often pain, not wishing the latter, but not shunning it either, if he deems it best.”

Plutarch

Friendship, Truth, Honesty, Flattery, Integrity

29. “It is no flattery to give a friend a due character; for commendation is as much the duty of a friend as reprehension.”

Plutarch

Friendship, Honesty, Character, Praise, Integrity

30. “These Macedonians are a rude and clownish people; they call a spade a spade.”

Plutarch

Honesty, Bluntness, Truth, Simplicity, Character

31. “The very spring and root of honesty and virtue lie in good education.”

Plutarch

Honesty, Virtue, Education, Foundation, Wisdom

32. “To err is human. To cover it up is weasel.”

Scott Adams

Mistakes, Honesty, Truth, Humor, Ethics

33. “Don’t call yourself a secret unless you mean to keep it.”

Leonard Cohen

Secrets, Honesty, Trust, Identity, Integrity

34. “Well it’s true, ever since I stopped eating meat I feel a lot better among animals, I feel I can be much more honest when I pat a dog.”

Leonard Cohen

Diet, Compassion, Honesty, Animals, Ethics

35. “People used to say my music was too difficult or too obscure, and I never set out to be difficult or obscure. I just set out to write what I felt as honestly as I could, and I am delighted when other people feel a part of themselves in the music.”

Leonard Cohen

Music, Honesty, Art, Connection, Creativity

36. “I told the truth, I didn’t come to fool you.”

Leonard Cohen

Truth, Honesty, Integrity, Deception, Words

37. “I did smoke a joint and I did inhale. The bottom line is that’s what it was in the ’70s, that’s what I did.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Honesty, Experience, Past, Reflection, Reality

38. “The aim of fiction is absolute and honest truth.”

Anton Chekhov

Fiction, Writing, Truth, Honesty, Literature

39. “An actress without talent, forty years old, ate a partridge for dinner, and I felt sorry for the partridge, for it occurred to me that in its life it had been more talented, more sensible, and more honest than the actress.”

Anton Chekhov

Talent, Honesty, Life, Perception, Irony

40. “I confess I seldom commune with my conscience when I write.”

Anton Chekhov

Writing, Conscience, Honesty, Reflection, Creativity

41. “Your insincerity is natural and in the order of things. If people agreed together and suddenly became sincere, everything would go to the devil.”

Anton Chekhov

Insincerity, Truth, Society, Human Nature, Honesty

42. “There should be more sincerity and heart in human relations, more silence and simplicity in our interactions. Be rude when you’re angry, laugh when something is funny, and answer when you’re asked.”

Anton Chekhov

Sincerity, Relationships, Honesty, Simplicity, Emotions

43. “The aim of fiction is honest and absolute truth.”

Anton Chekhov

Fiction, Truth, Writing, Literature, Honesty

44. “Andrei Yefimych is extremely fond of intelligence and honesty, but he lacks character and faith in his right to organize an intelligent and honest life around him.”

Anton Chekhov

Intelligence, Honesty, Character, Belief, Integrity