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Truth is an increasingly tarnished notion in a world filled with distortions and outright lies. Being true to yourself is important and it’s difficult to maintain that kind of self-authenticity when we are being inauthentic with others.
It is worth noting just how highly some of the most important figures in world history have valued the truth. This extends both to being honest with those around us as well as honest with ourselves, to say nothing of telling the truth when it is difficult.
The last part might be the hardest. When people talk about “honesty” they often refer to the little interactions we make on a daily basis. While this can be difficult at times, it is nothing compared to telling a necessary but difficult truth at a time when all the cards are stacked against you. This is what requires true moral courage—to tell the truth when one has skin in the game.
But by telling the truth in the little things we can train ourselves to tell the big truths when they matter the most. Read on to learn why some of the greatest minds of human history valued the truth so highly and why they considered telling uncomfortable truths to be of paramount importance.
Quotes About Honesty
John Steinbeck
“Can you honestly love a dishonest thing?”
– John Steinbeck, The Winter of Our Discontent
Truman Capote
“The answer is good things only happen to you if you’re good. Good? Honest is more what I mean…Be anything but a coward, a pretender, an emotional crook, a whore: I’d rather have cancer than a dishonest heart.”
– Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Mark Twain
“Honesty: The best of all the lost arts.”
“There’s one way to find out if a man is honest: ask him; if he says yes, you know he’s crooked.”
“If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.”
Noël Coward
“It’s discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.”
Louisa May Alcott
“Simple, genuine goodness is the best capital to found the business of this life upon. It lasts when fame and money fail, and is the only riches we can take out of this world with us.”
– Louisa May Alcott, Little Men
Abraham Lincoln
“I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have.”
Immanuel Kant
“Seek not the favor of the multitude; it is seldom got by honest and lawful means. But seek the testimony of few; and number not voices, but weigh them.”
Thomas Jefferson
“Honesty is the first chapter of the book wisdom.”
Chinese proverb
“Avoid suspicion: when you’re walking through your neighbor’s melon patch, don’t tie your shoe.”
– Chinese proverb
Friedrich Nietzsche
“I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.”
“Let us accept truth, even when it surprises us and alters our views.”
– George Sand