- It’s discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit. Noël Coward
- “When I became convinced that the Universe is natural – that all the ghosts and gods are myths, there entered into my brain, into my soul, into every drop of my blood, the sense, the feeling, the joy of freedom. The walls of my prison crumbled and fell, the dungeon was flooded with light and all the bolts, and bars, and manacles became dust. I was no longer a servant, a serf or a slave. There was for me no master in all the wide world — not even in infinite space. I was free — free to think, to express my thoughts — free to live to my own ideal — free to live for myself and those I loved — free to use all my faculties, all my senses — free to spread imagination’s wings — free to investigate, to guess and dream and hope — free to judge and determine for myself — free to reject all ignorant and cruel creeds, all the “inspired” books that savages have produced, and all the barbarous legends of the past — free from popes and priests — free from all the “called” and “set apart” — free from sanctified mistakes and holy lies — free from the fear of eternal pain — free from the winged monsters of the night — free from devils, ghosts and gods. For the first time I was free. There were no prohibited places in all the realms of thought — no air, no space, where fancy could not spread her painted wings — no chains for my limbs — no lashes for my back — no fires for my flesh — no master’s frown or threat – no following another’s steps — no need to bow, or cringe, or crawl, or utter lying words. I was free. I stood erect and fearlessly, joyously, faced all worlds.And then my heart was filled with gratitude, with thankfulness, and went out in love to all the heroes, the thinkers who gave their lives for the liberty of hand and brain — for the freedom of labor and thought — to those who fell on the fierce fields of war, to those who died in dungeons bound with chains — to those who proudly mounted scaffold’s stairs — to those whose bones were crushed, whose flesh was scarred and torn — to those by fire consumed — to all the wise, the good, the brave of every land, whose thoughts and deeds have given freedom to the sons of men. And then I vowed to grasp the torch that they had held, and hold it high, that light might conquer darkness still.” ― Robert G. Ingersoll
- “What have I always believed?That on the whole, and by and large, 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
- An honest man’s the noblest work of God. Alexander Pope
- “Poetry is Life. We experience poetry from the time we awake each morning and inhale that fresh breath of air. You are living poetry. Poetry is not defined by the laws of man. Inspiration is the key.” ― Amaka Imani Nkosazana, Release The Ink
- Truth indeed rather alleviates than hurts, and will always bear up against falsehood, as oil does above water. Miguel de Cervantes
- Be kind and honest, and harmful poisons will turn sweet inside you. Rumi
- “You want to take me to a movie?” I asked. “Well, not really,” he said. “What I really want is for you to be my girlfriend. But I thought saying that might scare you off.” ― Sarah Dessen, What Happened to Goodbye
- “Lead with honesty, total integrity, compassion, patience and tolerance — toward yourself!” ― Bryant McGill, Simple Reminders: Inspiration for Living Your Best Life
- “The Memory Of You Is Like A Drug To Me” ― Jeremy Aldana
- “You have two choices in life when it comes to truthful observations by others that anger you: You can be ashamed and cover it up by letting your pride take you in the extreme opposite direction, in order to make the point that they are wrong. Or, you can break down the walls of pride by accepting vulnerability as a strength, not a weakness. As you walk through your vulnerability, you will meet humility on the way to courage. From here, courage allows us to let go of shame and rise higher into the person we are meant to be, not the person that needs to be right. This is the road to confidence and self worth.” ― Shannon L. Alder
- Honesty is the most single most important factor having a direct bearing on the final success of an individual, corporation, or product. Ed McMahon
- “The most beautiful images are often the least honest.” ― Manu Larcenet, Ordinary Victories
- “Don’t get so lost in their words. Pay attention to their actions” ― Amaka Imani Nkosazana, Release The Ink
- “The flicker, the flutter, even thoughts can stutter.” ― Hubert Martin
- “It’s fallacious reasoning for the atheist to hate all religion due to men who manipulate religion to fit their own agendas. They are counterparts, therefore, if Truth is true, partners in crime. To believers, the atheist and the religiously corrupt boil down to the same person, the self-righteous: one denies Truth to fit his own agenda; the other manipulates Truth to fit his own agenda.” ― Criss Jami, Killosophy
- “Appearance blinds, whereas words reveal.” ― Oscar Wilde
- People aren’t in awe of your sharp mind? So be it. But you have many other qualities you can’t claim to have been deprived of at birth. Display then those qualities in your own power: honesty, dignity, endurance, chastity, contentment, frugality, kindness. Marcus Aurelius
- “An outline, my body, no mass or feeling, A dark reflection spread from floor to ceiling, The faceless copycat stalks me day after day, A personal eclipse of the sun never going astray, Each movement mine in a world of its own, Whispering shades unseen of a different home, A skewed yet comparable story occurs every day, Removed, though not far, less than halfway, The whiter the glow the blacker the stain, An ethereal cachet remaining midst the acidic rain, A trust and intimacy of a curious nature, I follow, it follows, we follow a stranger.” ― Hubert Martin
- I want to be able to just be me. I never want to be in an environment or around people where I have to watch what I say. Naval Ravikant
- “For a man who walks in the light, to stay humble is not to walk in the dark; you don’t need to project yourself to be thought an honest man.” ― Mike Norton
- “Gabriel’s face was leathery from the sun, clean with honesty, and framed by a thick beard that was striped black and white like a badger’s hide. He was tall, sometimes formidably so, but children tended to forget that when he hunched down on his knees. He did that whenever he could, so that their eyes were level.” ― Angela Panayotopulos, The Wake Up
- “She is beyond any mortal structure of words, yet she inspires the effort to try anyway.” ― Hubert Martin
- “No, I don’t think I could fall in love with him, handsome though he is, because I don’t accept any of that huff he gives me about my great beauty and all that. I’d have to trust a man’s words before I could love him. I think.” ― Sherwood Smith, Court Duel
- “I always thought time was the most valuable currency, but I realized the people we spent our time on and loved us back, that love held even more meaning to me.” ― Hubert Martin
- “Take lightly what you hear about individuals. We need not distort trust for our paltry little political agendas. We tend to trust soulless, carried information more than we trust soulful human beings; but really most people aren’t so bad once you sit down and have an honest, one-on-one conversation with them, once, with an open heart, you listen to their explanations as to why they act the way they act, or say what they say, or do what they do.” ― Criss Jami, Healology
- “The mind knows the truth when your heart denies what it feels. When you don’t feel safe to let people in it is because you’re not ready to deal with the pain of honesty.” ― Shannon L. Alder
- Honesty and openness is always the foundation of insightful dialogue. Bell Hooks
- Great conversation flows easily with those that are deeply committed to the truth. They attack or defend a position out of honesty, not ego. They seek illumination, not point scoring. They will ruthlessly challenge the accuracy of your mental map of the world. Invaluable. @TheStoicEmperor
- “Maturity is when you’re able to say, ‘It’s not just them. It’s me.” ― Criss Jami, Healology