Honest Man Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old honest man quotes, honest man sayings, and honest man proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people. Spencer Johnson
A good man will find that there is goodness in the world; an honest man will find that there is honesty in the world; and a man of principle will find principle and integrity in the hearts of others. Albert Pike
The hypocrite recognizes the honest man as his deadly enemy. Joseph Sobran
I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man. George Washington
Make yourself an honest man, and then you may be sure there is one less rascal in the world. Thomas Carlyle
To live, is to suffer; and the honest man is always fighting to be master of his own mind. Napoleon Bonaparte
The mark of an honest man... is that he means what he says and knows what he means. Ayn Rand
You can cheat an honest man but not make a fool out of him. Confucius
An insult directed at the wicked is not to be censured; on the contrary, the honest man, if he has sense, can only applaud. Aristophanes
The surest way to remain poor is to be an honest man. Napoleon Bonaparte
The trite saying that honesty is the best policy has met with the just criticism that honesty is not policy. The real honest man is honest from conviction of what is right, not from policy. Robert E. Lee
An honest man speaks the truth, though it may give offence; a vain man, in order that it may. William Hazlitt
An honest man in politics shines more there than he would elsewhere. Mark Twain
An honest man can feel no pleasure in the exercise of power over his fellow citizens. Thomas Jefferson
The main trouble with being an honest man was that it lost you all your illusions. James Jones
An honest man is believed without an oath, for his reputation swears for him. Eliza Cook
It's amazing how much panic one honest man can spread among a multitude of hypocrites. Thomas Sowell
Good men and bad men alike are capable of weakness. The difference is simply that a bad man will be proud all his life of one good deed - while an honest man is hardly aware of his good acts, but remembers a single sin for years on end. Vasily Grossman
I was ever of the opinion, that the honest man who married and brought up a large family, did more service than he who continued single, and only talked of population. Oliver Goldsmith
In modern business it is not the crook who is to be feared most, it is the honest man who doesn't know what he is doing. William Wordsworth
The silly when deceived exclaim loudly; the fool complains; the honest man walks away and is silent. Francois de la Noue
The doubts of an honest man contain more moral truth than the profession of faith of people under a worldly yoke. Ximenes Doudan
The first quality of an honest man is contempt for religion, which would have us afraid of the most natural thing in the world, which is death; and would have us hate the one beautiful thing destiny has given us, which is life. Umberto Eco
The honest man falls prey to guilt and conscience far more often than the dishonest one. Even when he has acted honorably. Kapil Gupta
Honesty is the cornerstone of character. The honest man or woman seeks not merely to avoid criminal or illegal acts, but to be scrupulously fair, upright, fearless in both action and expression. B.C. Forbes
Honest manhood cannot be attained. It is. If a man is small, as an honest man he stands up and acknowledges he is small and only tries to do what a small man can do--and he does it. Honor L Wilhelm
In all lines of life an honest man only holds himself out as being just what he is and tries to do the tasks he is able to do--and always does them. An honest man cannot fail. Honor L Wilhelm
An honest man is still an unmov'd rock, Wash'd whiter, but not shaken with the shock: Whose heart conceives no sinister device; Fearless he plays with flames, and treads on ice. Robert Davenport
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. Nicholas Breton
This idea that you can't be an honest man and a Washington politician is a myth, a crock made up by sellouts and careerist hacks who don't stand for anything and are impatient with people who do. It's possible to do this job with honor and dignity. Matt Taibbi