42 Quotes About Honesty

In a world often characterized by fast-paced interactions and fleeting connections, honesty remains a cornerstone of genuine human relationships. The appeal of honesty lies in its unwavering nature—truthfulness is something that stands tall against the test of time. To truly understand its value, reflecting on wise words from thinkers, leaders, and everyday individuals can offer deep insights. We have gathered 42 thought-provoking quotes about honesty that encapsulate its power and significance in our lives. Let these words inspire you to embrace authenticity, build trust, and cultivate a sincere approach in all your interactions.

1. “We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend.” - Robert Louis Stevenson

2. “To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest.” - Mahatma Gandhi

3. “Never esteem anything as of advantage to you that will make you break your word or lose your self-respect.” - Marcus Aurelius

4. “He who lives without folly is not as wise as he may think.” - La Rochefoucauld

5. “No man means all he says, and yet very few say all they mean, for words are slippery and thought is viscous.” - Henry Adams

6. “What a fool honesty is.” - William Shakespeare

7. “Though I am not naturally honest, I am sometimes so by chance.” - William Shakespeare

8. “You can't lie to your soul.” - Irvine Welsh

9. “Wer sich selbst belügt und seine eigenen Lügen anhört, kommt schließlich soweit, dass er keine Wahrheit mehr, weder in sich noch außer sich, zu erkennen vermag [...]” - Fjodor Dostojewski

10. “[novan]: bassists are very good with their fingers[novan]: and some of us sing backup vocals, so that means we're good with our mouths too...(~ IM chat with Novan Chang, 18, bassist)” - Jess C. Scott

11. “Keep your heart clearAnd transparent,And you willNever be bound.A single disturbed thoughtCreates ten thousand distractions.” - Ryokan

12. “You ask me what forces me to speak? a strange thing; my conscience.” - Victor Hugo

13. “Most of what I say is complete truth. My edit button is broken.” - Myra McEntire

14. “Everyone lies to themselves, but many people do it with good intentions. They want to believe what they tell themselves, it is oftentimes the best possible version of reality for them. Although it may not be accurate, it is a mural of their desires, aspirations, optimism and passion. These people usually either need time or a new experience to discover the truth. People who lie to themselves for different reasons are oftentimes trying to avoid something or escape blame for things they have done.” - Ashly Lorenzana

15. “Unless you're ashamed of yourself now and then, you're not honest” - William Faulkner

16. “The need to prove who you are will vanish once you know who you are.” - Danielle Pierre

17. “Maybe you could be mine / or maybe we’ll be entwined / aimless in this sexless foreplay.” - Jess C. Scott

18. “When someone loves you, the way they talk about you is different. You feel safe and comfortable.” - Jess C. Scott

19. “I just think if you don't say the honest thing, sometimes the honest thing never becomes true, you know, and I-” - John Green

20. “If you are honest with yourself, your life will be so much more pleasant.” - Jessica Zafra

21. “When you have wit of your own, it's a pleasure to credit other people for theirs.” - Criss Jami

22. “If you expect honesty, be honest. If you expect forgiveness, forgive. If you expect a whole person, you have to be a whole person.” - Kristen Crockett

23. “The world loves to be amused by hollow professions, to be deceived by flattering appearances, to live in a state of hallucination; and can forgive everything but the plain, downright, simple, honest truth.” - William Hazlitt

24. “You look like shit." Honesty is important in any relationship.” - Gordon Andrews

25. “It was a huge comfort to have a person who'd keep you honest with yourself and who also gave you safe harbour.” - Lauren Dane

26. “Honesty is all I've got," she said finally, speaking in a low voice. "I don't have family. I don't have beauty, or a man. I don't have money, and I sure as hell don't have a future. All I've got to prop up my pride is my word." Her chin rose. "When Jenny Jones says something, you can bet your last peso that it's true.” - Maggie Osborne

27. “NO reader has ANY obligation to an author, whether it be to leave a review or to write a "constructive" one. I put out a product. You are consumers of that product. Since when does that mean you have to kiss my ass? Hey, I like Pop-Tarts and eat them a few times a year; since when does that mean I'm obligated to support Kellogg's in any way except legally purchasing the Pop-Tarts before I eat them? I wasn't aware that purchasing and consuming a product meant I was under some sort of fucking thrall in which I'm only allowed to either praise the Pop-Tart (which to be honest isn't hard, especially the S'mores flavor) or, if I am going to criticize a flavor, offer a specific and detailed analysis as to why, phrased in as inoffensive and gentle a manner as possible so as not to upset the gentle people at Kellogg's."[Something in the Water? (blog post; January 9, 2012)]” - Stacia Kane

28. “The main trouble with being an honest man was that it lost you all your illusions.” - James Jones

29. “Too much honesty makes you sound insincere.” - Patrick Rothfuss

30. “It's not cruelty, maybe, but a desire to understand that motivates them.” - Veronica Roth

31. “You know there's no such thing as a complete lie. There's always some truth in there.” - David Levithan

32. “In Paris, when certain people see you ready to set your foot in the stirrup, some pull your coat-tails, others loosen the buckle of the strap that you may fall and crack your skull; one wrenches off your horse's shoes, another steals your whip, and the least treacherous of them all is the man whom you see coming to fire his pistol at you point blank.” - Honoré de Balzac

33. “You can't let the truth bring out the worst and let it get the best of you.” - Criss Jami

34. “A writer who has perfect writing skills and zero honesty is not an author but a sales person.” - Sandra Chami Kassis

35. “Stop lying to yourself. When we deny our own truth, we deny our own potential.” - Steve Maraboli

36. “Some people may like you, and some people may not, keep living your life dreams, you will succeed!” - Nitra Gipson

37. “I seem at once cursed to say precisely what I'm thinking to him and unable to tell what he thinks about it.” - Maggie Stiefvater

38. “She laughs an honest laugh... one that puts the fakes on edge and makes them dream of being better.” - C. JoyBell C.

39. “Honest. It's almost always best to go with honest. It means you never have to worry about getting your story straight.” - Jim Butcher

40. “But what would they have said to their Liaison? It’s like this, Meg. We didn’t like that Asia Crane, so we ate her. When dealing with humans, honesty isn’t always the best policy, Vlad thought” - Anne Bishop

41. “If you don’t find the right set of eyes to see through your bull, you will always be surrounded by friends that will tell you white lies because they like your company and don’t want to ruin the evening.” - Shannon L. Alder

42. “Literature for me… tries to heal the harm done by stories. (How much harm? Most of the atrocities of history have been created by stories, e.g., the Jews killed Jesus.) I follow Sartre that the freedom the author claims for herself must be shared with the reader. So that would mean that literature is stories that put themselves at the disposal of readers who want to heal themselves. Their healing power lies in their honesty, the freshness of their vision, the new and unexpected things they show, the increase in power and responsibility they give the reader.” - Geoff Ryman