By a lie, a man… annihilates his dignity as a man.

False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.

Character may almost be called the most effective means of persuasion.

Nothing is more noble, nothing more venerable than fidelity. Faithfulness and truth are the most sacred excellences and endowments of the human mind.

Plato is dear to me, but dearer still is truth.

The truth is lived, not taught.

A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author.

I am very fond of truth, but not at all of martyrdom.

No one ever doubts that I mean what I say. The problem is I sometimes say all that I mean.

If I’m honest I have to tell you I still read fairy-tales and I like them best of all.

And we should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at least one laugh.

In the game of cricket, a hero is a person who respects the game and does not corrupt the game. The one who doesn’t or corrupts the game, they are the villain. They should be punished, and they have been punished in the past.

Morality is the basis of things and truth is the substance of all morality.

There may not be one Truth – there may be several truths – but saying that is not to say that reality doesn’t exist.

America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.

So near is falsehood to truth that a wise man would do well not to trust himself on the narrow edge.

The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.

Truth never damages a cause that is just.

The difficulty is to try and teach the multitude that something can be true and untrue at the same time.

Cowardice asks the question, is it safe? Expediency asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? But conscience asks the question, is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because it is right.

Belief is a wise wager. Granted that faith cannot be proved, what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false? If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation, that He exists.

No man should be in politics unless he would honestly rather not be there.

Nature never deceives us; it is we who deceive ourselves.

I was really too honest a man to be a politician and live.

Truth is the property of no individual but is the treasure of all men.

Judges ought to be more leaned than witty, more reverent than plausible, and more advised than confident. Above all things, integrity is their portion and proper virtue.

Many people resented my impatience and honesty, but I never cared about acceptance as much as I cared about respect.

We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at least one laugh.

Faith: not wanting to know what is true.

The object of the superior man is truth.

Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth.

If I am judged for my work, many myths about me as an autocrat or otherwise would become clearer. I feel false propaganda will not last, and truth will ultimately prevail.

The best thing is to always keep honest people around, because when you have a bunch of yes men around that know that you’re making a mistake but let you go on with it, that’s when it ruins your mind state as an artist.

Truly it is an evil to be full of faults; but it is a still greater evil to be full of them and to be unwilling to recognize them, since that is to add the further fault of a voluntary illusion.

I think everyone should approach relationships from the perspective of playing it straight and giving someone the benefit of the doubt. Until he establishes that this is a game. And if it’s a game, you need to win. The best thing to do is just walk away from the table.

Wisdom does not show itself so much in precept as in life – in firmness of mind and a mastery of appetite. It teaches us to do as well as to talk; and to make our words and actions all of a color.

People who don’t know the true character of God – who don’t believe He is merciful, gracious and slow to anger – can never have a close, personal, intimate relationship with Him.

I meant what I said and I said what I meant.

One of my proudest moments is I didn’t sell my soul for the sake of popularity.

President Assad, I worked with. I know him reasonably well, met with him a few times, and he’s a liar.

A man does not have to be an angel in order to be saint.

Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.

Every man has a right to utter what he thinks truth, and every other man has a right to knock him down for it. Martyrdom is the test.

In order that all men may be taught to speak the truth, it is necessary that all likewise should learn to hear it.

It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.

In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.

I can be a cruel person.

It is not funny that anything else should fall down; only that a man should fall down. Why do we laugh? Because it is a gravely religious matter: it is the Fall of Man. Only man can be absurd: for only man can be dignified.

Nothing fortifies scepticism more than the fact that there are some who are not sceptics; if all were so, they would be wrong.

All the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting.

Religion is more than life. Remember that his own religion is the truest to every man even if it stands low in the scales of philosophical comparison.

In matters of truth the fact that you don’t want to publish something is, nine times out of ten, a proof that you ought to publish it.

If you want to see the true measure of a man, watch how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.

Any of us can be happy and have a good attitude when everything is going our way. But I believe it’s the real test of your character and of your faith to say, ‚Things are not going our way, but I’m still being good to people; I’m still attending church; I still have a good attitude.‘

The main rule to me is to honor God with your life. To life a life of integrity. Not be selfish. You know, help others. But that’s really the essence of the Christian faith.

I want to be an honest man and a good writer.

Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self-sustained.

Political language… is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.

And whether you’re an honest man, or whether you’re a thief, depends on whose solicitor has given me my brief.

In everything truth surpasses the imitation and copy.

Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company.