There is nothing in the world more shameful than establishing one’s self on lies and fables.

Reparations – not just aid – should be provided by those responsible for devastating Iraqi civilian society by cruel sanctions and military actions, and – together with other criminal states – for supporting Saddam Hussein through his worst atrocities and beyond. That is the minimum that honesty requires.

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

A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first.

All of us knows, not what is expedient, not what is going to make us popular, not what the policy is, or the company policy – but in truth each of us knows what is the right thing to do. And that’s how I am guided.

I am not a crook.

The lies of the empire and the treason of the quislings shall be defeated.

One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.

Self-respect knows no considerations.

Always prefer the plain direct word to the long, vague one. Don’t implement promises, but keep them.

An honest man is always a child.

Whilst shame keeps its watch, virtue is not wholly extinguished in the heart; nor will moderation be utterly exiled from the minds of tyrants.

Confession of errors is like a broom which sweeps away the dirt and leaves the surface brighter and clearer. I feel stronger for confession.

Honesty is the best policy – when there is money in it.

Truth is beautiful, without doubt; but so are lies.

Noble deeds that are concealed are most esteemed.

Beauty is an outward gift, which is seldom despised, except by those to whom it has been refused.

Advertising is a racket, like the movies and the brokerage business. You cannot be honest without admitting that its constructive contribution to humanity is exactly minus zero.

When you start to realise how much of what you’ve constructed of yourself is based on deception and lies, that is a horrifying realisation.

Whoever despises himself nonetheless respects himself as one who despises.

I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinions of himself than on the opinions of others.

The truth doesn’t hurt unless it ought to.

Our vanity is hardest to wound precisely when our pride has just been wounded.

Concentration is my motto – first honesty, then industry, then concentration.

Truth never damages a cause that is just.

Integrity means that you are the same in public as you are in private.

The difference between a moral man and a man of honor is that the latter regrets a discreditable act, even when it has worked and he has not been caught.

I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell.

Most poets are young simply because they have not been caught up. Show me an old poet, and I’ll show you, more often than not, either a madman or a master… it’s when you begin to lie to yourself in a poem in order simply to make a poem that you fail. That is why I do not rework poems.

It is better to suffer wrong than to do it, and happier to be sometimes cheated than not to trust.

Let us begin by committing ourselves to the truth to see it like it is, and tell it like it is, to find the truth, to speak the truth, and to live the truth.

All cruel people describe themselves as paragons of frankness.

Character is power.

Let me define a leader. He must have vision and passion and not be afraid of any problem. Instead, he should know how to defeat it. Most importantly, he must work with integrity.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries or the way she combs her hair.

No one ever told me I was pretty when I was a little girl. All little girls should be told they’re pretty, even if they aren’t.

Vanity can create a very cruel space for you if you don’t know how to manage it.

No one can lie, no one can hide anything, when he looks directly into someone’s eyes.

Truth is mighty and will prevail. There is nothing wrong with this, except that it ain’t so.

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.

One thing I hope I’ll never be is drunk with my own power. And anybody who says I am will never work in this town again.

If one could be friendly with women, what a pleasure – the relationship so secret and private compared with relations with men. Why not write about it truthfully?

A lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity.

Anger cannot be dishonest.

I don’t have stylistic loyalty. That’s why people perceive me changing all the time. But there is a real continuity in my subject matter. As an artist of artifice, I do believe I have more integrity than any one of my contemporaries.

All men are frauds. The only difference between them is that some admit it. I myself deny it.

Honesty is for the most part less profitable than dishonesty.

One of the most terrible feelings in the world is knowing that someone else doesn’t like you. Especially when you don’t know what you’ve done to deserve it.

It’s very important for Christians to be honest with God, which often, you know, God is much more interested in who you are than who you want to be.

It is wonderful to have someone praise you, to be desired.

Don’t ever criticize yourself. Don’t go around all day long thinking, ‚I’m unattractive, I’m slow, I’m not as smart as my brother.‘ God wasn’t having a bad day when he made you… If you don’t love yourself in the right way, you can’t love your neighbour. You can’t be as good as you are supposed to be.

Oh, God, I struggle with low self-esteem all the time! I think everyone does. I have so much wrong with me, it’s unbelievable!

A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.

You have to listen very carefully and tell the truth if you are going to get a paranoid person to open up to you.

All my stepchildren carried the burden of my fame. Sometimes they would read terrible things about me, and I’d worry about whether it would hurt them. I would tell them: ‚Don’t hide these things from me. I’d rather you ask me these things straight out, and I’ll answer all your questions.‘

Personal beauty is a greater recommendation than any letter of reference.

I’m actually a very honest person, and sometimes I end up like, ‚Man, I said too much.‘ It’s hard for me not to tell the truth when you ask me.

The passive aggressive arguer comes armed with tricky tactics. They cannot take the risk that they might be wrong: their self-esteem is too intertwined with their opinions. It is more important to affirm their rightness, and sense of superiority, than to arrive at the truth.

A gaffe in Washington is someone telling the truth, and telling the truth has never hurt me.

Don’t lie about anything, ever. Lying leads to Hell.

Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.