For an honest man half his wits are enough; the whole is too little for a knave.
Related quotes
Nothing more completely baffles one who is full of trick and duplicity than straigthforward and simple integrity in another. A knave would rather quarrel with a brother knave than with a fool, but he would rather avoid a quarrel with one honest man than with both. He can combat a fool by management and address, and he can conquer a knave by temptations. But the honest man is neither to be bamboozled nor bribed.
quote by Charles Caleb Colton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Against Unworthy Praise
O HEART, be at peace, because
Nor knave nor dolt can break
What's not for their applause,
Being for a woman's sake.
Enough if the work has seemed,
So did she your strength renew,
A dream that a lion had dreamed
Till the wilderness cried aloud,
A secret between you two,
Between the proud and the proud.
What, still you would have their praise!
But here's a haughtier text,
The labyrinth of her days
That her own strangeness perplexed;
And how what her dreaming gave
Earned slander, ingratitude,
From self-same dolt and knave;
Aye, and worse wrong than these.
Yet she, singing upon her road,
Half lion, half child, is at peace.
poem by William Butler Yeats
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He who says there is no such thing as an honest man, you may be sure is himself a knave.
quote by George Berkeley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Necessity makes an honest man a knave.
quote by Daniel Defoe
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A knave; a rascal; an eater of broken meats; a base, proud, shallow, beggarly, three-suited, hundred-pound, filthy, worsted-stocking knave; a lily-livered, action-taking knave, a whoreson, glass-gazing, super-serviceable finical rogue; one-trunk-inheriting slave; one that wouldst be a bawd, in way of good service, and art nothing but the composition of a knave, beggar, coward, pandar, and the son and heir of a mongrel bitch: one whom I will beat into clamorous whining, if thou deniest the least syllable of thy addition.
Earl of Kent in The Tragedy of King Lear
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Knave of Hearts
The Queen of Hearts she made some tarts all on a summer's day;
The Knave of Hearts he stole the tarts and took them clean away.
The King of Hearts called for the tarts and beat the Knave full sore
The Knave of Hearts brought back the tarts and
vowed he'd steal no more.
poem by Anonymous Olde English
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It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes. But the half-wit remains a half-wit, and the emperor remains an emperor.
Neil Gaiman in Sandman
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes. But the half-wit remains a half-wit, and the emperor remains an emperor.
quote by Neil Gaiman
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Half The World
Words by neil peart, music by geddy lee and alex lifeson
Half the world hates
What half the world does every day
Half the world waits
While half gets on with it anyway
Half the world lives
Half the world makes
Half the world gives
While the other half takes
Half the world is
Half the world was
Half the world thinks
While the other half does
Half the world talks
With half a mind on what they say
Half the world walks
With half a mind to run away
Half the world lies
Half the world learns
Half the world flies
As half the world turns
Half the world cries
Half the world laughs
Half the world tries
To be the other half
Half of us divided like a torn-up photograph half of us are
Trying to reach the other half
Half the world cares
While half the world is wasting the day
Half the world shares
While half the world is stealing away
song performed by by Rush
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Half The World
Half the world lives,
Half the world makes,
Half the world gives
While the other half takes.
Half the world hates,
Half the world runs away,
Half the world's late,
Half the world praises the day.
Half the world is,
Half the world was,
Half the world thinks,
Half the world does.
Half the world lies,
Half the world burns,
Half the world cries
While the other half turns.
Half the world cares,
Half the world weeps,
Half the world shares,
Half the world keeps.
Half the world sings,
Half the world laughs,
Half the world brings,
Half the world tries to be the other half.
End.
You cannot compile a wit out of two half-wits.
You cannot fashion a wit out of two half-wits.
quote by Neil Kinnock
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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No man is so much a fool as not to have wit enough sometimes to be a knave; nor any so cunning a knave as not to have the weakness sometimes to play the fool.
quote by George Savile
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The heart never grows better by age I fear rather worse always harder. A young liar will be an old one, and a young knave will only be a greater knave as he grows older.
quote by Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The heart never grows better by age; I fear rather worse, always harder. A young liar will be an old one, and a young knave will only be a greater knave as he grows older.
quote by Lord Chesterfield
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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As it is the characteristic of great wits to say much in few words, so small wits seem to have the gift of speaking much and saying nothing.
quote by Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I Am Your Convenience
Have you lost your wits and gone mad! ?
Those are 'my' friends you just insulted.
'I will admit to the going mad business.
However...
That losing of the wits bit,
I need them to hang on to for future excursions.
Besides...
If it was not for my wits,
I would not have been able to convince you...
I have gone mad.
Now would I? '
You are doing this on purpose,
Aren't you.
'Doing what on purpose? '
Trying to drive me crazy!
You want everyone to believe,
I am the one that is really the nut case.
'Hmmm...
Are you?
And you are the one behind the wheel too.
What else do you want me to admit?
I'll do it.
I just want to get home safe.
After you dropp me off,
You can go anywhere you want.
And...
Keep your eyes on the road.
Unless you 'do' want me to drive.'
I should have left you.
'And what would that have proven?
I am more popular with your friends than you are?
And you would not have had an excuse to leave.
Other than the one of you having a headache.
And it was time for us to go.'
You are an embarrassment.
'No!
I am your convenience.'
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Honest Men
Were just a stones throw
From burning hellfire
Does anybody know,
Where did all the heroes go?
Weve had our fill of
This gallery of scoundrels,
The leaders of the world,
Those power hungry liars
Rise up and sound the sirens,
Send out the searching powers,
All we need is a few good men
Send the s.o.s. and red alerts
All across the universe
Calling your honest men?
S.o.s. emergency,
Sinking fast and getting worse.
Wheres your honest men?
In some village, far away,
Or in a little town pub.
High on a mountain top
There must be an honest man
Calling all honest men
Throw out the tyrants,
The aged fat cats
Outlived their usefulness
They have led us to this mess
Make them answer,
Hold them to their promises,
And throw them in the street
If they wont tell the truth
S.o.s. and red alert
All across the universe,
Calling all honest men
S.o.s. emergency,
Sinking fast and getting worse,
Wheres your honest men?
To your stations,
Man the ramparts,
The barricades
We need new heroes urgently
We need a few good honest men
Calling all honest men
Calling all honest men
Call to him
He lives next door,
Across the street
On the upper floor.
Its our only hope we need him now
Send the s.o.s. and red alert,
All across the universe,
Calling all honest men
S.o.s. emergency,
Sinking fast and getting worse,
Wheres your honest men
Strike a blow,
Save the ship,
We need a few good honest men
Calling all honest men
Calling all honest men
Calling all honest men
S.o.s. across the universe
Wheres your honest
We need your honest
Calling all honest men
Calling out all over the world,
Wheres your honest men
Looking out all over the world,
We need your honest men
song performed by by Electric Light Orchestra
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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As Lovers Go
She said "I've gotta be honest,
You're wasting your time if you're fishing round here."
And I said 'you must be mistaken,
Cause I'm not fooling...this feeling is real'
She said...she said 'you gotta be crazy,
What do you take me for...some kind of easy mind?'
You've got wits...you've got looks,
You've got passion but I swear that you've got me all wrong.
All wrong.
All wrong.
But you got me...
I'll be true, I'll be useful...
I'll be cavalier...I'll be yours my dear.
And I'll belong to you...
If you'll just let me through.
This is easy as lovers go,
So don't complicate it by hesitating.
And this is wonderful as loving goes,
This is telling me 'whats the sense in waiting?'
And I said "I've gotta be honest
I've been waiting for you all my life."
For so long I thought I was asylum bound,
But just seeing you makes me think twice.
And being with you here makes me sane,
I fear I'll go crazy if you leave my side.
You've got wits...you've got looks,
You've got passion but are you brave enough to leave with me tonight?
Tonight.
Tonight.
But you've got me...
I'll be true, I'll be useful...
I'll be cavalier...I'll be yours my dear.
And I'll belong to you...
If you'll just let me through.
This is easy as lovers go,
So don't complicate it by hesitating.
And this is wonderful as loving goes,
This is telling me "what's the sense in waiting?"
This is easy as lovers go,
So don't complicate it by hesitating.
And this is wonderful as loving goes,
This is telling me "what's the sense in waiting?
song performed by by Dashboard Confessional
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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