Honesty is the best policy; but he who is governed by that maxim is not an honest man.
quote by Richard Whately, Archbishop of Dublin

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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.
quote by Robert E. Lee

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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In all honesty
In all honesty
today has been
something out of the ordinary.
In all honesty
I could do with some christmas carols
and a mug of hot chocolate.
In all honesty
walking on the road without a sidewalk
is more exhilerating than anything else.
In all honesty
watching fog settle over the road
can bring tears to anyones eyes.
In all honesty
you're the only person
I'm mostly honest to.
In all honesty
this poem
is entirely honest.
poem by Erica Francis

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Would that the simple maxim, that honesty is the best policy, might be laid to heart; that a sense of the true aim of life might elevate the tone of politics and trade till public and private honor become identical.
quote by Margaret Fuller

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Honesty moves hearts
as honest. As policy,
it is justly best.
haiku by Edgardo Tugade (22 July 2008)

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This country must be governed, and can be governed, simply on questions of policy and administration and the French Canadians who have had any part in this movement have never had any other intention but to organise upon those party distinctions and upon no other.
quote by Wilfrid Laurier

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I am afraid we must make the world honest before we can honestly say to our children that honesty is the best policy.
quote by Walter Besant

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We must make the world honest before we can honestly say to our children that honesty is the best policy.
quote by George Bernard Shaw

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Honesty may be the best policy, but it's important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy.
quote by George Carlin

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Certainly he is not of the generation that regards honesty as the best policy. However, he does regard it as a policy. (On President Richard M Nixon)
quote by Irving Layton

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Honesty verses loyalty
Loyalty is being honest to a person;
Honesty is being loyal to a cause.
Loyalty is being faithful
And honesty, being virtuous.
Kumbakarna was loyal;
Vibhishna was honest.
The world is run by loyalty
Rather than by honesty.
07.09.2009
[Kumbakarna and Vibhishna are yonger brothers of King Ravana in the Hindu epic Ramayana.]
poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar

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Do You Think You're Honest?
Many times honesty becomes a
question of affordability. It is far
easier to be honest if you have
all that you need. Try being honest
when homeless, disenfranchised or
badly in need of food. You see...given the
time and circumstances...honesty
becomes a question affordability.
Whatever Have the Governed Become?
What ever have the governed become?
Mere puppets fed some grain
Of fancy lies as elections come
As though they lack some needed brain?
What ever end shall the governed be,
Mere numbers on the survey scale?
Pressed upon and taxed so freely
To pay for debts when leaders fail?
Why does the governed keep so silent
Accepting all in meek obedience
When in their hearts Protest is bent
On shouting out their very Conscience?
No, the governed will speak and rule
No more of lies and sheer Deception
Governed we are and we're not fools
We will not cower in the face of Corruption!
poem by Cynthia Buhain-Baello

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Though it is tough
Though it is tough Few tell lies, honesty is found Majority are liars It is much more honorable to be honest Honesty is the best legacy The narrow path leads through narrow path of honesty and so trouble gets far away from our domain We see and acknowledge it is true
poem by Olayemi Ayo

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To avoid entangling alliances has been a maxim of our policy ever since the days of Washington, and its wisdom no one will attempt to dispute.
quote by James Buchanan

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A child, from the time he can think, should think about all he sees, should suffer for all who cannot live with honesty, should work so that all men can be honest, and should be honest himself.
quote by Jose Marti

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Almost any difficulty will move in the face of honesty. When I am honest I never feel stupid. And when I am honest I am automatically humble.
quote by Hugh Prather

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I Owe It First To Myself To Be Honest
I owe it first to myself to be honest.
I use to believe it did not matter,
If I kept the depth of my feelings hidden.
But then I realized I had a wish,
To have at least one person unafraid...
To escape and leave behind their pretentions.
And today after doing it to strip myself free,
My ability to recognize honesty in others...
Is a feeling I get that is non-verbally expressed.
And I could care less,
Who accepts expressed pretentions!
I owe it first to myself to be honest.
I had been the last to know I'd been tricked,
By the foolishness of believing others had arrived.
To find myself deluded in the midst,
Of those too comfortable with the telling of lies.
I can now detect with my ears and eyes.
To leave my honesty disguised if I must.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

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Honesty is the best policy.
quote by Benjamin Franklin

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Honesty is the best policy - when there is money in it.
quote by Mark Twain

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