Ay, sir; to be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand.
William Shakespeare on Honesty
1564–1616 England
← All quotes by William Shakespeare
28 quotes
He will lie, sir, with such volubility, that you would think truth were a fool.
Lord, Lord, how subject we old men are to the vice of lying!
Your bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth.
These lies are like the father that begets them; gross as a mountain, open, palpable.
An honest tale speeds best being plainly told.
Richard III (1591)
Who makes the fairest show means most deceit.
Men should be what they seem;
Or those that be not, would they might seem none!
Othello (1603)
Take note, take note, O world,
To be direct and honest is not safe.
Othello (1603)
To lapse in fulness
Is sorer than to lie for need, and falsehood
Is worse in kings than beggars.
Cymbeline (1611)
Oh, that deceit should steal such gentle shapes,
And with a virtuous vizard hide foul guile.
Richard III (1591)
But when the fox hath once got in his nose,
He'll soon find means to make the body follow.
Whose tongue soe'er speaks false,
Not truly speaks; who speaks not truly, lies.
King John (1598)
O, that deceit should dwell
In such a gorgeous palace!
Romeo and Juliet (1597)
Make the Moor thank me, love me and reward me,
For making him egregiously an ass.
Othello (1603)
Macbeth (1605)
For my part, if a lie may do thee grace,
I'll gild it with the happiest terms I have.
Attribution
Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: William Shakespeare (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.