Benjamin Franklin
(1706–1790) American author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, …
“Honesty may be the best policy, but it's important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy.”
Last update June 3, 2021.
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George Carlin 270
American stand-up comedian 1937–2008Related quotes
“Honesty is the best policy — when there is money in it.”
Mark Twain
(1835–1910) American author and humorist
Speech to Eastman College (1901)
Source: The Mad Man (1994), p. 67; ellipses in the original
“Honesty is always the best policy, even when it's not the trend.”
Sean Covey
(1964) author; business executive
Source: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide
Robert E. Lee
(1807–1870) Confederate general in the Civil War
"Memoirs of Robert E. Lee" by A. L. Long (1886)
1870s
Source: The 48 Laws of Power
George Washington
(1732–1799) first President of the United States
1790s, Farewell Address (1796)
Context: Tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world; so far, I mean, as we are now at liberty to do it; for let me not be understood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing engagements. I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy. I repeat it, therefore, let those engagements be observed in their genuine sense. But, in my opinion, it is unnecessary and would be unwise to extend them.
“The severest justice may not always be the best policy.”
Abraham Lincoln
(1809–1865) 16th President of the United States
Veto message, eventually not executed, written as a response to the Second Confiscation Act passed by Congress. (17 July 1862)
The Emancipation Proclamation, by John Hope Franklin, Doubleday Anchor Books, New York, NY, 1963, p. 19
1860s