If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it.
—Marcus Aurelius (121–180) Emperor of Rome, Stoic Philosopher
I am not covetous for gold; but if it be a sin to covet honor, I am the most offending soul alive.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
The commitments we make to ourselves and to others, and our integrity to those commitments, is the essence and clearest manifestation of our proactivity.
—Stephen Covey (1932–2012) American Self-help Author
It is far better to be trusted and respected that it is to be liked.
—Unknown
When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
There is always room for those who can be relied upon to delivery the goods when they say they will.
—Napoleon Hill (1883–1970) American Author, Journalist, Attorney, Lecturer
I don’t have to attend every argument I’m invited to.
—Unknown
It is easier to find a score of men wise enough to discover the truth than to find one intrepid enough, in the face of opposition, to stand up for it.
—Archibald Alexander Hodge (1823–86) American Presbyterian Theologian
Character is higher than intellect… a great soul will be strong to live, as well as to think.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
When you choose the lesser of two evils, always remember that it is still an evil.
—Max Lerner (1902–92) Russian-born American Journalist
Conscience is what hurts when everything else feels so good.
—Unknown
Fame or integrity: which is more important? Money or happiness: which is more valuable? Success or failure: which is more destructive? If you look to others for fulfillment, you will never truly be fulfilled. If your happiness depends on money, you will never be happy with yourself. Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.
—Laozi (fl.6th Century BCE) Chinese Philosopher, Sage
There is a difference between him who does no misdeeds because of his own conscience and him who is kept from wrongdoing because of the presence of others.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
My strength is as the strength of ten, because my heart is pure.
—Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–92) British Poet
I’m a slow walker, but I never walk back.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.
—Thomas Paine (1737–1809) American Nationalist, Author, Pamphleteer, Radical, Inventor
Every human being has, like Socrates, an attendant spirit; and wise are they who obey its signals. If it does not always tell us what to do, it always cautions us what not to do.
—Lydia Maria Child (1802–80) American Abolitionist, Writer
You can out-distance that which is running after you, but not what is running inside you.
—African Proverb
You cannot believe in honor until you have achieved it. Better keep yourself clean and bright: you are the window through which you must see the world.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
A man may be born a jackass; but it is his business if he makes himself a double one.
—Martin H. Fischer
We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–82) American Poet, Educator, Academic
I believe that a life of integrity I the most fundamental source of personal worth. I do not agree with the popular success literature that says that self-esteem is primarily a matter of mind set, of attitude—that you can psych yourself into peace of mind. Peace of mind comes when your life is in harmony with true principles and values and in no other way.
—Stephen Covey (1932–2012) American Self-help Author
The only tyrant I accept in this world is the still voice within.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
You know what you are actually in love with? Integrity. The impossible. The clean, consistent, reasonable, self-faithful, the all-of-one-style, like a work of art.
—Ayn Rand (1905–82) Russian-born American Novelist, Philosopher
Truth is the secret of eloquence and of virtue, the basis of moral authority; it is the highest summit of art and of life.
—Henri Frederic Amiel (1821–81) Swiss Moral Philosopher, Poet, Critic
You can’t learn too soon that the most useful thing about a principle is that it can always be sacrificed to expediency.
—W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) British Novelist, Short-Story Writer, Playwright
Keep true, never be ashamed of doing right; decide on what you think is right and stick to it.
—George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) (1819–80) English Novelist
Are right and wrong convertible terms, dependant upon popular opinion?
—William Lloyd Garrison (1805–79) American Journalist, Abolitionist
Live with integrity, respect the rights of other people, and follow your own bliss.
—Nathaniel Branden (1930–2014) American Psychotherapist
Everyone complains of his lack of memory, but nobody of his want of judgement.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer