There's one way to find out if a man is honest: ask him; if he says yes, you know he's crooked.

You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.

For time alone shews a man's honesty,
But in one day you may discern his guilt.

Make yourself an honest man, and then you may be sure that there is one less scoundrel in the world.

Men will not cease to be dishonest, merely because their dishonesties have been revealed or because they have discovered their own deceptions. Wherever men hold unequal power in society, they will strive to maintain it. They will use whatever means are most convenient to that end and will seek to justify them by the most plausible arguments they are able to devise.

When a man really tells the truth, the first truth he tells is that he himself is a liar.

Lie to a liar, for lies are his coin; steal from a thief, for that is easy; lay a trap for the trickster and catch him at the first attempt, but beware of an honest man. (said by the author to be a Somali saying)

If he's honest, he'll steal; if he's human, he'll murder; if he's faithful, he'll deceive.

If you want to know what a man is really like, take notice of how he acts when he loses money.

In a world in which everyone cheats, it's the honest man who passes for a charlatan.

As honest as you can expect a man to be in a world where its going out of style.

In fact, I do not believe there is an honest man alive without some pretension,

The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.

Daughter! Get you an honest Man for a Husband, and keep him honest. No matter whether he is rich, provided he be independent. Regard the Honour and moral Character of the Man more than all other Circumstances. Think of no other Greatness but that of the soul, no other Riches but those of the Heart. An honest, Sensible humane Man, above all the Littlenesses of Vanity, and Extravagances of Imagination, labouring to do good rather than be rich, to be usefull rather than make a show, living in a modest Simplicity clearly within his Means and free from Debts or Obligations, is really the most respectable Man in Society, makes himself and all about him the most happy.