Deep Thoughts on Honesty (not mine)

We tell lies when we are afraid... afraid of what we don't know, afraid of what others will think, afraid of what will be found out about us. But every time we tell a lie, the thing that we fear grows stronger. ~Tad Williams

A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put its pants on. ~Winston Churchill

The cruelest lies are often told in silence. ~Adlai Stevenson

It takes two to lie. One to lie and one to listen. ~"Homer Simpson," from the television show The Simpsons

Falsehood is invariably the child of fear in one form or another. Aleister Crowley

I hate deception, even where the imagination only is concerned.

GEORGE WASHINGTON, letter to Dr. John Cochran, Aug. 16, 1779

I never encourage deceit, and falsehood, especially if you have got a bad memory, is the worst enemy a fellow can have. The fact is truth is your truest friend, no matter what the circumstances are.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN, letter to George E. Pickett, Feb. 22, 1841

He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual; he tells lies without attending to it, and truths without the world's believing him. This falsehood of the tongue leads to that of the heart, and in time depraves all its good dispositions.

THOMAS JEFFERSON, leter to Peter Carr, Aug. 19, 1785

Lies are a little fortress; inside them you can feel safe and powerful. Through your little fortress of lies you try to run your life and manipulate others. But the fortress needs walls, so you build some. These are the justifications for your lies. You know, like you are doing this to protect someone you love, to keep them from feeling pain. Whatever works, just so you feel okay about the lies.

WM. PAUL YOUNG, The Shack

A half-truth does more mischief than a whole lie.

IVAN PANIN, Thoughts