Evan Esar Quotes

My dad was my role model; he always did the right thing.

If children are expected to be honest, parents must be honest. If children are expected to be virtuous, parents must be virtuous. If you expect your children to be honorable, you must be honorable.

My parents taught me the importance of telling the truth no matter what.

Family are the people who must make you feel ashamed when you are deserving of shame.

Peace of mind just can't be bought. Trust me: Even if your conscience doesn't stop you from playing dirty to get what you want, once you get it, it will keep you from enjoying it. As my mother used to say, "A good conscience is God's eye." Which is why I always prefer a loss to an underhanded gain; the one brings pain at the moment, the other for all time.

A good man with a good conscience doesn't walk so fast.

My dad has ingrained that in me: 'Be accountable.'

A clear conscience is a sure card.

My dad made a huge impact on me in terms of right and wrong.

Dad taught us about morals, values and goals. Having a tight-knit family was important to him.

My guiding principle is this: Guilt is never to be doubted.

Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring, and integrity, they think of you.

One of my weaknesses is that I actually have a conscience.

If I hear a lie in my life with my children, with my wife, my work, my audiences, I want to annihilate myself, vaporize myself and wipe myself off the face of the earth.

I've never been a manipulator, even in my bachelor days. I never wanted to do things to people that could catch up with me later on.

The only correct actions are those that demand no explanation and no apology.

Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.

With integrity, you have nothing to fear, since you have nothing to hide. With integrity, you will do the right thing, so you will have no guilt.

My father was very strong. I don't agree with a lot of the ways he brought me up. I don't agree with a lot of his values, but he did have a lot of integrity, and if he told us not to do something, he didn't do it either.

Now I come to 75 years of age, I think what's most important in life is your conscience. If you told a lie and made other people suffer, I think that's very difficult when you reach this age.

I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves.

My parents were always very strict, and they gave me the right beliefs in how to treat people. It was very strict and all about morals - I try to pass that on to my own children.

Our parents set the moral tone of the family. They expected more of some of us and less of others, but never less than they thought we were capable of.

If you did something, and it wasn't right, you definitely found out about it. And they were pretty smart people, both my parents, so you didn't get too much by them.

When I was growing up, my parents always told me that I had to do what I thought was right and not listen to other people. That was hard for me.