Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes

People are ridiculous only when they try or seem to be that which they are not.

The only thing worse than a coach or CEO who doesn't care about his people is one who pretends to care. People can spot a phony every time.

I don't like fake people.

It might be said that the pose of absolute honesty is the most dishonest one of all.

Is insincerity such a terrible thing? I think not. It is merely a method by which we can multiply our personalities.

You can talk without saying a thing. I don't ever want to be that type of person.

Do you expect sincerity in man when hypocrisy is the very keynote of human nature? We are nurtured on it; we are schooled in it, we live by it; and we rarely realize it.’ – Book 3, Chapter 16

I don't like it when someone can look you in the eye and lie to you, or pretend that they're more than you.

High rank and soft manners may not always belong to a true heart.

We continually say things to support an opinion, which we have given, that in reality we don't above half mean.

Out of five hundred who speak glibly of love, not one can spell the first letter of his name.

I don't want to lie. I dislike dishonesty. And I work in Hollywood, a town and a business that relies on a lot of falsehoods with people hiding behind different facades. I don't want to be a part of that.

An ounce of hypocrisy is worth a pound of ambition.

I abhor hypocrisy.

It's discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.

Sincere words are not fine; fine words are not sincere.

We all respect sincerity in our friends and acquaintances, but Hollywood is willing to pay for it.

Don't be 'consistent', but be simply true.

God knows we are subtle creatures who are more than able to use candour to avoid acknowledging our deceptions of others and ourselves.

It's very difficult to distinguish between what a person believes and what they say they believe.

Sincerity: if you can fake it, you've got it made.

We ought to see far enough into a hypocrite to see even his sincerity.

Always be sincere, even if you don't mean it.

A single moment spent in a business meeting or at a pub is more than enough to reveal the basic human truth that we are all faking it most of the time. We congratulate a rival on a triumph when actually we are choking on spite. We are cordial and attentive to crashing bores.

I don't have to put on a front. If I had to, it would be difficult and tiring.