Joseph Heller Quotes

There are few reasons for telling the truth, but for lying the number is infinite.

No legacy is so rich as honesty.

An honorable man or woman is one who is truthful; free from deceit; above cheating, lying, stealing, or any form of deception. An honorable man or woman is one who learns early that one cannot do wrong and feel right. A man's character is judged on how he keeps his word and his agreements.

On the whole, I should say that the person who likes to lie should never, in any circumstances, be allowed to. Leave the lying to the people who hate it. You will not find them indulging often.

We never deceive people to benefit them, for knavery is a compound of wickedness and falsehood.

When treating with liars, even an honest man must lie.

There were people who lied for gain, people who lied from pain, people who lied simply because the concept of telling the truth was utterly alien to them . . . and then there were people who lied because they were waiting for it to be time to tell the truth.

You can't cheat an honest man.

He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it the second time.

The whole truth is generally the ally of virtue; a half-truth is always the ally of some vice.

Never lie under any circumstances.

Honesty may be the best policy, but it's important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy.

Leaders must not be naive. I used to say, "Liars shouldn't lie." What a sad waste of words that is! I found out liars are supposed to lie. That's why we call them liars - they lie! What else would you expect them to do?

People seldom tell the truths that are worth telling. We ought to choose our truths as carefully as we choose our lies and to select our virtues with as much thought as we bestow upon the selection of our enemies.

I would say that today, dishonesty is the rule, and honesty the exception. It could be, statistically, that more people are honest than dishonest, but the few that really control things are not honest, and that tips the balance.

If you are going to do something that you have to lie about, don't do it, it's very simple.

Lying has become so much the accepted norm that people lie even when it would be simpler to tell the truth.

People do peculiar things in life and they do for whatever reason but I think one of the greatest crimes in life is when you lie.

When you lie there's always going to be a consequence. Lying never wins at the end.

I think you can be an honest person and lie about any number of things.

Since in the long run deception is likely to be found out, your character had better not only seem good, but be it.

Never tell a lie when you can bullshit your way through it

In plain truth, lying is an accursed vice. We are not men, nor have any other tie upon another, but by our word.

It is best, if possible, to deceive no one; for he that ... begins by deceiving others, will end ... by deceiving himself.

Never tell a lie-except for practice.