John Steinbeck Quotes

An untruth must be spoken, where need requires. For whether men lie, or say true, it is with one and the same object. Men lie, because they think to gain by deceiving others; and speak the truth, because they expect to get something by their true speaking, and to be trusted afterwards in more important matters. Thus, though their conduct is so opposite, the end of both is alike. If there were no gain to be got, your true-speaking man would tell untruths as much as your liar, and your liar would tell the truth as much as your true-speaking man.

Sometimes it’s more noble to tell a small lie than to deliver a painful truth.

Deep down in me I knowed it was a lie, and He knowed it. You can't pray a lie - I found that out.

Lies don't fix things. They don't even make things easier, at least not in the long run. Best to tell the truth and then clean up an honest mess.

Never is a promise, and you can't afford to lie.

A white lie is always pardonable. But he who tells the truth without compulsion merits no leniency.

I'll tell you something that's completely true - you can, as a man, obtain everything you want with the truth. If you lie, first of all you've got to be a very good lying actor, which is tres difficile. And it's going to give you poison inside the body.

No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.

There are times when a falsehood well told bridges over quite a difficulty, but in the long run, you had better tell the truth, even if you swim the creek.

Truth is a pain which will not stop. And the truth of this world is to die. You must choose: either dying or lying. Personally, I have never been able to kill myself.

For every good reason there is to lie, there is a better reason to tell the truth.

I've always operated under the notion that audiences don't always know when they're being lied to, but that they always know when they're being told the truth.

You cannot tell an audience a lie. They know it before you do; before it's out of your mouth, they know it's a lie.

I don't think lying has any ultimate justification. I don't think it ever leads to anything positive. The good fight to have is not to lie. That's one of the challenges in a way.

When a man lies, he murders some part of the world.

I suppose everyone tells little white lies. Quite often they're necessary to make someone feel better or prevent feelings from being hurt. Whoppers? No, that's dangerous and they'll boomerang.

I never lie, so if somebody asked me a question, I told them.

A German is someone who cannot tell a lie without believing it himself.

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

Don't lie if you don't have to.

If you want to be thought a liar, always tell the truth.

I can take any truth; just don't lie to me.

I don't like to tell lies.

It's okay to lie as long as you reach a higher truth doing it.

One ought to have a good memory when he has told a lie.