Salman Rushdie Quotes

Deal faithfully and truly with your own soul.

The more sincerity is developed, the greater share of truth you will have. And however much sincerity a person may have, there is always a gap to fill, for we live in the midst of falsehood, and we are always apt to be carried away by this world of falsehood. Therefore we must never think we are sincere enough, and we must always be on our guard against influences which may carry us away from that sincerity which is the bridge between ourselves and our ideal. No study, no meditation is more helpful than sincerity itself.

I am expressing myself truthfully. That is an important thing.

My body gets weak without truth.

No man can produce great things who is not thoroughly sincere in dealing with himself.

Be as you wish to seem.

Live a sincere life; be natural, and be honest with yourself.

Sincerity is the way to heaven; to think how to be sincere is the way of man.

To be sincere means to be the same person when one is with oneself; that is to say, alone - but that is all it means.

When writing about oneself, one must strive to be truthful. Truth is more important than modesty.

To be true to myself, to be the person that was on the inside of me, and not play games. That's what I'm trying to do mostly in the whole world, is not bullshit myself and not bullshit anybody else.

Men must be honest with themselves before they can be honest with others. A man who is not honest with himself presents a hopeless case.

The reason he [Jimmy Carter] says he never lies is because he thinks the truth originates with him.

If you start thinking about being likable you are not going to tell your story honestly.

I deliberately state my age because it keeps me honest. I think lying is a bad idea. Sooner or later, someone's going to catch you.

For two extraordinary years I have been working on it - learning to write - but mostly learning how to tell the truth. At first it is quite impossible. You make yourself better than anybody, then worse than anybody, and when you finally come to see you are "like" everybody - that is the bitterest blow of all to the ego. But in the end it is only the truth, no matter how ugly or shameful, that is right, that fits together, that makes real people, and strangely enough - beauty.

I think it's more important to seek the truth than to try and be perfect, to be honest.

It is indeed a million times better to appear untrue before the world than to be untrue to ourselves.

Years ago I read an interview with Paula Fox in which she said that in writing, truth is just as important as story. Reading that interview was the first time I really understood that there's no point in trying to impress people with my cleverness when I can just try to write honestly about what matters most to me.

It is dishonorable to say one thing and think another; how much more dishonorable to write one thing and think another.

The greatest gift you ever give is your honest self.

If we took as much pains to be what we ought, as we do to deceive others by disguising what we are; we might appear as we are, without being at the trouble of any disguise.

Not one of us can lie or pretend. We're all fixed in good faith in a certain concept of ourselves.

I may not be able to say all I think; but I am not going to say anything I do not think.

I've caught myself a time or two adding or embellishing. I don't think that pleases the Lord. I don't think He needs my dishonesty to convey His gospel.