Christopher Fry Quotes

Most style is not honest enough.

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

Polite conversation is rarely either.

Platitudes are safe, because they're easy to wink at, but truth is something else again.

It is the nature of truth in general, as of some ores in particular, to be richest when most superficial.

If you hate something, you hate it, and if you like something or somebody, you like it, but tell the truth. And most celebrities have that thin veneer that they will not break for you.

I'm not always sincere. One can't be in this world, you know.

There is nothing in the world more difficult than candor, and nothing easier than flattery. If there is a hundredth of a fraction of a false note to candor, it immediately produces dissonance, and as a result, exposure. But in flattery, even if everything is false down to the last note, it is still pleasant, and people will listen not without pleasure; with coarse pleasure, perhaps, but pleasure nevertheless.

Charm and nothing but charm at last grows a little tiresome. It's a relief then to deal with a man who isn't quite so delightful but a little more sincere.

There's nothing harder than going on TV and saying something that you don't believe. I don't do that anymore.

The hardest thing about being famous is that people are always nice to you. You're in a conversation and everybody's agreeing with what you're saying - even if you say something totally crazy. You need people who can tell you what you don't want to hear.

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.

I'm not going to just say nice things about everybody unless I mean it.

I am not sincere, even when I say I am not.

I am not honest.

I'm just happy I'm not a phony.

I abhor hypocrisy.

It's so much easier to tell people what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear.

You've got to be honest; if you can fake that, you've got it made.

Remember that it is not enough to abstain from lying by word of mouth; for the worst lies are often conveyed by a false look, smile, or act.

Insincerity is always weakness; sincerity even in error is strength.

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

The most exhausting thing in life is being insincere.

You want me to tell me the truth or do you want me to stroke you?

It's a waste of time for people to say things they think other people want to hear, or try and come off in a certain way. I try to be as honest as I can.