Insincerity Quotes

• Nothing is more disgraceful than insincerity.

  Marcus Tullius Cicero

  Disgraceful

  Marcus Tullius Cicero, Cyrus R. Edmonds (1863). “Three Books of Offices; Or, Moral Duties: Also His Cato Major, an Essay on Old Age; Laelius, an Essay on Friendship; Paradoxes; Scipio's Dream; and Letter to Quintus on the Duties of a Magistrate. Literally Translated, with Notes, Designed to Exhibit a Comparative View of the Opinions of Cicero, and Those of Modern Moralists and Ethical Philosophers”, p.72

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• The great enemy of clear language is insincerity.

  George Orwell

  Inspirational, Enemy, Language

  "All Art Is Propaganda: Critical Essays".

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• Insincerity in a man's own heart must make all his enjoyments, all that concerns him, unreal; so that his whole life must seem like a merely dramatic representation.

  Nathaniel Hawthorne

  Heart, Men, Dramatic

  Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Julian Hawthorne (2015). “Life and Genius of Nathaniel Hawthorne: Letters, Diaries, Reminiscences and Extensive Biographies: Autobiographical Writings of the Renowned American Novelist, Author of “The Scarlet Letter”, “The House of Seven Gables” and “Twice-Told Tales””, p.263, e-artnow

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• The insincerity of man-all men are liars, partial or hiders of facts, half tellers of truths, shirks, moral sneaks. When a merely honest man appears he is a comet-his fame is eternal-needs no genius, no talent-mere honesty

  Mark Twain

  Honesty, Liars, Men

  Mark Twain (2012). “Mark Twain at Your Fingertips: A Book of Quotations”, p.205, Courier Corporation

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• Once you can fake sincerity, you can fake anything.

  Mary Jo Putney

  Fake, Sincerity, Best House

  Mary Jo Putney (2002). “The Spiral Path”, Center Point Pub

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• I am afraid of people with too much charm. They devour you. In the end you are made a sacrifice to the exercise of their fascinating gift and their insincerity.

  W. Somerset Maugham

  Exercise, Sacrifice, People

  W. Somerset Maugham (1941). “the Gentleman in the Parlour”

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

  George Henry Lewes

  Strength, Errors, Weakness

  George Henry Lewes (1891). “The Principles of Success in Literature”

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• The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns, as it were, instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink.

  George Orwell

  Truth, Real, Political Language

  "Politics and the English Language" (1946)

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• Of all the evil spirits abroad at this hour in the world, insincerity is the most dangerous.

  James Anthony Froude

  Evil, Deceit, World

  James Anthony Froude (1872). “Short Studies on Great Subjects”, p.343

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• The most exhausting thing in life is being insincere.

  Anne Morrow Lindbergh

  Life, Being Yourself, Just Being

  "Gift from the Sea". Book by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Chapter 2, 1955.

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• The basis of insincerity is the idealized image we hold of ourselves and wish to impose on others.

  Anais Nin

  Wish, Bases

  "The Diary Of Anaïs Nin, Volume One (1931-1934)" by Anais Nin, 1969.

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• Smiling away your troubles requires a clear conscience that harbors no insincerity.

  Paramahansa Yogananda

  Smile, Yoga, Honor

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

  Oscar Wilde

  Thinking, Personality, Religion

  Oscar Wilde (2015). “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, p.168, First Avenue Editions

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• There is but one thing without honor, smitten with eternal barrenness, inability to do or to be,-insincerity, unbelief.

  Thomas Carlyle

  Infidelity, Honor, Inability

  Thomas Carlyle (1884). “Miscellaneous essays”

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• That's what show business is, sincere insincerity.

  Benny Hill

  Sincere, Shows, Show Business

  "Personal Quotes/ Biography". www.imdb.com.

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• Every single instance of a friend's insincerity increases our dependence on the efficacy of money.

  William Shenstone

  Increase, Efficacy, Instance

  William Shenstone, Samuel Johnson, Robert Dodsley (1807). “Essays on men and manners; with aphorisms, criticisms, impromptus, fragments, etc”, p.155

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• This is the age of insincerity. The movies had the misfortune to come along in the twentieth century, and because they appeal to the masses there can be no sincerity in them.

  Lionel Barrymore

  Age, Sincerity, Century

  "Biography / Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

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• I like the enthusiasm but not the insincerity of Los Angeles.

  Brenda Blethyn

  Enthusiasm, Los Angeles

  "'I think I'm quite good at my job'". Interview with Gareth McLean, www.theguardian.com. July 26, 2002.

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• Marriage always demands the greatest understanding of the art of insincerity possible between two human beings.

  Vicki Baum

  Marriage, Art, Two

  Vicki Baum (1931). “And Life Goes on”

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• Change does not fail to occur because of insincerity. The heart patient is not insincere about his wish to keep living, even as he reaches for another cigarette. Change fails to occur because we mean both things. It fails to occur because we are a living contradiction.

  Robert Kegan

  Heart, Mean, Wish

  Robert Kegan, Lisa Laskow Lahey (2013). “Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock the Potential in Yourself and Your Organization”, p.38, Harvard Business Press

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• What matters in Politics is what men actually do - sincerity is no excuse for acting unpolitically, and insincerity may be channelled by politics into good results.

  Bernard Crick

  Men, What Matters, Acting

  Bernard Crick (2013). “In Defence of Politics”, p.129, A&C Black

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• We none of us talk to people as we do behind their backs.

  Ivy Compton-Burnett

  People, Behinds

  Ivy Compton-Burnett (2011). “A Heritage and its History”, p.67, A&C Black

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• One of my pet theories is that readers have built-in BS detectors that enable them to recognize insincerity in writers. David [Halberstam] was sincerity to the core. He believed in what he wrote, and that conviction conveyed itself to readers.

  Jonathan Yardley

  Pet, Sincerity, Conviction

  "David Halberstam". The Washington Post Live Q&As, www.washingtonpost.com. April 24, 2007.

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• There are many justifications of silence; there can be none of insincerity.

  George Henry Lewes

  Silence, Justification

  George Henry Lewes (1891). “The Principles of Success in Literature”

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• Man is nothing but insincerity, falsehood, and hypocrisy, both in regard to himself and in regard to others. He does not wish that he should be told the truth, he shuns saying it to others; and all these moods, so inconsistent with justice and reason, have their roots in his heart.

  Blaise Pascal

  Heart, Men, Roots

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