--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You could not bribe honest people, but…" description: "\"You could not bribe honest people, but bad people would accept bribery.\" — Anne Holm" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/anne-holm-23374_accepting_you-could-not-bribe-honest-people-but-ba_721935.png" --- # You could not bribe honest people, but bad people would… ![“You could not bribe honest people, but bad people would accept bribery.” quote by Anne Holm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/anne-holm-23374_accepting_you-could-not-bribe-honest-people-but-ba_721935.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/anne-holm-23374_accepting_you-could-not-bribe-honest-people-but-ba_721935.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/anne-holm-23374_accepting_you-could-not-bribe-honest-people-but-ba_721935.png) > “You could not bribe honest people, but bad people would accept bribery.” [Anne Holm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-holm/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Integrity resists bribery, while corrupt individuals are vulnerable to it, highlighting moral disparity. **In simple terms:** Honest people reject bribes; corrupt accept. Key Takeaway Maintain integrity to avoid corruption. Themes ethics corruption integrity Mood cautious analytical Type ethical practical When to use this quote - government contracts - corporate negotiations - charitable donations - legal proceedings Key Concepts political science business ethics Questions to Reflect On - How do you safeguard against subtle bribery? - What systems deter corrupt behavior? A Different Perspective Even honest people can be pressured; vigilance is needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-people/) [Being honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-honest/) [Bribe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bribe/) [Bribery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bribery/) [Corruption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corruption/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Honest people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest-people/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [Until the nineteen-seventies, Western countries paid little attention to corruption overseas, and bribery was seen as an unpleasant but necessary part of doing business…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/until-the-nineteen-seventies-western-countries-paid-little-attention/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [“But in Africa bureaucrats are usually too proud to accept a bribe, something I admire when I'm not the one being arrested.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/but-in-africa-bureaucrats-are-usually-too-proud-to-accept-a-bribe/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [“It used to be said "Build it and they will come," now it is "Build it and bribe them in".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/it-used-to-be-said-build-it-and-they-will-come-now-it-is-build-it-and/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [What, shall one of us, That struck for the foremost man of all this world But for supporting robbers--shall we now Contaminate our fingers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/what-shall-one-of-us-that-struck-for-the-foremost-man-of-all-this/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Tis pleasant purchasing our fellow-creatures; And all are to be sold, if you consider Their passions, and are dext'rous; some by features Are brought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/tis-pleasant-purchasing-our-fellow-creatures-and-all-are-to-be-sold/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [No mortal thing can bear so high a price, But that with mortal thing it may be bought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-raleigh/no-mortal-thing-can-bear-so-high-a-price-but-that-with-mortal-thing/) [Walter Raleigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-raleigh/) > [Judges and senates have been bought for gold; Esteem and love were never to be sold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/judges-and-senates-have-been-bought-for-gold-esteem-and-love-were/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Our supple tribes repress their patriot throats, And ask no questions but the price of votes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/our-supple-tribes-repress-their-patriot-throats-and-ask-no-questions/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Alas! the small discredit of a bribe Scarce hurts the lawyer, but undoes the scribe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/alas-the-small-discredit-of-a-bribe-scarce-hurts-the-lawyer-but/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Tis gold Which buys admittance--oft it doth--yea, and makes Diana's rangers false themselves, yield up This deer to th' stand o' th' stealer: and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/tis-gold-which-buys-admittance-oft-it-doth-yea-and-makes-diana-s/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Plato argued that good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will always find a way around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-howard/plato-argued-that-good-people-do-not-need-laws-to-tell-them-to-act/) [Philip K. 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