--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Piety requires us to honour truth above…" description: "\"“Piety requires us to honour truth above our friends.”\" — Aristotle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9c/aristotle-78_piety_piety-requires-us-to-honour-truth-above_1278066.png" --- # Piety requires us to honour truth above our friends. ![“Piety requires us to honour truth above our friends.” quote by Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9c/aristotle-78_piety_piety-requires-us-to-honour-truth-above_1278066.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9c/aristotle-78_piety_piety-requires-us-to-honour-truth-above_1278066.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9c/aristotle-78_piety_piety-requires-us-to-honour-truth-above_1278066.png) > ““Piety requires us to honour truth above our friends.”” [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True piety means valuing truth above personal relationships, even when it challenges friendships. **In simple terms:** Piety demands truth over friendship. Key Takeaway Prioritize truth over personal ties. Themes ethics loyalty truth philosophy Mood thoughtful serious Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - legal testimony - academic debate - family disputes - political whistleblowing Key Concepts Moral hierarchy integrity philosophical virtue Questions to Reflect On - Can truth ever be harmful? - How to balance loyalty and honesty? A Different Perspective Truth may damage relationships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Honour Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honour-truth-2338300/) [Piety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piety/) [Piety Requires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piety-requires-600006/) [Requires Honour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/requires-honour-4120355/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-friends-600007/) ## Related quotes > [For though we love both the truth and our friends, piety requires us to honor the truth first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/for-though-we-love-both-the-truth-and-our-friends-piety-requires-us/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Piety requires us to honor truth above our friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/piety-requires-us-to-honor-truth-above-our-friends/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [For though we love both the truth and our friends, piety requires us to honor the truthfirst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle-384-322-bc/for-though-we-love-both-the-truth-and-our-friends-piety-requires-us-2/) [Aristotle (384â322 BC](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle-384-322-bc/) > [In thy face I see the map of honour, truth and loyalty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/in-thy-face-i-see-the-map-of-honour-truth-and-loyalty/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Only enemies tell the truth, friends and lovers lie endlessly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/only-enemies-tell-the-truth-friends-and-lovers-lie-endlessly/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [TIME and truth are friends, though there are many moments hostile to truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/time-and-truth-are-friends-though-there-are-many-moments-hostile-to/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [“Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals? There is an offer you will get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as-2/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Only enemies speak the truth; friends and lovers lie endlessly, caught in the web of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/only-enemies-speak-the-truth-friends-and-lovers-lie-endlessly-caught/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [True friends aren't the ones who hide truth about their friends, but the ones who tell the truth to their friends about them in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oksana-serdyuk/true-friends-aren-t-the-ones-who-hide-truth-about-their-friends-but/) [Oksana Serdyuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oksana-serdyuk/) > [Friends tell each other the truth, and then friends stick around for the aftermath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-dickinson/friends-tell-each-other-the-truth-and-then-friends-stick-around-for/) [Amy Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-dickinson/) > [Truth has very few friends and those few are suicides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-porchia/truth-has-very-few-friends-and-those-few-are-suicides/) [Antonio Porchia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-porchia/) > [Friends tell the truth to one another. Friends don't slam the door to correction or reflection when it is offered with affection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-dickinson/friends-tell-the-truth-to-one-another-friends-don-t-slam-the-door-to/) [Amy Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-dickinson/) > [I have never seen either a drop of piety or a grain of truth or ingenuousness - nay, I have never found common sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/i-have-never-seen-either-a-drop-of-piety-or-a-grain-of-truth-or/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [The knowledge of the soul admittedly contributes greatly to the advance of truth in general, and, above all, to our understanding of Nature, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-knowledge-of-the-soul-admittedly-contributes-greatly-to-the/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“Is that what they teach you at the convent? That the gods demand the hearts from our bodies?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-lafevers/is-that-what-they-teach-you-at-the-convent-that-the-gods-demand-the/) [Robin LaFevers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-lafevers/) ## More by Aristotle > [The knowledge of the soul admittedly contributes greatly to the advance of truth in general, and, above all, to our understanding of Nature, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-knowledge-of-the-soul-admittedly-contributes-greatly-to-the/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The body is at its best between the ages of thirty and thirty-five; the mind is at its best about the age of forty-nine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-body-is-at-its-best-between-the-ages-of-thirty-and-thirty-five/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The ensouled is distinguished from the unsouled by its being alive. Now since being alive is spoken of in many ways, even if only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-ensouled-is-distinguished-from-the-unsouled-by-its-being-alive/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Although it may be difficult in theory to know what is just and equal, the practical difficulty of inducing those to forbear who can,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/although-it-may-be-difficult-in-theory-to-know-what-is-just-and-equal/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The true forms of government, therefore, are those in which the one, or the few, or the many, govern with a view to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-true-forms-of-government-therefore-are-those-in-which-the-one-or/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [All men by nature desire to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/all-men-by-nature-desire-to-know/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [All persons ought to endeavor to follow what is right, and not what is established.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/all-persons-ought-to-endeavor-to-follow-what-is-right-and-not-what-is/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Give a man a poisoned fish, you feed him for the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/give-a-man-a-fish-you-feed-him-for-a-day-give-a-man-a-poisoned-fish/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The man who confers a favour would rather not be repaid in the same coin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-man-who-confers-a-favour-would-rather-not-be-repaid-in-the-same/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The mother of revolution and crime is poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-mother-of-revolution-and-crime-is-poverty/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Obstinate people can be divided into the opinionated, the ignorant, and the boorish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/obstinate-people-can-be-divided-into-the-opinionated-the-ignorant-and/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Happiness does not consist in pastimes and amusements but in virtuous activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/happiness-does-not-consist-in-pastimes-and-amusements-but-in-virtuous/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [To learn is a natural pleasure, not confined to philosophers, but common to all men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/to-learn-is-a-natural-pleasure-not-confined-to-philosophers-but/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Every virtue is a mean between two extremes, each of which is a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/every-virtue-is-a-mean-between-two-extremes-each-of-which-is-a-vice/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Explore all 1,545 Aristotle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## More Piety quotes > [“Is that what they teach you at the convent? That the gods demand the hearts from our bodies?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-lafevers/is-that-what-they-teach-you-at-the-convent-that-the-gods-demand-the/) [Robin LaFevers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-lafevers/) > [But if you will recall the history of our civil troubles, you will see half the nation bathe itself, out of piety, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/but-if-you-will-recall-the-history-of-our-civil-troubles-you-will-see/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [The world is a wonderfully weird place, consensual reality is significantly flawed, no institution can be trusted, certainty is a mirage, security a delusion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-world-is-a-wonderfully-weird-place-consensual-reality-is/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [I have never seen either a drop of piety or a grain of truth or ingenuousness - nay, I have never found common sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/i-have-never-seen-either-a-drop-of-piety-or-a-grain-of-truth-or/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [As a social and as a personal force, religion has become a dependent variable. It does not originate; it reacts. It does not denounce;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/as-a-social-and-as-a-personal-force-religion-has-become-a-dependent/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [“Short devotions are the bane of deep piety. Calmness, grasp, strength, are never the companions of hurry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-bounds/short-devotions-are-the-bane-of-deep-piety-calmness-grasp-strength/) [E.M. Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-bounds/) > [Piety is a discipline of the will through respect. It admits the right to exist of things larger than the ego, of things different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/piety-is-a-discipline-of-the-will-through-respect-it-admits-the-right/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [The hypocrisy and false piety of the deniers aside, the relationships of gays have no effect on heteros. Especially all the heteros who've done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ridley/the-hypocrisy-and-false-piety-of-the-deniers-aside-the-relationships/) [John Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ridley/) > [“There is only one salvation for you: take yourself up, and make yourself responsible for all the sins of men. For indeed it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/there-is-only-one-salvation-for-you-take-yourself-up-and-make/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [Whatever withdraws us from the power of our senses; whatever makes the past, the distant, or the future, predominate over the present, advances us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/whatever-withdraws-us-from-the-power-of-our-senses-whatever-makes-the/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Alas, Postumus, the fleeting years slip by, nor will piety give any stay to wrinkles and pressing old age and untamable death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/alas-postumus-the-fleeting-years-slip-by-nor-will-piety-give-any-stay/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Those who misrepresent the normal experiences of life, who decry being controversial, who shun risk, are the enemies of the American way of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wriston/those-who-misrepresent-the-normal-experiences-of-life-who-decry-being/) [Henry Wriston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wriston/) > [I am persuaded, you will permit me to observe, that the path of true piety is so plain as to require but little political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/i-am-persuaded-you-will-permit-me-to-observe-that-the-path-of-true/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [since piety has become the fashion at Court, dramatic authors imagine that their pieces would be more welcome if they added in a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-charlotte-d-orleans/since-piety-has-become-the-fashion-at-court-dramatic-authors-imagine/) [Elisabeth Charlotte d'Orleans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-charlotte-d-orleans/) > [“I believe in order, tenderness, and piety.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-believe-in-order-tenderness-and-piety/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) [Browse all 415 Piety quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piety/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Piety requires us to honour truth above our friends.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aristotle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/piety-requires-us-to-honour-truth-above-our-friends/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Piety" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/piety-requires-us-to-honour-truth-above-our-friends/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9c/aristotle-78_piety_piety-requires-us-to-honour-truth-above_1278066.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9c/aristotle-78_piety_piety-requires-us-to-honour-truth-above_1278066.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9c/aristotle-78_piety_piety-requires-us-to-honour-truth-above_1278066.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Piety requires us to honour truth above our friends.” — Aristotle", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Aristotle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Piety requires us to honour truth...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/piety-requires-us-to-honour-truth-above-our-friends/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/piety-requires-us-to-honour-truth-above-our-friends/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```