--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He who says there is no such thing as an…" description: "\"He who says there is no such thing as an honest man, you may be sure is himself a knave.\" — George Berkeley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e10/george-berkeley-8287_honest_he-who-says-there-is-no-such-thing-as-an_657962.jpg" --- # He who says there is no such thing as an honest man, you… ![“He who says there is no such thing as an honest man, you may be sure is himself a knave.” quote by George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e10/george-berkeley-8287_honest_he-who-says-there-is-no-such-thing-as-an_657962.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e10/george-berkeley-8287_honest_he-who-says-there-is-no-such-thing-as-an_657962.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e10/george-berkeley-8287_honest_he-who-says-there-is-no-such-thing-as-an_657962.jpg) > “He who says there is no such thing as an honest man, you may be sure is himself a knave.” [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An assertion that claiming universal dishonesty is itself dishonest, highlighting hypocrisy. **In simple terms:** Calling all dishonest is dishonest. Key Takeaway Avoid blanket accusations. Themes honesty hypocrisy integrity Mood skeptical reflective Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - political discourse - personal relationships - media criticism Key Concepts ethical philosophy logic Questions to Reflect On - Is it possible to be universally honest? - How do you address hypocrisy without hypocrisy? A Different Perspective It may overlook genuine dishonesty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Knave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knave/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [I am always afraid of a fool. One cannot be sure that he is not a knave as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/i-am-always-afraid-of-a-fool-one-cannot-be-sure-that-he-is-not-a/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Necessity makes an honest man a knave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/necessity-makes-an-honest-man-a-knave/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [Every knave is a thorough knave, and a thorough knave is a knave throughout.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/every-knave-is-a-thorough-knave-and-a-thorough-knave-is-a-knave/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [There are songs and artists now who are trying to do the same thing: be honest to their experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-parker/there-are-songs-and-artists-now-who-are-trying-to-do-the-same-thing/) [Erik Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-parker/) > [The best thing is to always keep honest people around, because when you have a bunch of yes men around that know that you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/the-best-thing-is-to-always-keep-honest-people-around-because-when/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) > [The important thing is to be honest and always tell people the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-onana/the-important-thing-is-to-be-honest-and-always-tell-people-the-truth/) [Andre Onana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-onana/) > [For me the important thing is I have four honest lads in front of me who give their everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kasper-schmeichel/for-me-the-important-thing-is-i-have-four-honest-lads-in-front-of-me/) [Kasper Schmeichel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kasper-schmeichel/) > [I want to go to bed richer than when I woke up. The pursuit of wealth is a wonderful thing, but the thing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-o-leary/i-want-to-go-to-bed-richer-than-when-i-woke-up-the-pursuit-of-wealth/) [Kevin O'Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-o-leary/) > [The thing about us is we're honest. If we're asked whether we take drugs, we say yes. I was brought up by my mom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/the-thing-about-us-is-we-re-honest-if-we-re-asked-whether-we-take/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) > [“Also, I’m not going to be devastated or anything either way. I’m not that kind of person. I just think if you don’t say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green-david-levithan/also-i-m-not-going-to-be-devastated-or-anything-either-way-i-m-not/) John Green David Levithan > [Sometimes we have to lie so that we do not needlessly hurt others. The important thing is that we are honest with ourselves. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/sometimes-we-have-to-lie-so-that-we-do-not-needlessly-hurt-others-the/) [F. Sionil José](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [Everybody makes honest mistakes, but there's no such thing as an honest cover-up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/price-pritchett/everybody-makes-honest-mistakes-but-there-s-no-such-thing-as-an/) [Price Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/price-pritchett/) > [“I just think if you don't say the honest thing, sometimes the honest thing never becomes true, you know, and I-”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-think-if-you-don-t-say-the-honest-thing-sometimes-the-honest/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I have often wondered whether it is really a good thing to be honest by nature and upbringing; certainly it is not a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/i-have-often-wondered-whether-it-is-really-a-good-thing-to-be-honest/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [The good thing is that I'm always honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-linney/the-good-thing-is-that-i-m-always-honest/) [Laura Linney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-linney/) ## More by George Berkeley > [For my own private satisfaction, I had rather be master of my own time than wear a diadem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/for-my-own-private-satisfaction-i-had-rather-be-master-of-my-own-time/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [To be a good patriot, a man must consider his countrymen as God's creatures, and himself as accountable for his acting towards them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/to-be-a-good-patriot-a-man-must-consider-his-countrymen-as-god-s/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [ \[Christianity\] neither enjoins the nastiness of the Cynic, nor the insensibility of the Stoic. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/christianity-neither-enjoins-the-nastiness-of-the-cynic-nor-the/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [The method of Fluxions is the general key by help whereof the modern mathematicians unlock the secrets of Geometry, and consequently of Nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/the-method-of-fluxions-is-the-general-key-by-help-whereof-the-modern/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [Upon the whole, I am inclined to think that the far greater part, if not all, of those difficulties which have hitherto amused philosophers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/upon-the-whole-i-am-inclined-to-think-that-the-far-greater-part-if/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [Certainly he who can digest a second or third fluxion need not, methinks, be squeamish about any point in divinity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/certainly-he-who-can-digest-a-second-or-third-fluxion-need-not/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [Truth is the cry of all, but the game of few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/truth-is-the-cry-of-all-but-the-game-of-few/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [ \[Tar water\] is of a nature so mild and benign and proportioned to the human constitution, as to warm without heating, to cheer but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/tar-water-is-of-a-nature-so-mild-and-benign-and-proportioned-to-the/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [The same principles which at first view lead to skepticism, pursued to a certain point, bring men back to common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/the-same-principles-which-at-first-view-lead-to-skepticism-pursued-to/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [I might as well doubt of my own being, as of the being of those things I actually see and feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/i-might-as-well-doubt-of-my-own-being-as-of-the-being-of-those-things/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [Make a point never go clear, it is great odds that a man whose habits and the bent of whose mind lie a contrary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/make-a-point-never-go-clear-it-is-great-odds-that-a-man-whose-habits/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [Atheism ... that bugbear of women and fools ... is the very top and perfection of free-thinking. It is the grand arcanum to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/atheism-that-bugbear-of-women-and-fools-is-the-very-top-and/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [“...we ought to think with the learned, and speak with the vulgar .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/we-ought-to-think-with-the-learned-and-speak-with-the-vulgar/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [ The most ingenious men are now agreed, that \[universities\] are only nurseries of prejudice, corruption, barbarism, and pedantry. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/the-most-ingenious-men-are-now-agreed-that-universities-are-only/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [But the velocities of the velocities - the second, third, fourth, and fifth velocities, etc. - exceed, if I mistake not, all human understanding...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/but-the-velocities-of-the-velocities-the-second-third-fourth-and/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) [Explore all 82 George Berkeley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) ## More Honest quotes > [How strong is a faith that can't stand up to a few honest questions?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-c-davis/how-strong-is-a-faith-that-can-t-stand-up-to-a-few-honest-questions/) [Kenneth C. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-c-davis/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [Tobacco is the passion of honest men and he who lives without tobacco is not worthy of living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/tobacco-is-the-passion-of-honest-men-and-he-who-lives-without-tobacco/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [It is worthwhile for anyone to have behind him a few generations of honest, hard-working ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-worthwhile-for-anyone-to-have-behind-him-a-few-generations-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“RIGHT Do you do what feels right or what is seen right?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty-downer/right-do-you-do-what-feels-right-or-what-is-seen-right/) [Kitty Downer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kitty-downer/) > [One of the most basic principles for making and keeping peace within and between nations. . . is that in political, military, moral, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/one-of-the-most-basic-principles-for-making-and-keeping-peace-within/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [I don't know - to be honest, I don't really model myself after anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-klattenhoff/i-don-t-know-to-be-honest-i-don-t-really-model-myself-after-anybody/) [Diego Klattenhoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-klattenhoff/) > [There's a certain edge about cruelty. If you're honest about it, most people wince, but say it had to be said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-waterman/there-s-a-certain-edge-about-cruelty-if-you-re-honest-about-it-most/) [Pete Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-waterman/) > [I have often spoken of integrity as the most important of these values, realizing that integrity – and personal integrity, at that – is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verghese-kurien/i-have-often-spoken-of-integrity-as-the-most-important-of-these/) [Verghese Kurien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verghese-kurien/) > [Honest people don't hide their deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/honest-people-don-t-hide-their-deeds/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [I used to not be really honest with girls and then I dropped a song called Starry Room and then I started turning over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaden-smith/i-used-to-not-be-really-honest-with-girls-and-then-i-dropped-a-song/) [Jaden Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaden-smith/) > [Fuck perfect, I want honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djsovviet/fuck-perfect-i-want-honest/) Djsovviet > [If I'm honest, I think everything is funny. You've just got to find the right way in. When I'm at my happiest and when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mcintyre/if-i-m-honest-i-think-everything-is-funny-you-ve-just-got-to-find-the/) [Michael McIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mcintyre/) > [I think managers see that I am honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-lallana/i-think-managers-see-that-i-am-honest/) [Adam Lallana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-lallana/) [Browse all 7,016 Honest quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He who says there is no such thing as an honest man, you may be sure is himself a knave.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Berkeley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/he-who-says-there-is-no-such-thing-as-an-honest-man-you-may-be-sure/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Honest" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/he-who-says-there-is-no-such-thing-as-an-honest-man-you-may-be-sure/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e10/george-berkeley-8287_honest_he-who-says-there-is-no-such-thing-as-an_657962.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e10/george-berkeley-8287_honest_he-who-says-there-is-no-such-thing-as-an_657962.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e10/george-berkeley-8287_honest_he-who-says-there-is-no-such-thing-as-an_657962.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He who says there is no such thing as an honest man, you may be sure is himself a knave.” — George Berkeley", "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": "George Berkeley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "He who says there is no...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/he-who-says-there-is-no-such-thing-as-an-honest-man-you-may-be-sure/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/he-who-says-there-is-no-such-thing-as-an-honest-man-you-may-be-sure/#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 } } ] } ```