--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we dealt only with the false and…" description: "\"If we dealt only with the false and dishonest, we should at last forget how to speak truth.\" — Henry David Thoreau" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dd/henry-david-thoreau-20_forget_if-we-dealt-only-with-the-false-and-dish_1771012.jpg" --- # If we dealt only with the false and dishonest, we should… ![“If we dealt only with the false and dishonest, we should at last forget how to speak truth.” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dd/henry-david-thoreau-20_forget_if-we-dealt-only-with-the-false-and-dish_1771012.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dd/henry-david-thoreau-20_forget_if-we-dealt-only-with-the-false-and-dish_1771012.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dd/henry-david-thoreau-20_forget_if-we-dealt-only-with-the-false-and-dish_1771012.jpg) > “If we dealt only with the false and dishonest, we should at last forget how to speak truth.” [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When we focus only on falsehoods, we lose the habit of speaking truth. **In simple terms:** Ignoring lies erodes truthfulness. Key Takeaway Practice honesty despite surrounding deceit. Themes truth integrity communication Mood reflective serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - political debate - personal relationships - media consumption Key Concepts moral philosophy speech ethics Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain truth in a dishonest environment? - What habits reinforce truthful speech? A Different Perspective Truth can be suppressed by pervasive dishonesty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Speak the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak-the-truth/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [The only way to speak the truth is to speak lovingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-only-way-to-speak-the-truth-is-to-speak-lovingly/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [It takes two to speak the truth: one to speak, and another to hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/it-takes-two-to-speak-the-truth-one-to-speak-and-another-to-hear/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Silence is a powerful answer but don't forget to speak when you have to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/silence-is-a-powerful-answer-but-don-t-forget-to-speak-when-you-have/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [Every time I've been around Beyonce, I get so nervous that I forget how to speak English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justine-skye/every-time-i-ve-been-around-beyonce-i-get-so-nervous-that-i-forget/) [Justine Skye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justine-skye/) > [Crush, When you look me in the eyes, I forget how to speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/crush-when-you-look-me-in-the-eyes-i-forget-how-to-speak/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Speak the truth, even if you voice shakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknow/speak-the-truth-even-if-you-voice-shakes/) Unknow > [I am tired of talk that comes to nothing It makes my heart sick when I remember all the good words and all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/i-am-tired-of-talk-that-comes-to-nothing-it-makes-my-heart-sick-when/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [It is better to be divided by truth than to be united in error. It is better to speak the truth that hurts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-rogers/it-is-better-to-be-divided-by-truth-than-to-be-united-in-error-it-is/) [Adrian Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-rogers/) > [They're only words. You can't be afraid of words that speak the truth, even if it's an unpleasant truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/they-re-only-words-you-can-t-be-afraid-of-words-that-speak-the-truth/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Speak the truth even if its against your self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/speak-the-truth-even-if-its-against-your-self/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is so difficult - at least, I find it difficult - to understand people who speak the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/it-is-so-difficult-at-least-i-find-it-difficult-to-understand-people/) [E. M. 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I keep it real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-vera/i-just-speak-the-truth-i-keep-it-real/) [Marlon Vera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-vera/) ## More by Henry David Thoreau > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Men say they know many things; But lo! they have taken wings, — The arts and sciences, And a thousand appliances; The wind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-say-they-know-many-things-but-lo-they-have-taken-wings-the-arts/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or back gammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-voting-is-a-sort-of-gaming-like-checkers-or-back-gammon-with-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-for-doing-good-that-is-one-of-the-professions-which-is-full/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [A traveler who looks at things with an impartial eye may see what the oldest inhabitant has not observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-traveler-who-looks-at-things-with-an-impartial-eye-may-see-what-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. 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Not in many ways, but in some. Forty-one, I think it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/yes-even-i-am-dishonest-not-in-many-ways-but-in-some-forty-one-i/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“I wouldn’t mind politicians lying to me, stealing from me, or senselessly making life difficult if they didn’t try to claim they were looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-wouldn-t-mind-politicians-lying-to-me-stealing-from-me-or/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I've never seen more dishonest media than frankly, the political media. I thought the financial media was much better, much more honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-ve-never-seen-more-dishonest-media-than-frankly-the-political-media/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [“I can’t afford to be dishonest. I also can’t afford to be poor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-can-t-afford-to-be-dishonest-i-also-can-t-afford-to-be-poor/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Promises are always broken and never kept. Dishonest people do what they want, when they want and dont care about who gets hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/promises-are-always-broken-and-never-kept-dishonest-people-do-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nixon was the most dishonest individual I have ever met in my life. He lied to his wife, his family, his friends, his colleagues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/nixon-was-the-most-dishonest-individual-i-have-ever-met-in-my-life-he/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [In the long run, I believe that honesty is definitely the best policy. 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They torched it all](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dishonest-hearts-burn-bridges-don-t-worry-if-they-move-forward-form/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Floating the idea that every kid in Brixton can become a whizkid at information technology is dishonest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/floating-the-idea-that-every-kid-in-brixton-can-become-a-whizkid-at/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) Browse all 306 Dishonest quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If we dealt only with the false and dishonest, we should at last forget how to speak truth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry David Thoreau" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-we-dealt-only-with-the-false-and-dishonest-we-should-at-last/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dishonest" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-we-dealt-only-with-the-false-and-dishonest-we-should-at-last/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dd/henry-david-thoreau-20_forget_if-we-dealt-only-with-the-false-and-dish_1771012.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dd/henry-david-thoreau-20_forget_if-we-dealt-only-with-the-false-and-dish_1771012.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dd/henry-david-thoreau-20_forget_if-we-dealt-only-with-the-false-and-dish_1771012.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If we dealt only with the false and dishonest, we should at last forget how to speak truth.” — Henry David Thoreau", "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": "Henry David Thoreau", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If we dealt only with the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-we-dealt-only-with-the-false-and-dishonest-we-should-at-last/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-we-dealt-only-with-the-false-and-dishonest-we-should-at-last/#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 } } ] } ```