--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We never deceive people to benefit them…" description: "\"We never deceive people to benefit them, for knavery is a compound of wickedness and falsehood.\" — Jean de la Bruyere" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e76/jean-de-la-bruyere-575_benefits_we-never-deceive-people-to-benefit-them_386786.png" --- # We never deceive people to benefit them, for knavery is a… ![“We never deceive people to benefit them, for knavery is a compound of wickedness and falsehood.” quote by Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e76/jean-de-la-bruyere-575_benefits_we-never-deceive-people-to-benefit-them_386786.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e76/jean-de-la-bruyere-575_benefits_we-never-deceive-people-to-benefit-them_386786.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e76/jean-de-la-bruyere-575_benefits_we-never-deceive-people-to-benefit-them_386786.png) > “We never deceive people to benefit them, for knavery is a compound of wickedness and falsehood.” [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Deception, even with good intent, corrupts morality and leads to falsehood. **In simple terms:** Deceiving harms everyone. Key Takeaway Honesty outweighs perceived benefits. Themes ethics deception integrity Mood critical reflective Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - business - politics Key Concepts moral philosophy human nature Questions to Reflect On - Is any deception ever justified? - What are the long‑term costs? A Different Perspective Sometimes small lies seem harmless. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deception/) [Falsehood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falsehood/) [Knavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knavery/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Wickedness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wickedness/) ## Related quotes > [We never deceive for a good purpose: knavery adds malice to falsehood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/we-never-deceive-for-a-good-purpose-knavery-adds-malice-to-falsehood/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [An organized effort is making to deceive the people. There are two great enemies of thought and progress, the aristocracy of royalty and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-elizabeth-lease/an-organized-effort-is-making-to-deceive-the-people-there-are-two/) [Mary Elizabeth Lease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-elizabeth-lease/) > [Propaganda does not deceive people; it merely helps them to deceive themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/propaganda-does-not-deceive-people-it-merely-helps-them-to-deceive/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I cannot deceive my people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/recep-tayyip-erdogan/i-cannot-deceive-my-people/) [Recep Tayyip Erdogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/recep-tayyip-erdogan/) > [“My dear Usbek, when women feel, as they lose their attractiveness, that their end is coming in advance, they would like to go backwards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/montesquieu/my-dear-usbek-when-women-feel-as-they-lose-their-attractiveness-that/) [Montesquieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/montesquieu/) > [It is, perhaps, a debatable question, whether a person who has always been notoriously in the habit of lying, has a right to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-d-prentice/it-is-perhaps-a-debatable-question-whether-a-person-who-has-always/) [George D. Prentice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-d-prentice/) > [They want to deceive their people first because now they are in a very shabby situation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/they-want-to-deceive-their-people-first-because-now-they-are-in-a/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [Lot of stories in deceit, how characters deceive other people, but most of all, I think, how they deceive themselves. We're not as tricky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/lot-of-stories-in-deceit-how-characters-deceive-other-people-but-most/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [I think I can deceive people. I'm like, the nice, sweet girl when you meet me. And I don't have any bad intentions. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-silverstone/i-think-i-can-deceive-people-i-m-like-the-nice-sweet-girl-when-you/) [Alicia Silverstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-silverstone/) > [In the first place, then, men should guard against the beginning of change, and in the second place they should not rely upon the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/in-the-first-place-then-men-should-guard-against-the-beginning-of/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [When a person cannot deceive himself the chances are against his being able to deceive other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/when-a-person-cannot-deceive-himself-the-chances-are-against-his/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Hillary Clinton believes that it's vital to deceive the people by having one public policy and a totally different policy in private.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/hillary-clinton-believes-that-it-s-vital-to-deceive-the-people-by/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [“Sometimes you lie to deceive people. Sometimes you lie because you need the lie to become the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/sometimes-you-lie-to-deceive-people-sometimes-you-lie-because-you/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“It is your intention that determines your honor. 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If she is thought faithful, she is perfidious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/the-unfaithful-woman-if-she-is-known-for-such-by-the-person-concerned/) [Jean De La Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [What greater weakness can there be than not to know what is the source of one's being, of one's life, of one's senses, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/what-greater-weakness-can-there-be-than-not-to-know-what-is-the/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [Some people pretend they never were in love and never wrote poetry; two weaknesses which they dare not own -- one of the heart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/some-people-pretend-they-never-were-in-love-and-never-wrote-poetry/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [How much wit, good-nature, indulgences, how many good offices and civilities, are required among friends to accomplish in some years what a lovely face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/how-much-wit-good-nature-indulgences-how-many-good-offices-and/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [A man starts upon a sudden, takes Pen, Ink, and Paper, and without ever having had a thought of it before, resolves within himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/a-man-starts-upon-a-sudden-takes-pen-ink-and-paper-and-without-ever/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [Born merely for the purpose of digestion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/born-merely-for-the-purpose-of-digestion/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [A man of variable mind is not one man, but several men in one; 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