--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I know how easy it is for one to stay…" description: "\"I know how easy it is for one to stay well within moral, ethical, and legal bounds through the skillful use of words - and to thereby spin, sidestep, c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/sidney-poitier-4270_bounds_i-know-how-easy-it-is-for-one-to-stay-we_888529.jpg" --- # I know how easy it is for one to stay well within moral… ![“I know how easy it is for one to stay well within moral, ethical, and legal bounds through the skillful use of words - and to thereby spin, sidestep, circumvent, or bend a truth completely out of shape. To that extent, we are all liars on numerous occasions.” quote by Sidney Poitier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/sidney-poitier-4270_bounds_i-know-how-easy-it-is-for-one-to-stay-we_888529.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/sidney-poitier-4270_bounds_i-know-how-easy-it-is-for-one-to-stay-we_888529.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/sidney-poitier-4270_bounds_i-know-how-easy-it-is-for-one-to-stay-we_888529.jpg) > “I know how easy it is for one to stay well within moral, ethical, and legal bounds through the skillful use of words - and to thereby spin, sidestep, circumvent, or bend a truth completely out of shape. To that extent, we are all liars on numerous occasions.” [Sidney Poitier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-poitier/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Words can be used to distort truth, making us lie without realizing it. **In simple terms:** Language can hide truth. Key Takeaway Be mindful of how words shape honesty. Themes ethics communication truth deception language Mood critical thoughtful Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - political debate - media reporting - personal relationships - legal testimony Key Concepts rhetoric cognitive bias social psychology Questions to Reflect On - When have you unintentionally twisted truth? - How do you ensure clarity in communication? A Different Perspective Truth can be compromised by intent, not just words. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bounds/) [Liars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liars/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Occasions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occasions/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) ## Related quotes > [When you have made evil the means of survival, do not expect men to remain good. Do not expect them to stay moral and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/when-you-have-made-evil-the-means-of-survival-do-not-expect-men-to/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“Anytime I see a rainbow, what comes into my mind is how skillful and talented someone was to create an ark that didn't leak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/anytime-i-see-a-rainbow-what-comes-into-my-mind-is-how-skillful-and/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [As a preacher, I should be prompted to tell men, not so much how to get their wheat bread cheaper, as of the bread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-a-preacher-i-should-be-prompted-to-tell-men-not-so-much-how-to-get/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“He is very skillful. But she understands…that what's delicious is different for everyone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsumi-ando/he-is-very-skillful-but-she-understands-that-what-s-delicious-is/) [Natsumi Ando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsumi-ando/) > [Smooth seas don't produce skillful sailors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-austin/smooth-seas-don-t-produce-skillful-sailors/) [Lynn Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-austin/) > [Wood burns because it has the proper stuff for that purpose in it; and a man becomes renowned because he has the necessary stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/wood-burns-because-it-has-the-proper-stuff-for-that-purpose-in-it-and/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Fidel Castro outlasted U.S. presidents determined to overthrow him, survived the collapse of the communist bloc that sustained him and outlived many of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-gjelten/fidel-castro-outlasted-u-s-presidents-determined-to-overthrow-him/) [Tom Gjelten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-gjelten/) > [Developing our capacity for compassion makes it possible for us to help others in a more skillful and effective way. And compassion helps us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/developing-our-capacity-for-compassion-makes-it-possible-for-us-to/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [Inward spiritual practices such as meditation, breathing techniques and self-analysis generate insights and enhance abilities, but none are so useful as learning to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/inward-spiritual-practices-such-as-meditation-breathing-techniques/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [Ah, how skillful grows the hand That obeyeth Love's command! It is the heart, and not the brain, That to the highest doth attain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/ah-how-skillful-grows-the-hand-that-obeyeth-love-s-command-it-is-the/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [The most skillful flattery is to let a person talk on, and be a listener.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/the-most-skillful-flattery-is-to-let-a-person-talk-on-and-be-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Systems program building is an entropy-decreasing process, hence inherently metastable. Program maintenance is an entropy-increasing process, and even its most skillful execution only delays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/systems-program-building-is-an-entropy-decreasing-process-hence/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Having no applicable skills, in any possible area whatsoever, effectively makes me the master of redundancy. But that info is obsolete, like my insults…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-advise/having-no-applicable-skills-in-any-possible-area-whatsoever/) Will Advise > [At a time when painting itself often seems to be a threatened, even despised, form of artistic activity, Andrew Salgado emerges as a dazzlingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucie-smith/at-a-time-when-painting-itself-often-seems-to-be-a-threatened-even/) Edward Lucie-Smith > [“You have to be skillful in your time management to be effective in life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-have-to-be-skillful-in-your-time-management-to-be-effective-in/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) ## More by Sidney Poitier > [Jackie Robinson is a true legend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-poitier/jackie-robinson-is-a-true-legend/) [Sidney Poitier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-poitier/) > [In my case, the body of work stands for itself... I think my work has been representative of me as a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-poitier/in-my-case-the-body-of-work-stands-for-itself-i-think-my-work-has/) [Sidney Poitier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-poitier/) > [You don't have to become something that you aren't to become better than you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-poitier/you-don-t-have-to-become-something-that-you-aren-t-to-become-better/) [Sidney Poitier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-poitier/) > [So it's been kind of a long road, but it was a good journey altogether.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-poitier/so-it-s-been-kind-of-a-long-road-but-it-was-a-good-journey-altogether/) [Sidney Poitier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-poitier/) > [I'd seen my father. He was a poor man, and I watched him do astonishing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-poitier/i-d-seen-my-father-he-was-a-poor-man-and-i-watched-him-do-astonishing/) [Sidney Poitier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-poitier/) > [If the image one holds of one's self contains elements that don't square with reality, one is best advised to let go of them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-poitier/if-the-image-one-holds-of-one-s-self-contains-elements-that-don-t/) [Sidney Poitier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-poitier/) > [I think the way I want to think. I live the way I want to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-poitier/i-think-the-way-i-want-to-think-i-live-the-way-i-want-to-live/) [Sidney Poitier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-poitier/) > [I had learned something of Miami from people who had visited there, so I knew what to expect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-poitier/i-had-learned-something-of-miami-from-people-who-had-visited-there-so/) [Sidney Poitier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-poitier/) > [We're all imperfect, and life is simply a perpetual, unending struggle against those imperfections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-poitier/we-re-all-imperfect-and-life-is-simply-a-perpetual-unending-struggle/) [Sidney Poitier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-poitier/) > [I did not go into the film business to be symbolized as someone else's vision of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-poitier/i-did-not-go-into-the-film-business-to-be-symbolized-as-someone-else/) [Sidney Poitier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-poitier/) > [I find myself, at this time in my life, no less challenged, no less plagued, no less intrigued by what I still don't know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-poitier/i-find-myself-at-this-time-in-my-life-no-less-challenged-no-less/) [Sidney Poitier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-poitier/) > [Living consciously involves being genuine; it involves listening and responding to others honestly and openly; it involves being in the moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-poitier/living-consciously-involves-being-genuine-it-involves-listening-and/) [Sidney Poitier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-poitier/) > [Every new fashion is a form of rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-poitier/every-new-fashion-is-a-form-of-rebellion/) [Sidney Poitier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-poitier/) > [I'll always be chasing you... Glory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-poitier/i-ll-always-be-chasing-you-glory/) [Sidney Poitier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-poitier/) > [So I'm OK with myself, with history, my work, who I am and who I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-poitier/so-i-m-ok-with-myself-with-history-my-work-who-i-am-and-who-i-was/) [Sidney Poitier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-poitier/) [Explore all 112 Sidney Poitier quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-poitier/) ## More Bounds quotes > [Man will not always stay on Earth; the pursuit of light and space will lead him to penetrate the bounds of the atmosphere, timidly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/man-will-not-always-stay-on-earth-the-pursuit-of-light-and-space-will/) [Konstantin Tsiolkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/) > [Importunity is a condition of prayer. We are to press the matter, not with vain repetitions, but with urgent repetitions. 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Each soul is a Compos'tor, of whose faults The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/the-world-s-a-printing-house-our-words-our-thoughts-our-deeds-are/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [Christian obligation cannot be made to accord with a law of expediency. The Christian's maxims are, Do right because you are bound to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-landey-patton/christian-obligation-cannot-be-made-to-accord-with-a-law-of/) Francis Landey Patton > [Such as the chain of causes we call Fate, such is the chain of wishes: one links on to another; the whole man is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/such-as-the-chain-of-causes-we-call-fate-such-is-the-chain-of-wishes/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > ['You spin in the sky, the world spins under you, and you step from land to land, while we . . .' She turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/you-spin-in-the-sky-the-world-spins-under-you-and-you-step-from-land/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > ['Facts' are the bounds of human knowledge, set for it, not by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/facts-are-the-bounds-of-human-knowledge-set-for-it-not-by-it/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [An order given in battle, an instruction issued by the master of a sailing ship, a cry for help, are as powerful in modifying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bronislaw-malinowski/an-order-given-in-battle-an-instruction-issued-by-the-master-of-a/) [Bronislaw Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bronislaw-malinowski/) > [It is only when our life proceeds within bounds and in an accepted, disciplined way, that the mind can be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinoba-bhave/it-is-only-when-our-life-proceeds-within-bounds-and-in-an-accepted/) [Vinoba Bhave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinoba-bhave/) > [Yes, thou art ever present, power divine; not circumscribed by time, nor fixed by space, confined to altars, nor to temples bound. In wealth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/yes-thou-art-ever-present-power-divine-not-circumscribed-by-time-nor/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [I have visited sweatshops, factories, and crowded slums. If I could not see it, I could smell it. The foundation of society is laid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/i-have-visited-sweatshops-factories-and-crowded-slums-if-i-could-not/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Once we are bound together to our brothers by a common good that is outside us, then we can breathe. 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