--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Bid the dishonest man mend himself; if he…" description: "\"Bid the dishonest man mend himself; if he mend, he is no longer dishonest.\" — William Shakespeare" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/991/william-shakespeare-4_ifs_bid-the-dishonest-man-mend-himself-if-he_1590594.jpg" --- # Bid the dishonest man mend himself; if he mend, he is no… ![“Bid the dishonest man mend himself; if he mend, he is no longer dishonest.” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/991/william-shakespeare-4_ifs_bid-the-dishonest-man-mend-himself-if-he_1590594.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/991/william-shakespeare-4_ifs_bid-the-dishonest-man-mend-himself-if-he_1590594.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/991/william-shakespeare-4_ifs_bid-the-dishonest-man-mend-himself-if-he_1590594.jpg) > “Bid the dishonest man mend himself; if he mend, he is no longer dishonest.” [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that if a dishonest person reforms, they cease to be dishonest. **In simple terms:** Reformation ends dishonesty. Key Takeaway Support personal change and redemption. Themes redemption morality personal growth Mood hopeful cautious Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - counseling - rehabilitation programs - leadership training - conflict resolution Key Concepts ethical transformation character development trust Questions to Reflect On - What signs indicate genuine change? - How can society balance forgiveness with accountability? A Different Perspective Reformation may be incomplete or insincere. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Man Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-men/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [God never made his work for man to mend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/god-never-made-his-work-for-man-to-mend/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [I'm dishonest, and a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest... Honestly, it's the honest ones you want to watch out for,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-sparrow/i-m-dishonest-and-a-dishonest-man-you-can-always-trust-to-be/) Jack Sparrow > [Me, I'm dishonest, and you can always trust a dishonest man to be dishonest. 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That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies Which busy care draws in the brains of men; Therefore thou sleep’st so sound. Julius Caesar (2.1.248-251)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thou-hast-no-figures-nor-no-fantasies-which-busy-care-draws-in-the/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Truth needs no color; beauty, no pencil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/truth-needs-no-color-beauty-no-pencil/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Have you not heard it said full oft, A woman's nay doth stand for naught?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/have-you-not-heard-it-said-full-oft-a-woman-s-nay-doth-stand-for/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Omittance is no quittance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/omittance-is-no-quittance/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Yes, madam: yet I cannot choose but laugh, To think it should leave crying and say 'Ay.' And yet, I warrant, it had upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/yes-madam-yet-i-cannot-choose-but-laugh-to-think-it-should-leave/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-take-thee-at-thy-word-call-me-but-love-and-i-ll-be-new-baptized/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) [Explore all 5,604 William Shakespeare quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## More Dishonest quotes > [I love him who is ashamed when the dice fall in his favour, and who then asketh: "Am I a dishonest player?" - for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/i-love-him-who-is-ashamed-when-the-dice-fall-in-his-favour-and-who/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [It is intellectually dishonest to lump venture investors with hedge fund and buy-out investors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ferreira/it-is-intellectually-dishonest-to-lump-venture-investors-with-hedge/) [Jose Ferreira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ferreira/) > [Yes, even I am dishonest. 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. One can get away by being dishonest for a short term,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kapil-dev/in-the-long-run-i-believe-that-honesty-is-definitely-the-best-policy/) [Kapil Dev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kapil-dev/) > [To go into a competition and not strive to win is to be a dishonest competitor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/to-go-into-a-competition-and-not-strive-to-win-is-to-be-a-dishonest/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [Short of the dishonest, the illegal, and the cruel, there's only one thing my son could do that would really disappoint me: not liking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/short-of-the-dishonest-the-illegal-and-the-cruel-there-s-only-one/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [We are looking at a lot of dishonest news that comes across where people are lying outrageously about other people. And I hope that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/we-are-looking-at-a-lot-of-dishonest-news-that-comes-across-where/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [It would be dishonest to say winning an Oscar wouldn't be awesome. I'm sure it would be great, but if it matters all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ti-west/it-would-be-dishonest-to-say-winning-an-oscar-wouldn-t-be-awesome-i-m/) [Ti West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ti-west/) > [Dishonest hearts burn bridges. Don't worry if they move forward form mistreating you, they have nothing to fall back on. 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": "Bid the dishonest man mend himself; if he mend, he is no longer dishonest.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Shakespeare" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/bid-the-dishonest-man-mend-himself-if-he-mend-he-is-no-longer/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dishonest" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/bid-the-dishonest-man-mend-himself-if-he-mend-he-is-no-longer/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/991/william-shakespeare-4_ifs_bid-the-dishonest-man-mend-himself-if-he_1590594.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/991/william-shakespeare-4_ifs_bid-the-dishonest-man-mend-himself-if-he_1590594.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/991/william-shakespeare-4_ifs_bid-the-dishonest-man-mend-himself-if-he_1590594.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Bid the dishonest man mend himself; if he mend, he is no longer dishonest.” — William Shakespeare", "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": "William Shakespeare", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Bid the dishonest man mend himself;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/bid-the-dishonest-man-mend-himself-if-he-mend-he-is-no-longer/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/bid-the-dishonest-man-mend-himself-if-he-mend-he-is-no-longer/#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 } } ] } ```