Ready to embark on an extraordinary voyage that will ignite the fires of integrity within your soul?
Brace yourself for an binspiring collection of profound wisdom, carefully curated to uplift your spirit and guide you towards a life of unwavering honor and authenticity.
In this captivating anthology, I have meticulously handpicked the finest gems of wisdom from philosophers, thinkers, and luminaries throughout history that I could find online.
These timeless words resonate with the very essence of integrity, illuminating the path towards ethical excellence with every turn of the page (or scroll of the display).
Whether you seek motivation to confront moral dilemmas, fortify your principles, or simply aspire to be the best version of yourself, this compilation will serve as your trusted companion, instilling a renewed sense of purpose and reminding you of the incredible strength that lies within your integrity.
10 Best Integrity Quotes
1. “If you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything.” ― Gordon A. Eadie
2. “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.” ― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
3. “Listen with curiosity. Speak with honesty. Act with integrity. The greatest problem with communication is we don’t listen to understand. We listen to reply. When we listen with curiosity, we don’t listen with the intent to reply. We listen for what’s behind the words.” ― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
4. “In the end you should always do the right thing even if it’s hard.” ― Nicholas Sparks, The Last Song
5. “Do what is right, not what is easy nor what is popular.” ― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
6. “I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.” ― Frederick Douglass
7. “One of the greatest regrets in life is being what others would want you to be, rather than being yourself.” ― Shannon L. Alder
8. “Top 15 Things Money Can’t Buy? Time. Happiness. Inner Peace. Integrity. Love. Character. Manners. Health. Respect. Morals. Trust. Patience. Class. Common sense. Dignity.” ― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
9. “In a room where
people unanimously maintain
a conspiracy of silence,
one word of truth
sounds like a pistol shot.” ― Czesław Miłosz
10. “A quiet conscience makes one strong!” ― Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl
30 Famous Integrity Quotes
1. “When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everyone will respect you.” ― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
2. “Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters” ― Albert Einstein
3. “I am not an angel,’ I asserted; ‘and I will not be one till I die: I will be myself. Mr. Rochester, you must neither expect nor exact anything celestial of me – for you will not get it, any more than I shall get it of you: which I do not at all anticipate.” ― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
4. “If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it.” ― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
5. “Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.” ― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
6. “I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have.” ― Abraham Lincoln
7. “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.” ― Abraham Lincoln
8. “Oh, Lizzy! do anything rather than marry without affection.” ― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
9. “Gentle reader, may you never feel what I then felt! May your eyes never shed such stormy, scalding, heart-wrung tears as poured from mine. May you never appeal to Heaven in prayers so hopeless and so agised as in that hour left my lips: for never may you, like me, dread to be the instrument of evil to what you wholly love.” ― Charlotte Brontë , Jane Eyre
10. “Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.” ― Oprah Winfrey
11. “Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over you. While you live, while it is in your power, be good.” ― Marcus Aurelius
12. “A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.” ― William James
13. “How much time he gains who does not look to see what his neighbour says or does or thinks, but only at what he does himself, to make it just and holy.” ― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
14. “I believe in integrity. Dogs have it. Humans are sometimes lacking it.” ― Cesar Millan
15. “We can’t take any credit for our talents. It’s how we use them that counts.” ― Madeleine L’Engle, A Wrinkle in Time: With Related Readings
16. “My mother said I broke her heart…but it was my integrity that was important. Is that so selfish? It sells for so little, but it’s all we have left in this place. It is the very last inch of us…but within that inch we are free.” ― Alan Moore, V for Vendetta
17. “If not us, then who?
If not now, then when?” ― John Lewis
18. “Integrity has no need of rules.” ― Albert Camus
19. “When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?” ― Eleanor Roosevelt
20. “It is easy to live for others, everybody does. I call on you to live for yourself.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
21. “The truly scary thing about undiscovered lies is that they have a greater capacity to diminish us than exposed ones.” ― Cheryl Hughes
22. “Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of — for credit is like fire; when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again. The way to a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.” ― Socrates
23. “Watch any plant or animal and let it teach you acceptance of what is, surrender to the Now.
Let it teach you Being.
Let it teach you integrity — which means to be one, to be yourself, to be real.
Let it teach you how to live and how to die, and how not to make living and dying into a problem.” ― Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
24. “Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.” ― Samuel Johnson, The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia
25. “You are only afraid if you are not in harmony with yourself.” ― Herman Hesse
26. “There are certain phrases potent to make my blood boil — improper influence! What old woman’s cackle is that?”
“Are you a young lady?”
“I am a thousand times better: I am an honest woman, and as such I will be treated.” ― Charlotte Brontë, Shirley
27. “Allow yourself to think only those thoughts that match your principles and can bear the bright light of day. Day by day, your choices, your thoughts, your actions fashion the person you become. Your integrity determines your destiny.” ― Heraclitus
28. “Confidence in others’ honesty is no light testimony of one’s own integrity.” ― Michel de Montaigne
29. “No man means all he says, and yet very few say all they mean, for words are slippery and thought is viscous.” ― Henry Adams, The Education of Henry Adams
30. “Too much honesty makes you sound insincere.” ― Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind
See also: 150 Starting Over Quotes To Inspire Your Journey Of Renewal
20 Integrity Quotes For Work
1. “Integrity is doing the right thing when nobody’s watching, and doing as you say you would do.” ― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
2. “May what I do flow from me like a river, no forcing and no holding back, the way it is with children.” ― Rainer Maria Rilke
3. “I don’t want everyone to like me; I should think less of myself if some people did.” ― Henry James
4. “Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if you don’t have the first, the other two will kill you. You think about it; it’s true. If you hire somebody without [integrity], you really want them to be dumb and lazy.” ― Warren Buffett
5. “If you don’t know where you are going,
you’ll end up someplace else.” ― Yogi Berra
6. “Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama.” ― Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements
7. “When people cheat in any arena, they diminish themselves-they threaten their own self-esteem and their relationships with others by undermining the trust they have in their ability to succeed and in their ability to be true.” ― Cheryl Hughes
8. “Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds.” ― George Eliot, Adam Bede
9. “Be good to your work, your word, and your friend.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
10. “Integrity is the ability to stand by an idea.” ― Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead
11. “Integrity is doing what is right and truthful, and doing as you say you would do.” ― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
12. “Pick a leader who will keep jobs in your country by offering companies incentives to hire only within their borders, not one who allows corporations to outsource jobs for cheaper labor when there is a national employment crisis. Choose a leader who will invest in building bridges, not walls. Books, not weapons. Morality, not corruption. Intellectualism and wisdom, not ignorance. Stability, not fear and terror. Peace, not chaos. Love, not hate. Convergence, not segregation. Tolerance, not discrimination. Fairness, not hypocrisy. Substance, not superficiality. Character, not immaturity. Transparency, not secrecy. Justice, not lawlessness. Environmental improvement and preservation, not destruction. Truth, not lies.” ― Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem
13. “All things must be examined, debated, investigated without exception and without regard for anyone’s feelings.” ― Denis Diderot
14. “The armour of falsehood is subtly wrought out of darkness, and hides a man not only from others, but from his own soul.” ― E.M. Forster, A Room with a View
15. “Integrity is doing the right thing, even if nobody is watching.” ― Jim Stovall
16. “Your words will either give you joy or give you sorrow, but if they were spoken without regret, they give you peace.” ― Shannon Alder
17. “You are so afraid of losing your moral sense that you are not willing to take it through anything more dangerous than a mud-puddle. ” ― Gertrude Stein
18. “Science is as corruptible a human activity as any other.” ― Michael Crichton, Next
19. “A wise woman knows when to stay silent. However, a wiser woman of faith knows that sometimes words can win the battle, when all odds stand against her.” ― Shannon L. Alder
20. “Who you are in public is a test of your conviction; who you are in private, integrity.”
― Criss Jami, Healology
See also: 130 Wise Acceptance Quotes To Help You Grow And Prosper
20 Inspirational Integrity Quotes
1. “I cannot and will not cut my conscience to fit this year’s fashions.” ― Lillian Hellman
2. “Good men don’t become legends,” he said quietly.
“Good men don’t need to become legends.” She opened her eyes, looking up at him. “They just do what’s right anyway.” ― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension
3. “Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people.” ― Spencer Johnson
4. “Staying silent is like a slow growing cancer to the soul and a trait of a true coward. There is nothing intelligent about not standing up for yourself. You may not win every battle. However, everyone will at least know what you stood for—YOU.” ― Shannon L. Alder
5. “I am not an angel,” I asserted; “and I will not be one till I die: I will be myself.” ― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
6. “But there are times in this harum-scarum world when figuring out the right thing to do is quite simple, but doing the right thing is simply impossible….” ― Lemony Snicket, Horseradish
7. “Be faithful to that which exists within yourself.” ― Andre Gide
8. “…the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword.”
“…a ruler who hides behind paid executioners soon forgets what death is.” ― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones
9. “I will not deny but that the best apology against false accusers is silence and sufferance, and honest deeds set against dishonest words.” ― John Milton
10. “Honesty is more than not lying. It is truth telling, truth speaking, truth living, and truth loving.” ― James E. Faust
11. “There can be no friendship without confidence, and no confidence without integrity.” ― Samuel Johnson
12. “Integrity is not a conditional word. It doesn’t blow in the wind or change with the weather. It is your inner image of yourself, and if you look in there and see a man who won’t cheat, then you know he never will. Integrity is not a search for the rewards of integrity. Maybe all you ever get for it is the largest kick in the ass the world can provide. It is not supposed to be a productive asset.” ― John D. MacDonald
13. “Truth at last cannot be hidden. Dissimulation is of no avail. Dissimulation is to no purpose before so great a judge. Falsehood puts on a mask. Nothing is hidden under the sun.” ― Leonardo da Vinci
14. “What do you think dignity’s all about?’
The directness of the inquiry did, I admit, take me rather by surprise. ‘It’s rather a hard thing to explain in a few words, sir,’ I said. ‘But I suspect it comes down to not removing one’s clothing in public.” ― Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day
15. “A mode of conduct, a standard of courage, discipline, fortitude and integrity can do a great deal to make a woman beautiful.” ― Jacqueline Bisset
16. “Some say if you want success surround yourself with successful people. I say if you want true and lasting success surround yourself with people of integrity.” ― Charles F. Glassman, Brain Drain – The Breakthrough That Will Change Your Life
17. “I am anchored on a resolve you cannot shake. My heart, my conscience shall dispose of my hand — they only. Know this at last.” ― Charlotte Brontë, Shirley
18. “Dependability, integrity, the characteristic of never knowingly doing anything wrong, that you would never cheat anyone, that you would give everybody a fair deal. Character is a sort of an all-inclusive thing. If a man has character, everyone has confidence in him.” ― Omar Bradley
19. “And this, too, affords no small occasion for anxieties – if you are bent on assuming a pose and never reveal yourself to anyone frankly, in the fashion of many who live a false life that is all made up for show; for it is torturous to be constantly watching oneself and be fearful of being caught out of our usual role. And we are never free from concern if we think that every time anyone looks at us he is always taking-our measure; for many things happen that strip off our pretence against our will, and, though all this attention to self is successful, yet the life of those who live under a mask cannot be happy and without anxiety. But how much pleasure there is in simplicity that is pure, in itself unadorned, and veils no part of its character!{PlainDealer+} Yet even such a life as this does run some risk of scorn, if everything lies open to everybody; for there are those who disdain whatever has become too familiar. But neither does virtue run any risk of being despised when she is brought close to the eyes, and it is better to be scorned by reason of simplicity than tortured by perpetual pretence.” ― Seneca, The Stoic Philosophy of Seneca: Essays and Letters
20. “Whatever does not pretend at all has style enough.” ― Booth Tarkington, The Magnificent Ambersons
See also: 180 Inspirational Quotes For Teens To Strike Young Hearts
20 Integrity Quotes For Your Inner Work
1. “I have lived with several Zen masters — all of them cats.” ― Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
2. “Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory.” ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
3. “They’re certainly entitled to think that, and they’re entitled to full respect for their opinions… but before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.” ― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
4. “Living with integrity means: Not settling for less than what you know you deserve in your relationships. Asking for what you want and need from others. Speaking your truth, even though it might create conflict or tension. Behaving in ways that are in harmony with your personal values. Making choices based on what you believe, and not what others believe.” ― Barbara De Angelis
5. “Don’t assume, ask. Be kind. Tell the truth. Don’t say anything you can’t stand behind fully. Have integrity. Tell people how you feel.” ― Warsan Shire
6. “Dear Child,
Sometimes on your travel through hell, you meet people that think they are in heaven because of their cleverness and ability to get away with things. Travel past them because they don’t understand who they have become and never will. These type of people feel justified in revenge and will never learn mercy or forgiveness because they live by comparison. They are the people that don’t care about anyone, other than who is making them feel confident. They don’t understand that their deity is not rejoicing with them because of their actions, rather he is trying to free them from their insecurities, by softening their heart. They rather put out your light than find their own. They don’t have the ability to see beyond the false sense of happiness they get from destroying others. You know what happiness is and it isn’t this. Don’t see their success as their deliverance. It is a mask of vindication which has no audience, other than their own kind. They have joined countless others that call themselves “survivors”. They believe that they are entitled to win because life didn’t go as planned for them. You are not like them. You were not meant to stay in hell and follow their belief system. You were bound for greatness. You were born to help them by leading. Rise up and be the light home. You were given the gift to see the truth. They will have an army of people that are like them and you are going to feel alone. However, your family in heaven stands beside you now. They are your strength and as countless as the stars. It is time to let go!
Love,
Your Guardian Angel” ― Shannon L. Alder
7. “The thought manifests the word;
The word manifests the deed;
The deed develops into habit;
And habit hardens into character;
So watch the thought and its ways with care,
And let them spring forth from love
Born out of compassion for all beings.
As the shadow follows the body, as we think, so we become.” ― Dhammapada
8. “Our deeds still travel with us from afar/And what we have been makes us what we are.”
― George Eliot, Middlemarch
9. “Each of us is an artist of our days; the greater our integrity and awareness, the more original and creative our time will become.” ― John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings
10. “Patience is the calm acceptance that things can happen in a different order than the one you have in mind.” ― David G. Allen
11. “Be happy, noble heart, be blessed for all the good thou hast done and wilt do hereafter, and let my gratitude remain in obscurity like your good deeds.” ― Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo
12. “Before speaking, consult your inner-truth barometer, and resist the temptation to tell people only what they want to hear.” ― Wayne W. Dyer
13. “If it ever occurs to people to value the honour of the mind equally with the honour of the body, we shall get a social revolution of a quite unparalleled sort.” ― Dorothy L. Sayers, Gaudy Night
14. “Live your life in such a way that you’ll be remembered for your kindness, compassion, fairness, character, benevolence, and a force for good who had much respect for life, in general.” ― Germany Kent
15. “Only a man of integrity can possess the virtue of honesty, since only the faking of one’s consciousness can permit the faking of existence.” ― Ayn Rand, The Journals of Ayn Rand
16. “Life is like butter – when things cool down it can be reshaped” ― Alan Sheinwald, Alan Sheinwald is Building a Perfect Home
17. “Reading enables me to maintain a sense of something substantive– my ethical integrity, my intellectual integrity.” ― Jonathan Franzen, How to Be Alone
18. “Healthy children will not fear life if their elders have integrity enough not to fear death.” ― Erik H. Erikson
19. “Never judge someone’s character based on the words of another. Instead, study the motives behind the words of the person casting the bad judgment. An honest woman can sell tangerines all day and remain a good person until she dies, but there will always be naysayers who will try to convince you otherwise. Perhaps this woman did not give them something for free, or at a discount. Perhaps too, that she refused to stand with them when they were wrong — or just stood up for something she felt was right. And also, it could be that some bitter women are envious of her, or that she rejected the advances of some very proud men. Always trust your heart. If the Creator stood before a million men with the light of a million lamps, only a few would truly see him because truth is already alive in their hearts. Truth can only be seen by those with truth in them. He who does not have Truth in his heart, will always be blind to her.” ― Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem
20. “Lead your life so you wouldn’t be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip. ” ― Will Rogers
20 Wise Integrity Quotes You Should Think About
1. “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance
2. “Wherever you find a great man, you will find a great mother or a great wife standing behind him — or so they used to say. It would be interesting to know how many great women have had great fathers and husbands behind them.” ― Dorothy L. Sayers, Gaudy Night
3. “The truly scary thing about undiscovered lies is that they have a greater capacity to diminish us than exposed ones. They erode our strength, our self-esteem, our very foundation.” ― Cheryl Hughes
4. “The ends you serve that are selfish will take you no further than yourself but the ends you serve that are for all, in common, will take you into eternity.” ― Marcus Garvey
5. “Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.” ― Martin Luther King, Jr
6. “She taught me I should never do anything in private I did not want talked about in public, and cautioned me not to talk in my sleep.” ― Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind
7. “You know yourself what you are worth in your own eyes; and at what price you will sell yourself. For men sell themselves at various prices. This is why, when Florus was deliberating whether he should appear at Nero’s shows, taking part in the performance himself, Agrippinus replied, ‘Appear by all means.’ And when Florus inquired, ‘But why do not you appear?’ he answered, ‘Because I do not even consider the question.’ For the man who has once stooped to consider such questions, and to reckon up the value of external things, is not far from forgetting what manner of man he is.” ― Epictetus, The Golden Sayings of Epictetus
8. “Thousands of years ago the first man discovered how to make fire. He was probably burnt at the stake he’d taught his brothers to light, but he left them a gift they had not conceived and he lifted darkness from the face of the Earth.” ― Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead
9. “When you stop living your life based on what others think of you real life begins. At that moment, you will finally see the door of self acceptance opened.” ― Shannon L. Alder
10. “Being different is a revolving door in your life where secure people enter and insecure exit.” ― Shannon L. Alder
11. “An authentic and genuine life grows like a sturdy tree. And like a tree, it grows slowly. Every time you make a different and better decision, it grows a little. Every time you choose to do the right thing, even when nobody would find out otherwise, it grows a little. Every time you act with compassion, relinquish your right to strike back, take a courageous stand, admit fault or accept responsibility, it grows a little.” ― Steve Goodier
12. “We should not allow our personal values to erode, even if others think we are peculiar.” ― James E. Faust
13. “If you lose your integrity, you will also lose your identity, your sensitivity and your dignity. Integrity is honesty, modesty and security in all kinds of weather. It should be our priority!” ― Israelmore Ayivor
14. “Friendship is thinking of the other person first.” ― George Alexiou
15. “Never do anything that you can’t admit doing, because if you are that ashamed of whatever it is, it’s probably wrong.” ― Ashly Lorenzana
16. “The person of superior integrity
does not insist upon his integrity.
For this reason, he has integrity.
The person of inferior integrity
never loses sight of his integrity;
For this reason, he lacks integrity.” ― Lao-Tzu
17. “A virtuos woman is not moved by big names and flamboyance, but only men of profound wisdom and integrity move her.” ― Michael Bassey Johnson
18. “It does seem to me, that herein we see the rare virtue of a strong individual vitality, and the rare virtue of thick walls, and the rare virtue of interior spaciousness. Oh, man! admire and model thyself after the whale! Do thou, too, remain warm among ice. Do thou, too, live in this world without being of it. Be cool at the equator; keep thy blood fluid at the Pole. Like the great dome of St. Peter’s, and like the great whale, retain, O man! in all seasons a temperature of thine own.” ― Herman Melville, Moby-Dick or, the Whale
19. “A person who is truly cool is a work of art. And remember, original works of art cost exponentially higher than imitations. Just take a look at the the coolest people in history. They will always be a part of history for being extremely original individuals, not imitations.” ― Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem
20. “There is no teacher equal to mother and there’s nothing more contagious than the dignity of a father.” ― Amit Ray, World Peace: The Voice of a Mountain Bird
Final Word
In a world where integrity often feels like a rare and precious commodity, this compilation of Integrity quotes stands as a beacon of hope and inspiration.
As you reach the conclusion of this remarkable journey, may these integrity quotes continue to resonate within you, serving as a constant reminder of the power and beauty of living with honor and authenticity.
Let them be a guiding force in your daily choices, interactions, and endeavors, as you navigate the intricate tapestry of life with unwavering integrity. Embrace these timeless words, for they hold the key to unlocking the extraordinary potential that lies within you.
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