Sincerity

“ Banish each doubt and deception and dream, Be the real saint that to others you seem, Dare to face tempters alone; Lift up your banner and fear not the foe, Valiant in service wherever you go, Sincerity claimeth her own. ”

“ She hath a natural, wise sincerity,
A simple truthfulness, and these have lent her
A dignity as moveless as the centre; ”

“ The sincere alone can recognize sincerity. ”

“ This led to a question as to whether all our knowledge here is given to us from his plane, and he went on: “Not all. We help develop what you are willing to work for, if you are really sincere in wanting it. Sincerity is the crowning virtue.” ”

“ Probity, sincerity, candor, conviction, the sense of duty, are things which may become hideous when wrongly directed; but which, even when hideous, remain grand: their majesty, the majesty peculiar to the human conscience, clings to them in the midst of horror; they are virtues which have one vice,—error. ”

“ Here I saw, in wide contrast to our own social order, the results springing from sincerity that has thrived through a long line of generations. Such blessings are as a breath of Heaven, rare and beautiful. ”

“ If sincerity is unquestioned, words, manners, actions have great liberty; but if words, manners and actions are lacking in straight-forwardness, it is time to question sincerity. This is true in all human affairs involving motive and conduct. ”

“ To endeavor to speak truth in every instance; to give nobody expectations that are not likely to be answered, but aim at sincerity in every word and action; the most amiable excellence in a rational being. ”

“ Take care to stamp upon it only the images of virtue and of piety. Strive to lay the foundation of an amiable and an useful character. Endeavour to gain a spirit of meekness, of gentleness, and of sincerity. ”

“ I should say sincerity, a deep, great, genuine sincerity, is the first characteristic of all men in any way heroic. Not the sincerity that calls itself sincere; that is ... oftenest self-conceit mainly. The great man's sincerity is of the kind he cannot speak of, is not conscious of. ”

“ Let patience and humility, simplicity and sincerity shine in all parts of your conversation. See that you forget and forgive wrongs, and requite them with kindness. Be merciful in your censures, and put the most favourable construction upon your brethren’s carriage. Be slow in promising, punctual in fulfilling. Let meekness, innocency, affableness, yieldingness, and courtesy, commend your conversation to all men. ”

“ Read Lincoln’s Gettysburg speech as an example of brevity, lucidity and sincerity. If you are not wholesome, natural, and sincere you will not be able to impress others with the sincerity of your work. ”

“ But the qualities which consecrate these other qualities are his priceless and total sincerity, and the splendid human generosity which colours that sincerity. What above all else we want in this island of intellectual dishonesty is some one who will tell us the truth "and chance it." ”

“ Therefore, sincerity is the way of Heaven. To think how to be sincere is the way of man. ”

“ They recognize the fact that this world should be known and served and treated with as much respect and sincerity as that other world, which is to be our reward for having conquered the one in which we live now. ”

“ He preserves the dignity of his unhappy characters by a delicate sincerity in their attitude toward one another and by an immeasurable gentleness and self-forgetfulness on the part of the one most wronged. ”

“ And it is observable that he who had but two talents, gave up his account as cheerfully as he who had five; for our comfort, in the day of account, will be according to our faithfulness, not according to our usefulness; our sincerity, not our success; according to the uprightness of our hearts, not according to the degree of our opportunities. ”

“ As distinguished from conceit, from a sullen conviction of your own superiority, it often implies a craving for sympathy and a confidence in the sincerity of your fellows, which is in the main, as his certainly was, an amiable and attractive characteristic. ”

“ It exhibits them as, in the main, poor, uninstructed, not unfrequently fanatical, enthusiasts, the purity of whose lives, the sincerity of whose belief, and the cheerfulness of whose endurance of privation and rough usage, in what they consider a just cause, command sincere respect. ”

“ Add to all this, that sincerity is the most compendious wisdom, and an excellent instrument for the speedy dispatch of business; it creates confidence in those we have to deal with, saves the labor of many inquiries, and brings things to an issue in a few words. ”

“ By sincerity here we mean that which is not conventional, which is not theoretical, not artificial; that which springs from a desire honestly to impart to others exactly the emotion that has been actually felt. ”

“ To be forward to praise others, implies either great eminence, that can afford to part with applause; or great quickness of discernment, with confidence in our own judgments; or great sincerity and love of truth, getting the better of our self-love. ”

“ By purity of thought and rectitude of conduct, in which are comprehended the inestimable virtues of truth, candor and sincerity, we secure for ourselves the unutterable enjoyment of an approving conscience, at the same time that we obtain from others their esteem, their admiration, and their love. We may manifest these qualities in every part of our intercourse with others; for whether we speak or act, occasions continually present themselves to prove that we possess them. By conversation we show the purity of our sentiments ”

“ The first great requisite is absolute sincerity. Falsehood and disguise are miseries and misery-makers, under whatever strength of sympathy, or desire to prolong happy thoughts in others for their sake or your own only as sympathizing with theirs, it may originate. ”

“ Our word sincerity is from the Latin sinceritas, which is compounded of sine, without, and cera, wax, and is a metaphor taken from clarified honey; for the mel sincerum, pure or clarified honey, is that which is sine cera, without wax, no part of the comb being left in it. Sincerity, taken in its full meaning, is a word of the most extensive import; and, when applied in reference to the state of the soul, is as strong as the word perfection itself. The soul that is sincere is the soul that is without sin. ”

“ I grew convinc'd that truth, sincerity and integrity in dealings between man and man were of the utmost importance to the felicity of life; ”

“ This is simplicity; when a steady view, a single intention of promoting his glory, of doing and suffering his blessed will, runs through our whole soul, fills all our heart, and is the constant spring of all our thoughts, desires, and purposes.
12. “We have had our conversation in the world,” Secondly, “in godly sincerity.” the difference between simplicity and sincerity seems to be chiefly this: Simplicity regards the intention itself, sincerity the execution of it; and this sincerity relates not barely to our words, but to our whole conversation, as described above. ”

“ Does then Christian perfection imply any more than sincerity?
"A. Not if you mean by that word, love filling the heart, expelling pride, anger, desire, self-will; rejoicing evermore, praying without ceasing, and in everything giving thanks. But I doubt, few use sincerity in this sense. Therefore, I think the old word is best.
"A person may be sincere who has all his natural tempers, pride, anger, lust, self-will. But he is not perfect till his heart is cleansed from these, and all its other corruptions. ”

“ “Good manners without sincerity are like a beautiful dead lady,” he remarked on suitable occasion. “Straightforwardness without civility is like a surgeon’s knife, effective but unpleasant. Candor with courtesy is helpful and admirable.” ”

“ The significance of the most harmless words and actions grows with the years, and if I see any one about me for any length of time, I always try to show him the difference there is between sincerity, confidence, and indiscretion; nay, that in truth there is no difference at all, but a gentle transition from what is most innocent to what is most hurtful ”

“ Yet in spite of Sincerity and Prudence, how shamelessly men compile second-hand references, and display in borrowed footnotes a pretence of labour and of accuracy! I mention this merely to show how, even in the humbler class of compilers, the Principle of Sincerity may find fit illustrations, and how honest work, even in references, belongs to the same category as honest work in philosophy or poetry. EDITOR.
CHAPTER V. THE PRINCIPLE OF BEAUTY. It is not enough that a man has clearness of Vision, and reliance on Sincerity, he must also have the art of Expression, or he will remain obscure. ”

“ Their sincerity, compared with that of other men, can only be judged of by the proportion between the degree of virtue they profess, and that which they practice, or at least carefully seek to realise. ”

“ On the contrary, infinite grandeur, repose, courage, and the peculiar unity and tranquillity of expression which come of sincerity or wholeness of heart, and which it would take much demonstration to make me believe could by any possibility be seen on the countenance of an insincere man. ”

“ generosity; humility; courtesy; unselfishness; good temper; guilelessness; sincerity—these make up the supreme gift, the stature of the perfect man. ”

“ Without setting up our opinions above those of others, we mean only with sincerity to declare, from our own experience and the experience of others, the happy effects produced by thus simply following after the Lord. ”

“ If you have truth—not the truth of policy, but religious truth—your manners will be sincere. They will have earnestness, simplicity and frankness—the best qualities of manners. They will be free from assumption, pretence, affectation, flattery and obsequiousness, which are all incompatible with sincerity. ”

“ This Virtue must be firmly established in the mind, and so enter into every detail of man's life. All dishonesty, deception, trickery, and misrepresentation must be for ever put away, and the heart be purged of every vestige of insincerity and subterfuge. ”

“ Sincerity or godly simplicity without fraud, craft or guile, where the in-side and out-side are one, the heart and mouth equall and well consenting. Truth is an ingenuous life without deceit and dissimulation, Ephes. ”

“ When truth’s bright beams shall shine without allay.
Ne’er sway’d by notions, nor to schemes confin’d,
His breast was open to the honest mind.
Whatever noble warmth could recommend,
The just, the active, and the constant friend;
Whatever great or good we can adore,
Center’d in him—in him alas! no more. [100]
Thus love, peace, joy, with a distinguish’d grace,
Shone thro’ the features of his friendly face.
How near approaches to a life divine,
The man in whom the peaceful virtues shine? ”

“ Servants more fitter for Lucre than Love,
And happy are they which refrain for to prove,
Shameless, pitiless, graceless, and quite past honesty;
Then who of good conscience but will hate your company?
USURY.
Here is scripolous Conscience and nice Love indeed.
Tush! if they will not, others will: I know we shall speed.
SIMPLICITY.
But, lady, I stand still behind, for I am none of their company.
CONSCIENCE.
Why, what art thou? O, I know: thou art Simplicity.
SIMPLICITY.
I'faith, I am Simplicity, and would fain serve ye.
CONSCIENCE.
No: I may have no fools to dwell with me. ”

“ I take it, as it is, for an effect of your kindness, and so shall not accuse you of compliment; the mistakes and over-valuings of good-will being always sincere, even when they exceed what common truth allows. This on my side I must beg you to believe, that my life would be much more pleasant and useful to me, if you were within my reach, that I might sometimes enjoy your conversation, and, upon twenty occasions, lay my thoughts before you, and have the advantage of your judgement. ”

“ Should you hereafter win the love of an honorable and noble heart, (for such are sometimes found,) every honorable and noble feeling will prompt you to candor and truth, with regard to your personal relations. ”

“ It has been said, that ‘an honest man’s the noblest work of God.’ There is indeed a purity, a rectitude, an integrity of heart, a freedom from every selfish bias, and sinister motive, a manly simplicity and noble disinterestedness of feeling, which is in my opinion to be preferred before every other gift of nature or art. There is a greatness of soul that is superior to all the brilliancy of the understanding. ”

“ They are beautiful, glistening, jingling, festive words: honesty, love of truth, love of wisdom, sacrifice for knowledge, heroism of the truthful—there is something in them that makes one's heart swell with pride. ”