Honesty is the best policy; and one of our best poets has further
stamped a value upon the good old maxim, by his assertion that “an
honest man is the noblest work of God.” The paths of truth and
integrity are so plain, direct, and easy, that the man who pursues
them, stands in no need of subtle contrivances to deceive the world. He
listens to the honest monitor within, and makes good his professions
with his practice: neither gold nor silver hatchets can make him
deviate from it; and whatever situation he may be placed in, he is sure
to meet the esteem of all men within the circle in which he moves, and
has besides the constant pleasure of feeling self-approbation within
his own breast.
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