“He that walketh uprightly walketh surely.”
Consistent upright conduct reduces the need to maintain conflicting stories or hidden motives.
Proverbs 10:9 in the King James Version; the opening clause is quoted here.
“This above all: to thine own self be true.”
Polonius frames integrity as consistency between inward conviction and outward conduct, although the advice belongs to a fallible fictional counselor.
Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3; Polonius gives Laertes this advice before Laertes leaves for France.
“One principal of action is sufficient—Respect thyself.”
Wollstonecraft makes self-respect a moral standard rather than self-flattery: conduct should remain compatible with one’s own sense of truth and justice instead of being reorganized around gaining a respectable social position.
An Historical and Moral View of the Origin and Progress of the French Revolution, Project Gutenberg #68724. Wollstonecraft connects “Respect thyself” with religion, justice and self-love while criticizing social arrangements that encourage people to sacrifice truthful character for status.
“Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.”
Emerson places inner integrity above conformity, arguing that a person should examine inherited standards rather than surrender judgment merely because they are socially approved.
Self-Reliance, in the passage beginning with Emerson’s argument for nonconformity.
“Above all, don’t lie to yourself.”
Self-deception is presented as especially damaging because it corrupts the person’s ability to recognize truth both inwardly and around them.
The Brothers Karamazov, Book II, Chapter 4, “A Lady of Little Faith,” Constance Garnett translation, verified against Project Gutenberg #28054 and Wikisource. Father Zossima tells the visitor, “Above all, don’t lie to yourself,” and develops the warning into an argument about self-deception, respect and love; this is fictional character counsel inside the novel.
“We cannot deceive ourselves any of the time, and the only way to enjoy our own respect is to deserve it.”
Self-respect is linked to conduct rather than self-flattery: a stable good opinion of oneself is earned by behaving in ways one can honestly stand behind.
How to Succeed, “Hold Up Your Head”; Marden follows a Lincoln anecdote by arguing that self-respect depends on deserving one’s own approval.
“The noble soul has reverence for itself.”
The line connects nobility with an inward standard of dignity rather than dependence on applause, rank, or approval from other people.
Beyond Good and Evil, section 287, Helen Zimmern public-domain translation, Project Gutenberg #4363. The represented witness prints “THE NOBLE SOUL HAS REVERENCE FOR ITSELF” in capitals; the frozen catalog keeps ordinary capitalization. Nietzsche’s claim belongs to his rank / nobility argument and is not an evidence-based rule of self-esteem.
