What does this quote mean?

“There is no greatness where there is not simplicity, goodness, and truth.”

Greatness is stripped of spectacle and measured instead by moral clarity, goodness, and freedom from unnecessary complication.

Source note: War and Peace; the narrator’s judgment of greatness appears in the novel’s discussion of Kutuzov, simplicity, goodness and truth.

“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.

Source note: Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3; Polonius gives Laertes this advice before Laertes leaves for France.

“Truth will come to light; murder cannot be hid long.”

Hidden wrongdoing may remain concealed for a time, but the line expresses confidence that facts and consequences tend eventually to surface.

Source note: The Merchant of Venice, Act 2, Scene 2; Launcelot uses the phrase while revealing his identity to his father.

“Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.”

Knowledge needs ethical direction, while good intentions need understanding; either quality becomes inadequate when separated from the other.

Source note: Chapter 41; the Astronomer explains why both competence and moral character are needed for trust.

“The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.”

Even respected language can be quoted selectively, so a citation should be judged by context and purpose rather than authority alone.

Source note: The Merchant of Venice, Act 1, Scene 3.

“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.”

Thoreau places truth above three powerful human desires, making the sentence a compact statement of intellectual and moral priority.

Source note: Walden, Conclusion; Thoreau closes the book by contrasting outward wealth and status with the inner quality of a person’s life.