What does this quote mean?

“No legacy is so rich as honesty.”

The line values trustworthy character above possessions or reputation inherited after death.

Source note: All’s Well That Ends Well, Act 3, Scene 5; the line occurs in dialogue that values honest character above material inheritance.

“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.

“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.

“Simple, generous goodness is the best capital to found the business of this life upon.”

Good character is compared with capital because generosity and reliability can support a life more durably than reputation or money alone, especially when circumstances change.

Source note: Little Men; Alcott contrasts durable goodness with forms of success that can disappear, treating moral character as a lasting foundation for life’s work.

“The universe is wider than our views of it.”

Reality exceeds any one viewpoint, so confidence in a perspective should leave room for what has not yet been seen.

Source note: Walden, Conclusion; Thoreau uses the sentence while arguing that familiar human views do not exhaust reality.