The paired verbs connect sound judgment with direct expression: clear communication should follow an effort to think fairly and say what is meant.
The Simple Life, Chapter IV, “Simplicity of Speech,” Mary Louise Hendee translation, Project Gutenberg #23092; Wagner joins just thought with frank speech.
“An hour of plain-dealing does more for the salvation of the world than years of duplicity.”
The contrast gives direct truthful dealing greater moral value than prolonged strategic ambiguity, making sincerity a practical social good rather than mere style.
The Simple Life, Chapter IV, “Simplicity of Speech,” Mary Louise Hendee translation, Project Gutenberg #23092; the line follows Wagner’s appeal for the “speech of honor.”
“speak the speech of honor.”
Honorable speech is presented as expression that can be trusted because it does not depend on concealment, manipulation or a second hidden meaning.
The Simple Life, Chapter IV, “Simplicity of Speech,” Mary Louise Hendee translation, Project Gutenberg #23092; Wagner contrasts honorable speech with duplicity.
“aspire to simplicity of speech.”
Plain expression is treated as a discipline: the speaker should reduce distortion, display and needless verbal complication rather than hiding meaning behind rhetoric.
The Simple Life, Chapter IV, “Simplicity of Speech,” Mary Louise Hendee translation, Project Gutenberg #23092; the sentence introduces Wagner’s appeal for plainer speech.
“The liar is no whit better than the thief.”
Roosevelt argues that criticism loses moral legitimacy when it becomes false, making truthfulness a constraint on reform even when the target of criticism may deserve scrutiny.
The Man with the Muck-Rake, April 14, 1906. Roosevelt is discussing public criticism, journalism and slander; the surrounding speech simultaneously calls for relentless exposure of genuine wrongdoing when the attack is truthful.
“In all you speak, let truth and candor shine.”
Pope treats candor as part of good judgment: accurate criticism should also be spoken with integrity and fairness.
An Essay on Criticism, in the section describing the moral duties of a critic.
“He never states as a fact that of which he is not sure.”
Intellectual honesty includes marking uncertainty rather than upgrading a guess into a fact, a habit that makes speech more reliable and accountable.
The Power of Truth, opening chapter, Project Gutenberg #56020; Jordan describes the speech of a person committed to truthfulness.
