Necessity makes an honest man a knave.
Meaning of the quote
This quote means that sometimes people have to do dishonest things because they really need to, even if they are usually honest. When someone is in a difficult situation and has no other choice, they might have to act in a way that is not entirely truthful or moral, even though it goes against their normal behavior.
About Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe was an English writer known for his novel Robinson Crusoe, which is one of the most translated books after the Bible. He was a prolific and versatile writer who produced over 300 works on various topics, including politics, crime, and economics.
More quotes from Daniel Defoe
Vice came in always at the door of necessity, not at the door of inclination.
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An Englishman will fairly drink as much As will maintain two families of Dutch.
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Pride the first peer and president of hell.
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As covetousness is the root of all evil, so poverty is the worst of all snares.
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I have often thought of it as one of the most barbarous customs in the world, considering us as a civilized and a Christian country, that we deny the advantages of learning to women.
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The best of men cannot suspend their fate: The good die early, and the bad die late.
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Justice is always violent to the party offending, for every man is innocent in his own eyes.
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All men would be tyrants if they could.
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The soul is placed in the body like a rough diamond, and must be polished, or the luster of it will never appear.
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Necessity makes an honest man a knave.
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In trouble to be troubled, Is to have your trouble doubled.
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Nature has left this tincture in the blood, That all men would be tyrants if they could.
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It is better to have a lion at the head of an army of sheep, than a sheep at the head of an army of lions.
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‘Tis no sin to cheat the devil.
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He that is rich is wise.
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All our discontents about what we want appeared to spring from the want of thankfulness for what we have.
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