"And as to you, Sir, treacherous in..." - Quote by Thomas Paine
And as to you, Sir, treacherous in private friendship and a hypocrite in public life, the world will be puzzled to decide whether you are an apostate or an impostor; whether you have abandoned good principles, or whether you ever had any.
More by Thomas Paine
“Our citizenship in the United States is our national character. Our citizenship in any particular state is only our local distinction. By the latter we are known at home, by the former to the world. Our great title is AMERICANS.”
“Youth is the seed time of good habits, as well in nations as in individuals.”
“To reason with goverments, as they have existed for ages, is to argue with brutes. It is only from the nations themselves that reforms can be expected”
More on Hypocrisy
“For what is modesty but hypocritical humility, by means of which, in a world swelling with vile envy, a man seeks to beg pardon for his excellences and merits from those who have none? Forwhoever attributes no merit to himself because he really has none is not modest, but merely honest.”
“He never does a proper thing without giving an improper reason for it.”
“Though of all poses a moral pose is the most offensive, still to have a pose at all is something.”
More on Character
“I really had a chip on my shoulder, ... and it still comes out every now and then.”
“The elevation of appearance over substance, of celebrity over character, of short term gains over lasting achievement displays a poverty of ambition. It distracts you from what's truly important.”
“Character is far more important than intellect in making a man a good citizen or successful at his calling- meaning by character not only such qualities as honesty and truthfulness, but courage, perseverance and self-reliance.”