Origin
This proverb is first found in the writings of Sir Edwin Sandys, the English politician and colonial entrepreneur, who was prominent in the Virginia Company which founded the first English settlement in America, at Jamestown, Virginia.
Explanation
This maxim teaches us that if a man maintains honest behaviour in everyday life, it will reveal his good character and sincerity and pays him honour and high status in the long run. Though it does not show him any instant result. Honesty gives a man long-lived advantage. Sincere people are always honest. A person who is sincere at work, that is a man who comes at the right time in the morning and carries out his work and who is true to himself is known as an honest person.
So, honesty and sincerity are the two faces of the same coin. Such men set an example to the society and a dishonest man yields short-lived advantages and sometimes snatches the satisfaction of mind, causing mental agony. If a man is honest, good fortune will come through his way soon.
Example
Jill : I borrowed Jane’s white blouse without asking her, and then I spilled tomato sauce on it. Should I tell her what happened, or should I just put the blouse back in her closet and hope she won’t notice?
Jane : Honesty is the best policy.
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