"Sincerity is like traveling on a plain, beaten road, which commonly brings a man sooner to his journey's end than by-ways, in which men often lose themselves"
About this Quote
Tillotson sells sincerity the way a good Anglican preacher sells virtue: not as a mystical glow of purity, but as the most reliable piece of moral infrastructure. The image is stubbornly practical. A "plain, beaten road" is public, legible, and time-tested; it implies shared norms and a map other people can follow. "By-ways" suggests secrecy, clever detours, and the private thrill of outsmarting the main route - until you realize you are lost in your own plot. Sincerity isn’t framed as saintliness; it’s framed as efficiency.
That choice reveals the subtext: Tillotson is talking to a world where reputation, trust, and social stability are fragile, and where religious life is entangled with politics. Writing in post-Civil War, post-Restoration England, he’s advocating a temperament as much as a doctrine. Sincerity becomes the civic glue of a wary society - a policy for speech. Say what you mean, live in a way others can read, reduce the incentive for suspicion.
The rhetorical move is quietly disciplining. By turning sincerity into the quickest route to your "journey’s end", he appeals to self-interest, not just conscience. It’s an argument designed for people who might not be moved by holiness but are moved by outcomes: fewer contradictions to manage, fewer lies to remember, fewer enemies made by misdirection. The road metaphor also implies that deception isn’t adventurous; it’s inefficient labor. The "lost" men are not tragic heroes. They’re amateurs, undone by their own side streets.
That choice reveals the subtext: Tillotson is talking to a world where reputation, trust, and social stability are fragile, and where religious life is entangled with politics. Writing in post-Civil War, post-Restoration England, he’s advocating a temperament as much as a doctrine. Sincerity becomes the civic glue of a wary society - a policy for speech. Say what you mean, live in a way others can read, reduce the incentive for suspicion.
The rhetorical move is quietly disciplining. By turning sincerity into the quickest route to your "journey’s end", he appeals to self-interest, not just conscience. It’s an argument designed for people who might not be moved by holiness but are moved by outcomes: fewer contradictions to manage, fewer lies to remember, fewer enemies made by misdirection. The road metaphor also implies that deception isn’t adventurous; it’s inefficient labor. The "lost" men are not tragic heroes. They’re amateurs, undone by their own side streets.
Quote Details
| Topic | Honesty & Integrity |
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