?Honesty is the best policy,? said Benjamin Franklin, the great American statesman, scientist and philosopher. But how many would care to stand by this virtue, even if it means ones own peril?
Mark Twain, the celebrated American humourist and writer, was faced with a situation in which the publishing house run by him was about to go bankrupt. Although he knew that the law of the land would facilitate him to escape an enormous debt, being a honourable man, he decided not to escape but to fulfil the responsibility. At that time he was 60. But he embarked on a lecture tour with the following words: ? I am confident that if I live I can pay off the last debt within four years, after which, at the age of 64, I can make a fresh and unencumbered start in life; Honour is a hard master than the law.?
