“Trust no one” is a phrase that reflects the warning tales told through different narratives, from ancient lore to contemporary cinema. These quotes often emerge from experiences of betrayal, fraud, and disappointment, serving as clear reminders of the complexities of human relationships.
Whether in personal bonds, business dealings, or political alliances, “trust no one” quotes will resonate greatly with you if you have felt the sting of misplaced trust.
They also highlight the significance of alertness and self-reliance in a world where intentions aren’t always clear and allegiances can shift.
Trust No One Quotes
“Trust is earned when actions meet words.” – Chris Butler
“I trust no one, not even myself.” – Joseph Stalin
“To conquer oneself is a greater task than conquering others.” – Buddha
“Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead.” – Benjamin Franklin
“Never trust anyone completely but God. Love people, but put your full trust only in God.” – Lawrence Welk
“It is better to trust the eyes rather than the ears.” – German Proverb
“Trust, but verify.” – Ronald Reagan
“Not everyone can be trusted. I think we all have to be very selective about the people we trust.” – Shelley Long
“Trust no friend without faults, and love a woman, but no angel.” – Doris Lessing
“Trust everybody, but cut the cards.” – Finley Peter Dunne
Also Check out: Best Newsies Quotes (with Commentary)
Trust No One Quotes on Betrayal
“Betrayal annihilates trust.” – Dr. Debasish Mridha
“Nothing hurts more than being disappointed by the single person you thought would never hurt you.” – Gugu Mofokeng
“Every betrayal contains a perfect moment, a coin stamped heads or tails with salvation on the other side.” – Barbara Kingsolver
“Shattered legs may heal in time, but some betrayals fester and poison the soul.” – George R.R. Martin
“Betrayal is the only truth that sticks.” – Arthur Miller
“When you betray somebody else, you also betray yourself.” – Isaac Bashevis Singer
“Betray a friend, and you’ll often find you have ruined yourself.” – Aesop
“For there to be betrayal, there would have to have been trust first.” – Suzanne Collins
“Betrayal is common for men with no conscience.” – Toba Beta
“It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.” – William Blake
Trust No One Quotes in Business
“In business, three things are necessary: knowledge, temper, and time.” – Owen Felltham
“Be careful who you trust and tell your problems to. Not everyone who smiles at you is your friend.” – Marilyn Monroe
“In business, you need people you can trust, but you have to watch them.” – Thomas J. Watson
“I have learned that it is not what I have in my pocket that makes me thankful, but what I have in my heart.” – Unknown
“Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart, he dreams himself your master.” – Pravin Lal
“In the world of business, the people who are most successful are those who are doing what they love.” – Warren Buffett
“Trust is good, but control is better.” – Vladimir Lenin
“Every betrayal begins with trust.” – Phish
“Trust no one unless you have eaten much salt with him.” – Cicero
“Business is a cobweb of human relationships.” – Henry Ross Perot
Trust No One Quotes in Relationship
“Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” – William Shakespeare
“It takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.” – Unknown
“You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you don’t trust enough.” – Frank Crane
“Never trust someone who lies to you. Never lie to someone who trusts you.” – Mandy
“A relationship without trust is like a car without gas, you can stay in it all you want, but it won’t go anywhere.” – Unknown
“Trust gets you killed, love gets you hurt and being real gets you hated.” – Johnny Cash
“All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust.” – J.M. Barrie
“In relationships, the essence of trust is not in its bind, but in its bond.” – Unknown
“I don’t trust easily, so when I tell you I trust you, please don’t make me regret it.” – Unknown
“Never push a loyal person to the point where they no longer care.” – Unknown
Trust No One Quotes for Friendships
“A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down.” – Arnold H. Glasow
“An honest enemy is better than a friend who lies.” – Vandi Tanko
“Pay less attention to what people say, and more attention to what they do. Their actions will show you the truth.” – Unknown
“We’re not friends, we’re strangers with memories.” – Unknown
“Every ‘I’m sorry’ isn’t an apology, it’s a reminder of the betrayal.” – Unknown
“Trust is like paper. Once it’s crumpled, it can’t be perfect again.” – Unknown
“It’s funny how the people that know the least about you, always have the most to say.” – Auliq Ice
“Some of the most poisonous people come disguised as friends and family.” – Unknown
“Betray a friend, and you’ll often find you have ruined yourself.” – Aesop
“Friendship- my definition- is built on two things. Respect and trust.” – Stieg Larsson
Trust No One Quotes on Self-Reliance
“I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have.” – Abraham Lincoln
“The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.” – Michel de Montaigne
“Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“He who does not trust enough will not be trusted.” – Lao Tzu
“To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved.” – George MacDonald
“Self-trust is the first secret of success.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Depend on yourself alone.” – Swami Vivekananda
“Trust yourself, you know more than you think you do.” – Benjamin Spock
“Self-reliance is the only road to true freedom, and being one’s own person is its ultimate reward.” – Patricia Sampson
“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.” – Ernest Hemingway
Trust No One Quotes from Movies
“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” – Verbal Kint, The Usual Suspects
“Everybody lies.” – Dr. Gregory House, House M.D.
“Never trust a criminal… until you have to.” – Leonard Snart, The Flash
“In this town, you’re innocent until you’re investigated.” – Buddy Ackerman, Swimming with Sharks
“Trust? Years to earn, seconds to break.” – Dominic Toretto, Fast & Furious
“I trust everyone. It’s the devil inside them I don’t trust.” – Stella Bridger, The Italian Job
“Look, nobody trusts anybody now, and we’re all very tired.” – R.J. MacReady, The Thing
“You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” – Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight
“Trust is for fools! Fear is the only reliable way.” – Chancellor Palpatine, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
“Trust is a hard thing to come by these days.” – Joe Moore, Heist
Trust No One Quotes from Literature
“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.” – Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
“No human being is innocent, but there is a class of innocent human actions called Games.” – W.H. Auden, The Dyer’s Hand
“Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” – William Shakespeare, All’s Well That Ends Well
“It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them.” – Confucius, The Analects
“Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.” – Mark Twain, Following the Equator
“Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.” – Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“Trust no one, tell your secrets to nobody and no one will ever betray you.” – Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions by Daniel Wallace
“If we are not honest with ourselves, we cannot be honest with anyone.” – Oscar Wilde, De Profundis
“Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind.” – William Shakespeare, King Henry VI Part III
“One should never trust a woman who tells one her real age. A woman who would tell one that would tell one anything.” – Oscar Wilde, A Woman of No Importance
Trust No One Quotes in Politics
“In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
“The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.” – Socrates
“Politics have no relation to morals.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
“In politics, stupidity is not a handicap.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
“One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.” – Plato
“Politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed.” – Mao Zedong
“Every politician should have been born an orphan and remain a bachelor.” – Lady Bird Johnson
“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.” – Groucho Marx
“Political language… is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” – George Orwell
“The secret of politics? Make a good treaty with Russia.” – Otto von Bismarck
Philosophical Trust No One Quotes
“He who does not trust enough, will not be trusted.” – Lao Tzu
“Trust is the highest form of human motivation. It brings out the very best in people. But it takes time and patience.” – Stephen R. Covey
“To trust people is a luxury in which only the wealthy can indulge; the poor cannot afford it.” – E.M. Forster
“The less men think, the more they talk.” – Montesquieu
“Distrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
“It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them.” – Confucius
“Suspicion is the cancer of friendship.” – Petrarch
“There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.” – Arthur Conan Doyle
“Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.” – Albert Einstein
“I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have.” – Abraham Lincoln
Historical Trust No One Quotes
“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” – Lord Acton
“Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.” – George Washington
“There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.” – Arthur Conan Doyle
“The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of tyranny is in keeping them ignorant.” – Maximilien Robespierre
“Never trust any government official until they have been proven to be honest.” – H.L. Mencken
“The great masses of the people will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small one.” – Adolf Hitler
“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within.” – Cicero
“Every tyrant who has lived has believed in freedom for himself.” – Elbert Hubbard
“He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it the second time.” – Thomas Jefferson
“History teaches that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap.” – Ronald Reagan
Trust No One Quotes on Survival
“Trust is the first thing we learn in life, and the first thing we forget when we need to survive.” – Unknown
“In the survival of favored individuals and races, during the constantly-recurring struggle for existence, we see a powerful and ever-acting form of selection.” – Charles Darwin
“Survival can be summed up in three words — never give up. That’s the heart of it really. Just keep trying.” – Bear Grylls
“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin
“Survival was my only hope, success my only revenge.” – Patricia Cornwell
“In survival situations, the rule of threes becomes critical: three minutes without air, three days without water, three weeks without food.” – Cody Lundin
“In life and in a boxing ring, the defeat is not declared when you fall down. It is declared when you refuse to rise.” – Muhammad Ali
“Man’s survival, from the time of Adam and Eve until the invention of agriculture, must have been precarious because of his inability to ensure his food supply.” – Norman Borlaug
“You survive by recognizing the danger, and knowing when to trust no one.” – Unknown
“The biggest challenge after success is shutting up about it.” – Criss Jami
Final Thoughts
“Trust no one” quotes are not only about fostering mistrust; they invite you to reflect on the nature of trust itself and the wisdom of protecting your heart and mind in unsteady situations. These quotes can be seen as defensive mantras, helping you navigate environments where trust must be attained and not freely given.
Although they may carry a tone of cynicism, they also empower you to take control of your interactions and decisions, making sure that you are aware of where and how you place your trust. Finally, these quotes teach you about the balance between relating with others and maintaining your own boundaries.