Simplicity as Anti-Phoniness Doctrine

“One thing I refused to do, when I was seeking to win the respect of the Edinburgh worthies, was to try to change the image of myself that I presented to the world. This I wouldn't do for anyone, though a few good women have tried to persuade me to some change. I think that it is plain to all who know me that I am a simple man. It may not be appreciated that that isn't, and rarely is, accidental. It is my belief, you might call it my philosophy, that in this life you don't achieve simplicity, or preserve it when you are fortunate enough to acquire it, unless you deliberately bar from your way of life, your every- day existence, anything that is phoney. I liked a simple life, I had no pretensions and I didn't want to fool anybody. I liked to be frank and I had got far enough in my life to feel that I didn't need to pretend that I was other than I was.”