Straight iron nail beside coiled golden wire, with an added walnut. Still compact and centered

Original artwork, not a still

Oliver Cromwell

Subtlety may deceive you; integrity never will.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Two qualities get set against each other here: cleverness and honesty. Subtlety can trick you, the speaker warns, dressing things up in ways that mislead. Integrity, by contrast, is presented as reliably trustworthy, incapable of that same deception.

Context reviewed

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