"It is better to go on foot
than ride in a carriage
under false pretenses.

it is better to go honorably on foot and do without than to ride in a carriage under false pretenses and thereby lose your honor. if you pretend abundance when in fact you are in need, those who would aid you will not, either by believing you to be abundant or by recognizing your pretense and considering you to be unworthy. furthermore, by pretending you have something when you do not, you diminish yourself in your own eyes and lose self-respect."