The Virtues of Honesty Honesty is to be honest, truthful and sincere. To be honest is to be fair and righteous in speech and act, not to lie, not to cheat or steal. The are two types of solemn or sworn statements of honesty in society today, an affidavit and an oath. An affidavit is a voluntary written statement sworn before an officer qualified to administer an oath. Both the person making the affidavit (that is, swearing to the truth of the facts contained in the document) and the witnessing officer (a judge, a commissioner of deeds, or a notary public) are usually required to sign the document. Affidavits are quite frequently used in preliminary legal proceedings,