A principle is absolute because it applies consistently and without exception within its proper realm. The "opposite attracts" principle, applying to physical bodies of opposite electric charge, is such a general truth. Bodies that are neutral in charge do not attract one another in this manner; however, these entities do not violate the principle, because they lie outside its proper scope of application. An ethical principle such as honesty needs to be practiced consistently, wherever it is applicable, if one is to reap its full benefits. Because the real world is extremely complex and rife with subtle interrelationships, the would-be liar cannot distinguish in practice between situations where honesty is imperative and situations where one might be able to "get away with" dishonesty. Every deviation from the principle compels the dishonest person to labor ever harder to conceal a web of lies and to overcome his or her own growing mental confusion. Moreover, the probability steadily increases that the increasingly entangled pattern of deceit will be discovered by others, resulting in possibly irreparable damage to his or her reputation.

In a very real sense, once one deviates from an ethical principle in a single instance, one has sacrificed it completely. A man who is "sometimes" dishonest is simply dishonest. Since others can never know when he might next deviate from honest behavior, he can no longer be trusted. Just as one cannot be "just a little" pregnant, we shall find later that one cannot practice "just a little" censorship and that the leaders of a government cannot suspend "just a few" individual rights.