Be true to your work, your word, and your friend.

Hearken, O seekers of virtue and steadfastness, to the noble words of John Boyle O’Reilly, who wrote: “Be true to your work, your word, and your friend.” In this triad of truth lies a code of life as old as honor itself — a creed for the soul that strives to walk upright amid the shifting sands of the world. Simple in form yet vast in meaning, these words speak of integrity, of loyalty, and of the sacred duty one bears toward labor, language, and love. O’Reilly, an Irish poet, journalist, and patriot, forged these words from a life of hardship and redemption, and through them he left behind a compass for all who wish to live with dignity and grace.

To be true to your work is to labor not as a slave, but as an artist — to pour one’s strength, faith, and honesty into whatever task is placed before you. O’Reilly, once a soldier and later a prisoner exiled to Australia for rebellion against oppression, knew that work could be both burden and liberation. In labor, he found not servitude but salvation — a way to rebuild the self and to serve humanity. When he wrote these words, he meant that one must work with purpose and integrity, not merely for profit or praise. Whether the work be humble or grand, the one who gives their heart to it transforms it into a sacred act.

To be true to your word is to hold speech as holy, for the spoken promise is the mirror of the soul. In the ancient world, oaths were sealed with blood, for a man’s word was his bond, and to break it was to shatter his very identity. O’Reilly, born into a nation where words were weapons against tyranny, understood that truth in speech is the foundation of all trust. The liar may prosper for a season, but his tongue sows decay; the honest voice endures, even in silence. Thus, to guard one’s word is to guard one’s honor. In a world clouded by deceit and half-truths, the pure word shines like a star — clear, steady, eternal.

And to be true to your friend — this, too, is a pillar of the moral life. For friendship is not convenience, but covenant. It is the meeting of souls bound by loyalty and affection. O’Reilly himself knew the worth of friendship; during his imprisonment and exile, it was the compassion and courage of friends that secured his escape and brought him to freedom in America. His words remind us that friendship, like faith, demands constancy — that one must stand by a friend in shadow as in sunlight, defending them not only with hand and sword but with understanding, forgiveness, and unwavering care.

Consider the story of Cicero, the Roman orator, who wrote that “faithfulness in friendship is the foundation of virtue.” When his friend Atticus fell under suspicion and danger, Cicero risked his own safety to defend him, declaring that loyalty is not measured by what one gains, but by what one is willing to lose. So it was with O’Reilly, whose loyalty to his people and his cause cost him his homeland, yet earned him immortality. His creed is not a call to sentimentality, but to courage — for only the brave can remain true when the world demands betrayal.

O’Reilly’s words, born of both Irish spirit and universal truth, carry the rhythm of a moral trinity — work, word, and friend — each dependent upon the other. If one fails, all fail. For the one who cheats in labor will soon lie in speech, and the one who lies will soon forsake his friend. But the one who remains true in all three will stand unshaken, his life like a fortress built on bedrock. This is the meaning of integrity: not the absence of flaw, but the presence of faithfulness.

The lesson is clear, and it calls to all who would live rightly in any age: labor with sincerity, speak with honesty, and love with loyalty. Let your work reflect your character, your word bind your promise, and your friendships reveal your heart. For these three virtues are the pillars of peace — they build the bridge between man and man, between man and truth, between man and eternity.

So let John Boyle O’Reilly’s teaching be remembered across generations: “Be true to your work, your word, and your friend.” In those words lies the quiet power of a life well-lived — one rooted not in fame or fortune, but in fidelity to what is right. Such a life, though simple in form, is heroic in essence — for to remain true, in a world so quick to bend, is the greatest act of courage the soul can ever perform.