Better poor with honour than rich with shame.

The saying ranks personal integrity above material prosperity. It maintains that poverty is preferable to wealth acquired, kept, or displayed at the cost of disgrace.

It can also express the view that honour preserves self-respect, whereas shame can make financial success feel hollow. Its force depends on what the speakers regard as honourable or shameful conduct, so moral judgments may differ.

Use it to commend an honest choice that brings financial loss or modest circumstances, or to criticize gain tied to conduct the speakers consider dishonourable, such as bribery, deception, exploitation, or a profitable but compromising offer.