Definitions: (1) carrying oneself with pride; (2) adhering to suitable rectitude
Synonyms: pure, upstanding
Upright implies a strict adherence to decent principles; conscientious implies an active moral sense governing all one’s actions with a painstaking efforts to follow one’s conscience; honest stresses adherence to such virtues as truthfulness, candor, and fairness; honorable suggests a firm holding to codes of right behavior and the guidance of a high sense of decency and duty; just stresses conscious choice and regular practice of what is right or equitable; scrupulous implies showing close attention to detail and applies to what is proper or fitting or ethical.
Quotes:
• The little reed, bending to the force of the wind, soon stood upright again when the storm had passed over. — Aesop (c 620–564 BC) Greek fabulist
• It is only through seriousness of purpose and persistence that we ultimately carry the day. We might liken it to riding a bicycle. You stay upright and move forward so long as you keep up the momentum. — Ban Ki-moon (1944-) South Korean [eighth secretary-general of the United Nations]
Symbol: the qilin [similar to the unicorn, with two horns] (Chinese)