It takes a wonderful brain and exquisite senses to produce a few stupid ideas.
George SantayanaRead
To know what people really think, pay regard to what they do, rather than what they say.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Actions reveal true intentions more than words do.
This quote emphasizes the importance of observing people's actions instead of merely listening to their words. It suggests that while people may say one thing, their actions are often a more reliable indicator of their true thoughts and feelings, hinting at the often deceptive nature of verbal communication.
Themes
ActionsWordsTruthPerceptionBehavior
In practice
Example use cases
In a team meeting, you could remind members that demonstrating commitment through action is more important than just making promises.
More from George Santayana
All quotes →The working of great institutions is mainly the result of a vast mass of routine, petty malice, self interest, carelessness and sheer mistake. Only a residual fraction is thought.
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There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval. The dark background which death supplies brings out the tender colours of life in all their purity.
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Not to believe in love is a great sign of dullness. There are some people so indirect and lumbering that they think all real affection rests on circumstantial evidence.
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To feel beauty is a better thing than to understand how we come to feel it. To have imagination and taste, to love the best, to be carried by the contemplation of nature to a vivid faith in the ideal, all this is more, a great deal more, than any science can hope to be.
George SantayanaRead
The vital straining towards an ideal, definite but latent, when it dominates a whole life, may express that ideal more fully than could the best chosen words.
George SantayanaRead
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