Nature never appeals to intelligence until habit and instinct are useless. There is no intelligence where there is no need of change.
H. G. WellsRead
The serious people who took him seriously never felt quite sure of his deportment; they were somehow aware that trusting their reputations for judgment with him was like furnishing a nursery with egg-shell china.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote illustrates the uncertainty that can arise when placing trust in someone with unpredictable behavior.
H. G. Wells reflects on the complexity of trusting individuals whose actions or demeanor may not align with societal expectations. The metaphor of 'furnishing a nursery with egg-shell china' emphasizes the fragility and potential consequences of relying on someone who is not conventionally serious or reliable. It suggests a paradox where serious individuals recognize the risk involved in their trust, evoking contemplation about judgment and reputation in personal and professional relationships.
Themes
TrustJudgmentSeriousnessReputationFragility
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the complexities of trust in relationships.
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All quotes →He spares no resource in telling of his dead inventions... Bare verbs he rarely tolerates. He splits infinitives and fills them up with adverbial stuffing. He presses the passing colloquialism into his service. His vast paragraphis sweat and struggle; the
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It [a new world order] needs only that the governments of Britain, the United States, France, Germany, and Russia should get together in order to set up an effective control of currency, credit, production, and distribution – that is to say, an effective ‘dictatorship of prosperity,’ for the whole world. The other sixty odd States would have to join in or accommodate themselves to the over-ruling decisions of these major Powers.
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Things that would have made fame of a less clever man seemed tricks in his hands. It is a mistake to do things too easily.
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But I was too restless to watch long; I'm too Occidental for a long vigil. I could work at a problem for years, but to wait inactive for twenty-four hours - that's another matter.
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The greatest task of democracy, its ritual and feast - is choice.
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