Background Image
...
Do Not Be Deceived Into Thinking That How A Man Acts Is The Full Picture.
-Arthur Helps
...
Please Wait....
Translating....

Do Not Be Deceived

Arthur Helps
...
Do Not Be Deceived Into Thinking That How A Man Acts Is The Full Picture.

Understanding the Quote: "do not be deceived into thinking that how a man acts is..."

This quote by Arthur Helps reflects deeply on the theme of men. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Men, Thinking, Deceived, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Arthur Helps interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Arthur Helps

Arthur Helps is celebrated for insightful thoughts on men and thinking. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

Views: 5
Topic
Men
Thinking
Deceived
More From Arthur Helps
A Great Many Wise Sayings Have Been Uttered About The Effects Of Solitary Retirement; But The Motives Which Impel Men To Seek It Are Not More Various Than The Effects Which It Produces On Different Individuals. One Thing Is Certain, That Those Who Can With Truth Affirm That They Are "never Less Alone Than When Alone," Might Generally Add That They Never Feel More Lonely Than When Not Alone.
Wise
Lonely
Retirement
It Is Quite Impossible To Understand The Character Of A Person From One Action, However Striking That Action May Be.
Character
May
Action
A Great And Frequent Error In Our Judgment Of Human Nature Is To Suppose That Those Sentiments And Feelings Have No Existence, Which May Be Only For A Time Concealed. The Precious Metals Are Not Found At The Surface Of The Earth, Except In Sandy Places.
Character
Errors
Feelings
What A Blessing This Smoking Is! Perhaps The Greatest That We Owe To The Discovery Of America.
Blessing
Discovery
America
An Official Man Is Always An Official Man, And Has A Wild Belief In The Value Of Reports.
Men
Belief
Bureaucracy
There Is One Statesman Of The Present Day, Of Whom I Always Say That He Would Have Escaped Making The Blunders That He Has Made If He Had Only Ridden More In Buses.
Made
Blunders
Bus
The Most Common-place People Become Highly Imaginative When They Are In A Passion. Whole Dramas Of Insult, Injury, And Wrong Pass Before Their Minds,--efforts Of Creative Genius, For There Is Sometimes Not A Fact To Go Upon.
Drama
Passion
People
There Are No Better Cosmetics Than A Severe Temperance And Purity, Modesty And Humility, A Gracious Temper And Calmness Of Spirit; And There Is No True Beauty Without The Signatures Of These Graces In The Very Countenance.
Beauty
Humility
Grace
Any One Who Is Much Talked Of Be Much Maligned. This Seems To Be A Harsh Conclusion; But When You Consider How Much More Given Men Are To Depreciate Than To Appreciate, You Will Acknowledge That There Is Some Truth In The Saying.
Men
Appreciate
Harsh
It Requires A Strong Mind To Bear Up Against Several Languages. Some Persons Have Learnt So Many, That They Have Ceased To Think In Any One.
Strong
Thinking
Mind
Few Have Wished For Memory So Much As They Have Longed For Forgetfulness.
Memories
Forgetfulness
Infinite Toil Would Not Enable You To Sweep Away A Mist; But By Ascending A Little You May Often Look Over It Altogether.
Knowledge
Toil
Looks
It Has Always Appeared To Me, That There Is So Much To Be Done In This World, That All Self-inflicted Suffering Which Cannot Be Turned To Good Account For Others, Is A Loss - A Loss, If You May So Express It, To The Spiritual World.
Spiritual
Loss
Self
If You Are Often Deceived By Those Around You, You May Be Sure That You Deserve To Be Deceived; And That Instead Of Railing At The General Falseness Of Mankind, You Have First To Pronounce Judgment On Your Own Jealous Tyranny, Or On Your Own Weak Credulity.
Jealous
Deception
May
Men Rattle Their Chains-to Manifest Their Freedom.
Freedom
Men
Chains
Entrust A Secret To One Whose Importance Will Not Be Much Increased By Divulging It.
Secret
Importance
Is Boredom Anything Less Than The Sense Of One's Faculties Slowly Dying?
Dying Slowly
Boredom
Faculty
Those Who Never Philosophized Until They Met With Disappointments, Have Mostly Become Disappointed Philosophers
Disappointment
Philosopher
Mets
It Is In Length Of Patience, Endurance And Forbearance That So Much Of What Is Good In Mankind And Womankind Is Shown.
Patience
Endurance
Forbearance
Always Win Fools First. They Talk Much, And What They Have Once Uttered They Will Stick To; Whereas There Is Always Time, Up To The Last Moment, To Bring Before A Wise Man Arguments That May Entirely Change His Opinion.
Wise
Winning
Men
Offended Vanity Is The Great Separator In Social Life.
Life
Vanity
Social
The Man Of The House Can Destroy The Pleasure Of The Household, But He Cannot Make It. That Rests With The Woman, And It Is Her Greatest Privilege.
Men
House
Privilege
The Very Best Financial Presentation Is One That's Well Thought Out And Anticipates Any Questions... Answering Them In Advance.
Business
Financial
Wells
Almost All Human Affairs Are Tedious. Everything Is Too Long. Visits, Dinners, Concerts, Plays, Speeches, Pleadings, Essays, Sermons, Are Too Long. Pleasure And Business Labor Equally Under This Defect, Or, As I Should Rather Say, This Fatal Super-abundance.
Time
Play
Long
I Do Not Know Any Way So Sure Of Making Others Happy As Of Being So Oneself, To Begin With.
Happiness
Self
Way
The Reasons Which Any Man Offers To You For His Own Conduct Betray His Opinion Of Your Character.
Character
Men
Opinion
Wisdom Is Seldom Gained Without Suffering.
Wisdom
Suffering
In A Balanced Organization, Working Towards A Common Objective, There Is Success.
Success
Business
Congratulations
Those Who Are Successfully To Lead Their Fellow-men, Should Have Once Possessed The Nobler Feelings. We Have All Known Individuals Whose Magnanimity Was Not Likely To Be Troublesome On Any Occasion; But Then They Betrayed Their Own Interests By Unwisely Omitting The Consideration, That Such Feelings Might Exist In The Breasts Of Those Whom They Had To Guide And Govern: For They Themselves Cannot Even Remember The Time When In Their Eyes Justice Appeared Preferable To Expediency, The Happiness Of Others To Self-interest, Or The Welfare Of A State To The Advancement Of A Party.
Leadership
Party
Eye
People Resemble Still More The Time In Which They Live, Than They Resemble Their Fathers.
Time
Father
People
The Most Enthusiastic Man In A Cause Is Rarely Chosen As The Leader.
Leadership
Men
Causes
We Are Pleased With One Who Instantly Assents To Our Opinions, But We Love A Proselyte.
Opinion
Argument
Experience Is The Extract Of Suffering.
Suffering
Routine Is Not Organization, Any More Than Paralysis Is Order.
Order
Organization
Routine
Many Know How To Please, But Know Not When They Have Ceased To Give Pleasure.
Giving
Pleasure
Please
More Than Half The Difficulties Of The World Would Be Allayed Or Removed By The Exhibition Of Good Temper.
Would Be
Half
World
Do Not Be Deceived Into Thinking That How A Man Acts Is The Full Picture.
Men
Thinking
Deceived
Keep Your Feet On The Ground, But Let Your Heart Soar As High As It Will. Refuse To Be Average Or To Surrender To The Chill Of Your Spiritual Environment.
Inspirational
Spiritual
Heart
Many A Man Has A Kind Of A Kaleidoscope, Where The Bits Of Broken Glass Are His Own Merits And Fortunes; And They Fall Into Harmonious Arrangements, And Delight Him, Often Most Mischievously And To His Ultimate Detriment; But They Are A Present Pleasure.
Fall
Men
Glasses
Thoughts There Are, Not To Be Translated Into Any Language, And Spirits Alone Can Read Them.
Spirit
Language
A Mixture Of Admiration And Pity Is One Of The Surest Recipes For Affection.
Mixtures
Recipes
Admiration
We Are Frequently Understood The Least By Those Who Have Known Us The Longest.
Understood
Known
Alas! It Is Not The Child But The Boy That Generally Survives In The Man.
Children
Boys
Men
If You Would Understand Your Own Age, Read The Works Of Fiction Produced In It. People In Disguise Speak Freely.
Book
Reading
People
Pride, If Not The Origin, Is The Medium Of All Wickedness-the Atmosphere Without Which It Would Instantly Die Away.
Pride
Atmosphere
Wickedness
Love, Like The Opening Of The Heavens To The Saints, Shows For A Moment, Even To The Dullest Man, The Possibilities Of The Human Race. He Has Faith, Hope, And Charity For Another Being, Perhaps But A Creation Of His Imagination: Still It Is A Great Advance For A Man To Be Profoundly Loving Even In His Imaginations.
Love
Race
Imagination
He Who Is Continually Changing His Point Of View Sees More, And More Clearly, Than One Who, Statue-like, Forever Stands Upon The Same Pedestal; However Lofty And Well-placed That Pedestal May Be.
Views
Forever
Pedestal
It Is A Weak Thing To Tell Half Your Story, And Then Ask Your Friend's Advice-a Still Weaker Thing To Take It.
Advice
Stories
Half
The Heroic Example Of Other Days Is In Great Part The Source Of The Courage Of Each Generation; And Men Walk Up Composedly To The Most Perilous Enterprises, Beckoned Onward By The Shades Of The Brave That Were.
Men
Bravery
Example
The Man Who Could Withstand, With His Fellow-men In Single Line, A Charge Of Cavalry May Lose All Command Of Himself On The Occurrence Of A Fire In His Own House, Because Of Some Homely Reminiscence Unknown To The Observing Bystander.
Men
Fire
Bystanders
It Is Better In Some Respects To Be Admired By Those With Whom You Live Than To Be Loved By Them; And This Not On Account Of Any Gratification Of Vanity, But Because Admiration Is So Much More Tolerant Than Love.
Vanity
Admiration
Accounts
There Is Hardly A More Common Error Than That Of Taking The Man Who Has One Talent, For A Genius.
Science
Men
Errors
No Man, Or Woman, Was Ever Cured Of Love By Discovering The Falseness Of His Or Her Lover. The Living Together For Three Long, Rainy Days In The Country Has Done More To Dispel Love Than All The Perfidies In Love That Have Ever Been Committed.
Love
Country
Men
It Has Been Said With Some Meaning That If Men Would But Rest In Silence, They Might Always Hear The Music Of The Spheres.
Men
Silence
Might
The World Will Find Out That Part Of Your Character Which Concerns It: That Which Especially Concerns Yourself, It Will Leave For You To Discover.
Character
World
Concern
Selfishness, When It Is Punished By The World, Is Mostly Punished Because It Is Connected With Egotism.
Ego
Selfishness
World
The Apparent Foolishness Of Others Is But Too Frequently Our Own Ignorance.
Ignorance
Foolishness
There Are Few Who Would Need Advisers, If They Were Only Accustomed To Appeal To Themselves In Their Calmest, Holiest Moments. If, When Embarrassed With Doubt As To Any Course Of Action, They Would Turn Aside From The Immediate Tumult Of The World, And From The Vain Speaking Of Those Who "darken Counsel By Words Without Knowledge;" And Would Then Commune With Their Hearts Alone, At Night, The Heavens Their Silent Counsellors, They Would Act Not Always In Accordance With The Wise Men Of This World, But With That Wisdom Which Bringeth Peace.
Wise
Wisdom
Heart
No Man Who Has Not Sat In The Assemblies Of Men Can Know The Light, Odd And Uncertain Ways In Which Decisions Are Often Arrived At.
Men
Light
Decision
A Man's Action Is Only A Picture Book Of His Creed.
Book
Men
Action
We Should Lay Up In Our Minds A Store Of Goodly Thoughts Which Will Be A Living Treasure Of Knowledge Always With Us, And From Which, At Various Times, And Amidst All The Shiftings Of Circumstances, We Might Be Sure Of Drawing Some Comfort, Guidance And Sympathy.
Life
Knowledge
Drawing
Men Of Much Depth Of Mind Can Bear A Great Deal Of Counsel; For It Does Not Easily Deface Their Own Character, Nor Render Their Purposes Indistinct.
Character
Men
Advice
Rare Almost As Great Poets, Rarer, Perhaps, Than Veritable Saints And Martyrs; Are Consummate Men Of Business. A Man, To Be Excellent In This Way, Requires A Great Knowledge Of Character, With That Exquisite Tact Which Feels Unerringly The Right Moment When To Act. A Discreet Rapidity Must Pervade All The Movements Of His Thought And Action. He Must Be Singularly Free From Vanity, And Is Generally Found To Be An Enthusiast Who Has The Art To Conceal His Enthusiasm.
Art
Business
Character
The Greatest Luxury Of Riches Is That They Enable You To Escape So Much Good Advice.
Funny
Money
Luxury
Remember That In Giving Any Reason At All For Refusing, You Lay Some Foundation For A Future Request.
Giving
Simplicity
Foundation
The Measure Of Civilization In A People Is To Be Found In Its Just Appreciation Of The Wrongfulness Of War.
Appreciation
War
Civilization
Tolerance Is The Only Real Test Of Civilization.
Real
Civilization
Tolerance
We Are Not So Easily Guided By Our Most Prominent Weaknesses As By Those Of Which We Are Least Aware.
Weakness
Prominent
It Takes A Great Man To Make A Great Listener
Men
Empathy
Understanding
Simple Ignorance Has In Its Time Been Complimented By The Names Of Most Of The Vices, And Of All The Virtues.
Ignorance
Simple
Names
Infinite Toil Would Not Enable You To Sweep Away A Mist; But By Ascending A Little, You May Often Look Over It Altogether. So It Is With Our Moral Improvement: We Wrestle Fiercely With A Vicious Habit, Which Could Have No Hold Upon Us If We Ascended Into A Higher Moral Atmosphere.
Atmosphere
Littles
Toil
No Doubt Hard Work Is A Great Police Agent. If Everybody Were Worked From Morning Till Night, And Then Carefully Locked Up, The Register Of Crime Might Be Greatly Diminished. But What Would Become Of Human Nature? Where Would Be The Room For Growth In Such A System Of Things? It Is Through Sorrow And Mirth, Plenty And Need, A Variety Of Passions, Circumstances, And Temptations, Even Through Sin And Misery, That Men's Natures Are Developed.
Morning
Hard Work
Passion
When We Consider The Incidents Of Former Days, And Perceive, While Reviewing The Long Line Of Causes, How The Most Important Events Of Our Lives Originated In The Most Trifling Circumstances; How The Beginning Of Our Greatest Happiness Or Greatest Misery Is To Be Attributed To A Delay, To An Accident, To A Mistake; We Learn A Lesson Of Profound Humility.
Mistake
Humility
Fate
You Cannot Ensure The Gratitude Of Others For A Favour Conferred Upon Them In The Way Which Is Most Agreeable To Yourself.
Gratitude
Way
Favour
The World Will Tolerate Many Vices, But Not Their Diminutives.
Vices
World
Tolerate
Be Cheerful [and Grateful For The Good That You Have]: Do Not Brood Over Fond Hopes Unrealized Until A Chain Is Fastened On Each Thought And Wound Around The Heart. Nature Intended You To Be The Fountain-spring Of Cheerfulness And Social Life, And Not The Mountain Of Despair And Melancholy.
Gratitude
Spring
Grateful
There Is An Honesty Which Is But Decided Selfishness In Disguise. The Person Who Will Not Refrain From Expressing His Or Her Sentiments And Manifesting His Or Her Feelings, However Unfit The Time, However Inappropriate The Place, However Painful This Expression May Be, Lays Claim, Forsooth, To Our Approbation As An Honest Person, And Sneers At Those Of Finer Sensibilities As Hypocrites.
Honesty
Hypocrite
Expression
A Sceptical Young Man One Day Conversing With The Celebrated Dr. Parr, Observed That He Would Believe Nothing Which He Could Not Understand. "then, Young Man, Your Creed Will Be The Shortest Of Any Man's I Know."
Believe
Men
Infidelity
No Man Has Ever Praised To Persons Equally-and Pleased Them Both.
Men
Praise
Persons
Nature Intended You To Be The Fountain-spring Of Cheerfulness And Social Life, And Not The Mountain Of Despair And Melancholy.
Spring
Despair
Mountain
Some Persons, Instead Of Making A Religion For Their God, Are Content To Make A God Of Their Religion.
Religion
Persons
The Thing Which Makes One Man Greater Than Another, The Quality By Which We Ought To Measure Greatness, Is A Man's Capacity For Loving.
Greatness
Men
Quality
Man Ceased To Be An Ape, Vanquished The Ape, On The Day The First Book Was Written.
Book
Reading
Men
Wise Sayings Often Fall On Barren Ground, But A Kind Word Is Never Thrown Away.
Inspirational
Wise
Gratitude
Every Happiness Is A Hostage To Fortune.
Fortune
Hostage
Reading Is Sometimes An Ingenious Device For Avoiding Thought.
Book
Reading
Beer
To Hear Always, To Think Always, To Learn Always, It Is Thus That We Live Truly. He Who Aspires To Nothing, Who Learns Nothing, Is Not Worthy Of Living.
Thinking
Improvement
Worthy
Always Say A Kind Word If You Can, If Only That It May Come In, Perhaps, With Singular Opportuneness, Entering Some Mournful Man's Darkened Room, Like A Beautiful Firefly, Whose Happy Circumvolutions He Cannot But Watch, Forgetting His Many Troubles.
Beautiful
Kindness
Firefly
War May Be The Game Of Kings, But, Like The Games At Ancient Rome, It Is Generally Exhibited To Please And Pacify The People.
Kings
War
Rome
Do Not Shun This Maxim Because It Is Common-place. On The Contrary, Take The Closest Heed Of What Observant Men, Who Would Probably Like To Show Originality, Are Yet Constrained To Repeat. Therein Lies The Marrow Of The Wisdom Of The World.
Lying
Men
World
Extremely Foolish Advice Is Likely To Be Uttered By Those Who Are Looking At The Laboring Vessel From The Land.
Land
Advice
Foolish
The Worst Use That Can Be Made Of Success Is To Boast Of It.
Success
Use
Made
Most Terrors Are But Spectral Illusions. Only Have The Courage Of The Man Who Could Walk Up To His Spectre Seated In The Chair Before Him, And Sit Down Upon It; The Horrid Thing Will Not Partake The Chair With You.
Men
Illusion
He Man
Having Once Decided To Achieve A Certain Task, Achieve It At All Costs Of Tedium And Distaste. The Gain In Self Confidence Of Having Accomplished A Tiresome Labor Is Immense.
Inspirational
Motivational
Success
The Sense Of Danger Is Never, Perhaps, So Fully Apprehended As When The Danger Has Been Overcome.
Overcoming
Danger
Has Beens
They Tell Us That "pity Is Akin To Love;" If So, Pity Must Be A Poor Relation.
Pity
Poor
Relation
Trending Author
Bill O'Reilly
Nora Ephron
F. Lee Bailey
Kelly Osbourne
Keira Knightley
Eddie Redmayne
Category
Information