--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It does not matter what men say in words…" description: "\"It does not matter what men say in words, so long as their activities are controlled by settled instincts. The words may ultimately destroy the instinc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e5/alfred-north-whitehead-836_activity_it-does-not-matter-what-men-say-in-words_2665791.jpg" --- # It does not matter what men say in words, so long as their… ![“It does not matter what men say in words, so long as their activities are controlled by settled instincts. The words may ultimately destroy the instincts; but until this has occurred, words do not count.” quote by Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e5/alfred-north-whitehead-836_activity_it-does-not-matter-what-men-say-in-words_2665791.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e5/alfred-north-whitehead-836_activity_it-does-not-matter-what-men-say-in-words_2665791.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e5/alfred-north-whitehead-836_activity_it-does-not-matter-what-men-say-in-words_2665791.jpg) > “It does not matter what men say in words, so long as their activities are controlled by settled instincts. The words may ultimately destroy the instincts; but until this has occurred, words do not count.” [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Argues that actions, not words, reveal true character; words alone are insufficient. **In simple terms:** Actions reveal true character. Key Takeaway Judge people by deeds, not words. Themes ethics behavior philosophy Mood thoughtful philosophical Type ethical academic When to use this quote - leadership assessment - personal relationships - organizational culture - legal judgments Key Concepts action theory moral philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify intentions beyond words? - When can words be trustworthy? A Different Perspective May discount the power of rhetoric. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Instinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) ## Related quotes > [“ ineffable , adj . these words will ultimately end up being the barest of reflections, devoid of the sensations words cannot convoy. Trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/ineffable-adj-these-words-will-ultimately-end-up-being-the-barest-of/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Countless words count less than the silent balance between yin and yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/countless-words-count-less-than-the-silent-balance-between-yin-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Each and every words count. Each and every thoughts count.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/each-and-every-words-count-each-and-every-thoughts-count/) [Santosh Kalwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santosh-kalwar/) > [Words connect¦ emotions, passions, sorrow, joy¦ people. Your words count. Anothers words count. Words matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/words-connect-emotions-passions-sorrow-joy-people-your-words-count/) Senoraroy > [“I don't believe in competition in literature. One star or five doesn't matter. It's the words that count, not the opinion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ml-buck/i-don-t-believe-in-competition-in-literature-one-star-or-five-doesn-t/) ML Buck > [Our words must count. Hunger will not wait for promises we made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sami-yusuf/our-words-must-count-hunger-will-not-wait-for-promises-we-made/) [Sami Yusuf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sami-yusuf/) > [“You want the hard fuck I’ve got saved up for you? Say the words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-want-the-hard-fuck-i-ve-got-saved-up-for-you-say-the-words/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All the things we don’t say, all the words we swallow, and it makes nothing but trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/all-the-things-we-don-t-say-all-the-words-we-swallow-and-it-makes/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [If you believe what you say, words will become reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-betancourt/if-you-believe-what-you-say-words-will-become-reality/) [Ingrid Betancourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-betancourt/) > [Talking isn't doing. It is a kind of good deed to say well; and yet words are not deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/talking-isn-t-doing-it-is-a-kind-of-good-deed-to-say-well-and-yet/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/i-shall-look-at-you-out-of-the-corner-of-my-eye-and-you-will-say/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [You only need to say 3 words and 8 letters and I'm yours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blair-waldorf/you-only-need-to-say-3-words-and-8-letters-and-i-m-yours/) [Blair Waldorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blair-waldorf/) > [I want to tell you my heart is filled with things to say when you are here. All those words they seem to slip…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-want-to-tell-you-my-heart-is-filled-with-things-to-say-when-you-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It's only later that I'll see you're feeding me rehearsed lines and perfectly timed smiles and gasps and tears that come at precisely the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-demetrios/it-s-only-later-that-i-ll-see-you-re-feeding-me-rehearsed-lines-and/) [Heather Demetrios](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-demetrios/) > [When a poem is really finished, you can't change anything. You can't move words around. You can't say, 'In other words, you mean.' No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/when-a-poem-is-really-finished-you-can-t-change-anything-you-can-t/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) ## More by Alfred North Whitehead > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Philosophy begins in wonder. And, at the end, when philosophic thought has done its best, the wonder remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/philosophy-begins-in-wonder-and-at-the-end-when-philosophic-thought/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The pursuit of mathematics is a divine madness of the human spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-pursuit-of-mathematics-is-a-divine-madness-of-the-human-spirit/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Without adventure all civilization is full of decay. Adventure rarely reaches its predetermined end. Columbus never reached China.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/without-adventure-all-civilization-is-full-of-decay-adventure-rarely/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Aristotle discovered all the half-truths which were necessary to the creation of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/aristotle-discovered-all-the-half-truths-which-were-necessary-to-the/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [On the ostensible exactitude of certain branches of human knowledge, including mathematics. The exactness is a fake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/on-the-ostensible-exactitude-of-certain-branches-of-human-knowledge/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [It is this union of passionate interest in the detailed facts with equal devotion to abstract generalisation which forms the novelty in our present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/it-is-this-union-of-passionate-interest-in-the-detailed-facts-with/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Our minds are finite, and yet even in these circumstances of infinitude we are surrounded by possibilities that are infinite, and the purpose of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/our-minds-are-finite-and-yet-even-in-these-circumstances-of/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The many become one and are increased by one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-many-become-one-and-are-increased-by-one/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and our aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the pattern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/art-is-the-imposing-of-a-pattern-on-experience-and-our-aesthetic/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The future belongs to those who can rise above the confines of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-future-belongs-to-those-who-can-rise-above-the-confines-of-the/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Common sense is genius in homespun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/common-sense-is-genius-in-homespun/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Everyone is a philosopher. Not everyone is good at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/everyone-is-a-philosopher-not-everyone-is-good-at-it/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Do not teach too many subjects and what you teach, teach thoroughly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/do-not-teach-too-many-subjects-and-what-you-teach-teach-thoroughly/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking about them. Operations of thought are cavalry charges in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/civilization-advances-by-extending-the-number-of-important-operations/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Explore all 356 Alfred North Whitehead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) ## More Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/) Gero Miesenbock > [Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/enjoyment-is-not-a-goal-it-is-a-feeling-that-accompanies-important/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have to consider everything I eat; I consider every activity I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kimball/i-have-to-consider-everything-i-eat-i-consider-every-activity-i-do/) [Charlie Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kimball/) > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) Browse all 3,263 Activity quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It does not matter what men say in words, so long as their activities are controlled by settled instincts. 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