--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: IT is not easy—perhaps not even…" description: "\"“IT is not easy—perhaps not even desirable—to judge other people by a consistent standard. Conduct obnoxious, even unbearable, in one person may be rea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faa/anthony-powell-2659_conduct_it-is-not-easy-perhaps-not-even-desirabl_2744240.jpg" --- # IT is not easy—perhaps not even desirable—to judge other… ![“IT is not easy—perhaps not even desirable—to judge other people by a consistent standard. Conduct obnoxious, even unbearable, in one person may be readily tolerated in another; apparently indispensable principles of behaviour are in practice relaxed—not always with impunity—in the interests of…” quote by Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faa/anthony-powell-2659_conduct_it-is-not-easy-perhaps-not-even-desirabl_2744240.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faa/anthony-powell-2659_conduct_it-is-not-easy-perhaps-not-even-desirabl_2744240.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faa/anthony-powell-2659_conduct_it-is-not-easy-perhaps-not-even-desirabl_2744240.jpg) > ““IT is not easy—perhaps not even desirable—to judge other people by a consistent standard. Conduct obnoxious, even unbearable, in one person may be readily tolerated in another; apparently indispensable principles of behaviour are in practice relaxed—not always with impunity—in the interests of those whose nature seems to demand an exceptional measure. That”” [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Moral standards shift depending on who is judged; what is condemned in one may be tolerated in another. **In simple terms:** Ethics change with context. Key Takeaway Question consistency in judgments. Themes ethics relativism social norms Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - legal decisions - workplace evaluations - personal relationships Key Concepts philosophy behavioral standards bias Questions to Reflect On - What principles should remain non‑negotiable? - How can we prevent bias in judgment? A Different Perspective It overlooks the need for universal rights and can excuse injustice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conduct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conduct/) [Judge People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judge-people/) [Relaxed Impunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relaxed-impunity-3050018/) [Standard Conduct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standard-conduct-1660211/) [Unbearable Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unbearable-person-3050019/) ## Related quotes > [“How can one respect people as members of the human race unless one holds them to a standard of conduct and truthfulness?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/how-can-one-respect-people-as-members-of-the-human-race-unless-one/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [“humans have a global benchmark-standard of conduct that called humanity”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aditia-rinaldi/humans-have-a-global-benchmark-standard-of-conduct-that-called/) [Aditia Rinaldi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aditia-rinaldi/) > [“If you try to hold people to your standard of conduct you will go mad with disappointment and grief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/if-you-try-to-hold-people-to-your-standard-of-conduct-you-will-go-mad/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I don't claim any moral or ethical high ground, but I also have chosen not to run for public office. Shouldn't there be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/i-don-t-claim-any-moral-or-ethical-high-ground-but-i-also-have-chosen/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [If there were one word that could act as a standard of conduct for one's entire life, perhaps it would be 'thoughtfulness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/if-there-were-one-word-that-could-act-as-a-standard-of-conduct-for/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [There's no doubt that what has emerged in the years after 9/11, unlike the situation in Britain, there were practices sanctioned in the U.S.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-alexander/there-s-no-doubt-that-what-has-emerged-in-the-years-after-9-11-unlike/) [Douglas Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-alexander/) > [If you judge people, you will have no time to love them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-judge-people-you-will-have-no-time-to-love-them/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I judge people on how they smell, not how they look.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lopez/i-judge-people-on-how-they-smell-not-how-they-look/) [Jennifer Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lopez/) > [Listen to people and treat people as you find them. There's an inherent goodness in most people. Don't pre-judge people - that was me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-bean/listen-to-people-and-treat-people-as-you-find-them-there-s-an/) [Sean Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-bean/) > [“I consider myself to be apretty good judge of people...That's why I don't like any of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/i-consider-myself-to-be-apretty-good-judge-of-people-that-s-why-i-don/) [Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/) > [We don't judge people for dying in car crashes. But we do judge people when they die of suicide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-gethard/we-don-t-judge-people-for-dying-in-car-crashes-but-we-do-judge-people/) [Chris Gethard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-gethard/) > [I judge people by their own principles..not by my own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-judge-people-by-their-own-principles-not-by-my-own/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Billy Graham talks about how he doesn't judge people. I don't either. Some people I am just pissed at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-hahn/billy-graham-talks-about-how-he-doesn-t-judge-people-i-don-t-either/) [Jessica Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-hahn/) > [Don't judge people before you talk to them and know about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunshine/don-t-judge-people-before-you-talk-to-them-and-know-about-them/) [SunShine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunshine/) > [I like dogs. Dogs don't judge people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-james/i-like-dogs-dogs-don-t-judge-people/) [Peter James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-james/) ## More by Anthony Powell > [I was impressed for the ten thousandth time by the fact that literature illuminates life only for those to whom books are a necessity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-was-impressed-for-the-ten-thousandth-time-by-the-fact-that/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Like everything that's any good, it has about twenty different meanings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/like-everything-that-s-any-good-it-has-about-twenty-different-meanings/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“I have absolutely no histrionic talent, none at all, a constitutional handicap in almost all undertakings of life;but then, after all, plenty of actors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-have-absolutely-no-histrionic-talent-none-at-all-a-constitutional/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“The crematorium was a blaze of sunshine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/the-crematorium-was-a-blaze-of-sunshine/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [Parents. . . are sometimes a bit of a disappointment to their children. They don't fulfil the promise of their early years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/parents-are-sometimes-a-bit-of-a-disappointment-to-their-children/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Her expression was oafish, but it was on the whole this quality that gave her face a certain retentive efficacy. She had the look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/her-expression-was-oafish-but-it-was-on-the-whole-this-quality-that/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Enormous simplifications were possibly necessary to carry a deeper truth than lay on the surface of a mass of unsorted detail.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/enormous-simplifications-were-possibly-necessary-to-carry-a-deeper/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“I hate anything superficial. But I will take the book and look at it, and tell you what I think of the writing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-hate-anything-superficial-but-i-will-take-the-book-and-look-at-it/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“It is rather an occasion, darling,’ said Moreland, vexed at these objections. ‘After all, I am noted among composers for the smallness of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/it-is-rather-an-occasion-darling-said-moreland-vexed-at-these/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“There seemed no particular object in avoiding banality from the start, as the evening showed every sign of developing into a banal one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/there-seemed-no-particular-object-in-avoiding-banality-from-the-start/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [Dinner at the Huntercombes possessed only two dramatic features: the wine was a farce and the food a tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/dinner-at-the-huntercombes-possessed-only-two-dramatic-features-the/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Even then I did not recognise the quest for power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/even-then-i-did-not-recognise-the-quest-for-power/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Some of the best of us are quite unambitious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/some-of-the-best-of-us-are-quite-unambitious/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [One passes through the world knowing few, if any, of the important things about even the people with whom one has been from time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/one-passes-through-the-world-knowing-few-if-any-of-the-important/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“He stood pondering this flat, forthright declaration of anti-simianism on Miss Weedon’s part. The notion that some people might not like monkeys was evidently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/he-stood-pondering-this-flat-forthright-declaration-of-anti-simianism/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) [Explore all 156 Anthony Powell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) ## More Conduct quotes > [Let everyone regulate his conduct... by the golden rule of doing to others as in similar circumstances we would have them do to us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wilberforce/let-everyone-regulate-his-conduct-by-the-golden-rule-of-doing-to/) [William Wilberforce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wilberforce/) > [Al Jazeera is a representation of, you know, diversity in the Arab world. In our newsroom, we have every single nationality, we have every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadah-khanfar/al-jazeera-is-a-representation-of-you-know-diversity-in-the-arab/) [Wadah Khanfar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadah-khanfar/) > [Aggressive and hard-charging women violate unwritten rules about acceptable social conduct. Men are continually applauded for being ambitious and powerful and successful, but women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/aggressive-and-hard-charging-women-violate-unwritten-rules-about/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [Be kindly and just in your dealings with your men. Never play favorites. Make them feel that justice tempered with mercy may always be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-a-lejeune/be-kindly-and-just-in-your-dealings-with-your-men-never-play/) [John A. Lejeune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-a-lejeune/) > [Absolute morality is the regulation of conduct in such a way that pain shall not be inflicted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/absolute-morality-is-the-regulation-of-conduct-in-such-a-way-that/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Lenity will operate with greater force, in some instances, than rigor. It is, therefore, my first wish, to have my whole conduct distinguished by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/lenity-will-operate-with-greater-force-in-some-instances-than-rigor/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [The border is varied depending on the geography, depending on the specific venue, and depending on the conduct of individuals around it. We don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-mayorkas/the-border-is-varied-depending-on-the-geography-depending-on-the/) [Alejandro Mayorkas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-mayorkas/) > [The Icesave matter is complex and it is understandable that the issue has been oversimplified by many. Unfortunately some of the basic facts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-siguroardottir/the-icesave-matter-is-complex-and-it-is-understandable-that-the-issue/) [Johanna Siguroardottir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-siguroardottir/) > [Our First Amendment expresses a far different calculus for regulating speech than for regulating nonexpressive conduct and that is as it should be. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/our-first-amendment-expresses-a-far-different-calculus-for-regulating/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [If a man be under the influence of anger his conduct will not be correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/if-a-man-be-under-the-influence-of-anger-his-conduct-will-not-be/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [“Sheel (the highest state of conduct in worldly interaction) is where not even an iota of a wrong intent arises within.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/sheel-the-highest-state-of-conduct-in-worldly-interaction-is-where/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [Man has long found solace in good talk to offset bad conduct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-harvey-robinson/man-has-long-found-solace-in-good-talk-to-offset-bad-conduct/) [James Harvey Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-harvey-robinson/) > [Whence do I get my rules of conduct? I find them in my heart. Whatever I feel to be good is good. Whatever I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/whence-do-i-get-my-rules-of-conduct-i-find-them-in-my-heart-whatever/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [We shall use the terms morality, behavior, conduct, or constructive action in the same broad way. It may sound strange to speak of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-patten/we-shall-use-the-terms-morality-behavior-conduct-or-constructive/) [William Patten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-patten/) > [The first step in freeing yourself from social restrictions is the realization that there is no such thing as a safe code of conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/the-first-step-in-freeing-yourself-from-social-restrictions-is-the/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) [Browse all 465 Conduct quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conduct/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“IT is not easy—perhaps not even desirable—to judge other people by a consistent standard. 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