--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Intelligent and alert, wistful but…" description: "\"Intelligent and alert, wistful but enthusiastic, frank yet tactful, assured without conceit and tender without sentimentality.\" — Cecil Beaton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/830/cecil-beaton-26730_assured_intelligent-and-alert-wistful-but-enthus_1557939.jpg" --- # Intelligent and alert, wistful but enthusiastic, frank yet… ![“Intelligent and alert, wistful but enthusiastic, frank yet tactful, assured without conceit and tender without sentimentality.” quote by Cecil Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/830/cecil-beaton-26730_assured_intelligent-and-alert-wistful-but-enthus_1557939.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/830/cecil-beaton-26730_assured_intelligent-and-alert-wistful-but-enthus_1557939.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/830/cecil-beaton-26730_assured_intelligent-and-alert-wistful-but-enthus_1557939.jpg) > “Intelligent and alert, wistful but enthusiastic, frank yet tactful, assured without conceit and tender without sentimentality.” [Cecil Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-beaton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The description praises a person’s blend of intelligence, enthusiasm, honesty, confidence, and tenderness, balanced without arrogance or excess sentiment. **In simple terms:** A person can be smart, enthusiastic, honest, confident, and tender without being pretentious. Key Takeaway Seek balanced qualities that combine strength with humility. Themes character traits balance authenticity Mood admiring thoughtful Type personal psychological When to use this quote - leadership - mentoring - personal development - team building Key Concepts self-awareness emotional intelligence confidence humility Questions to Reflect On - How can we cultivate confidence without conceit? - What practices foster genuine tenderness without sentimentality? A Different Perspective Achieving such balance can be challenging in competitive environments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assured](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assured/) [Conceit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceit/) [Enthusiastic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enthusiastic/) [Enthusiastic Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enthusiastic-frank-5837664/) [Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frank/) [Frank Tactful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frank-tactful-5837665/) [Intelligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent/) [Sentimentality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentimentality/) [Tactful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tactful-658697/) [Tactful Assured](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tactful-assured-5837663/) [Wistful Enthusiastic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wistful-enthusiastic-5837662/) ## Related quotes > [Talk about tactful - she's got a tongue like a Kalashnikov!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-fowler/talk-about-tactful-she-s-got-a-tongue-like-a-kalashnikov/) [Steve Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-fowler/) > [“No, he is not tactful, yet have you ever noticed that there are people who do things which are most indelicate, and yet, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/no-he-is-not-tactful-yet-have-you-ever-noticed-that-there-are-people/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Did you refuse to be tested to see if you and he were Soul Complements because you were afraid you might want sex with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-monk/did-you-refuse-to-be-tested-to-see-if-you-and-he-were-soul/) [Devon Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-monk/) > [“What is the tactful, the effective way of announcing that your life’s work has been wasted?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/what-is-the-tactful-the-effective-way-of-announcing-that-your-life-s/) [Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/) > [The worst of having so much tact was that you never quite knew whether other people were acting naturally or being tactful too. \[The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-worst-of-having-so-much-tact-was-that-you-never-quite-knew/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I hate the way, once you start to know someone, care about them, their behavior can distress you, even when it's unreasonable and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/i-hate-the-way-once-you-start-to-know-someone-care-about-them-their/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [“you were. OK, I’ll admit, I had a hard time not laughing. But it isn’t actually a bad idea, once we water it down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-james/you-were-ok-i-ll-admit-i-had-a-hard-time-not-laughing-but-it-isn-t/) [Rosalind James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-james/) > [I'm honest. I say what I feel. I try to be tactful, but I can't not say what I feel. I have a really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherilyn-fenn/i-m-honest-i-say-what-i-feel-i-try-to-be-tactful-but-i-can-t-not-say/) [Sherilyn Fenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherilyn-fenn/) > [I'm quite tactful, actually. I worry about whether people are all right. With my friends, obviously, conversations are quite free and uncensored, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-davis/i-m-quite-tactful-actually-i-worry-about-whether-people-are-all-right/) [Julia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-davis/) > [“thinking to be tactful and adroit, the woman stood”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasunari-kawabata/thinking-to-be-tactful-and-adroit-the-woman-stood/) [Yasunari Kawabata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasunari-kawabata/) > [Sometimes I can be tactful and sometimes not. It all depends on the mood I'm in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-brown/sometimes-i-can-be-tactful-and-sometimes-not-it-all-depends-on-the/) [Melanie Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-brown/) > [“This is supposed to be a touch-feely conversation where we tell you, ‘Don’t worry, you’ll always have a family here with us.’ And then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/this-is-supposed-to-be-a-touch-feely-conversation-where-we-tell-you/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [Growing up, I didn't feel tactful or classy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chappell-roan/growing-up-i-didn-t-feel-tactful-or-classy/) [Chappell Roan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chappell-roan/) > [Whenever your well-being feels at risk around certain people, make a tactful and swift exit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-orloff/whenever-your-well-being-feels-at-risk-around-certain-people-make-a/) [Judith Orloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-orloff/) > [“I'm English. We're about as tactful as a hot poker up the bum, most of the time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-h-thomson/i-m-english-we-re-about-as-tactful-as-a-hot-poker-up-the-bum-most-of/) [L.H. Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-h-thomson/) ## More by Cecil Beaton > [A technical failure that shows some attempt at aesthetic expression is of infinitely more value than uninspired success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-beaton/a-technical-failure-that-shows-some-attempt-at-aesthetic-expression/) [Cecil Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-beaton/) > [“Be daring, be different, be impractical; be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-beaton/be-daring-be-different-be-impractical-be-anything-that-will-assert/) [Cecil Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-beaton/) > [ \[He stared into the camera\] like some sort of an animal gazing from across the back of its sty. (On Winston Churchill) ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-beaton/he-stared-into-the-camera-like-some-sort-of-an-animal-gazing-from/) [Cecil Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-beaton/) > [More varied than any landscape was the landscape in the sky, with islands of gold and silver, peninsulas of apricot and rose against a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-beaton/more-varied-than-any-landscape-was-the-landscape-in-the-sky-with/) [Cecil Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-beaton/) > [I have the worst ear for criticism, even when I have created a stage set I like, I always hear the woman in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-beaton/i-have-the-worst-ear-for-criticism-even-when-i-have-created-a-stage/) [Cecil Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-beaton/) > [Americans have an abiding belief in their ability to control reality by purely material means... airline insurance replaces the fear of death with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-beaton/americans-have-an-abiding-belief-in-their-ability-to-control-reality/) [Cecil Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-beaton/) > [Never in the history of fashion has so little material been raised so high to reveal so much that needs to be covered so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-beaton/never-in-the-history-of-fashion-has-so-little-material-been-raised-so/) [Cecil Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-beaton/) > [On close inspection, this device turned out to be a funereal juke box - the result of mixing Lloyd's of London with the principle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-beaton/on-close-inspection-this-device-turned-out-to-be-a-funereal-juke-box/) [Cecil Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-beaton/) > [All I want is the best of everything and there's very little of that left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-beaton/all-i-want-is-the-best-of-everything-and-there-s-very-little-of-that/) [Cecil Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-beaton/) > [Love is someone you can be silly with](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-beaton/love-is-someone-you-can-be-silly-with/) [Cecil Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-beaton/) > [I can't afford a whole new set of enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-beaton/i-can-t-afford-a-whole-new-set-of-enemies/) [Cecil Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-beaton/) > [Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-beaton/be-daring-be-different-be-impractical-be-anything-that-will-assert-2/) [Cecil Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-beaton/) > [San Francisco is perhaps the most European of all American cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-beaton/san-francisco-is-perhaps-the-most-european-of-all-american-cities/) [Cecil Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-beaton/) > [Miss Marilyn Monroe calls to mind the bouquet of a fireworks display, eliciting from her awed spectators an open-mouthed chorus of ohs and ahs ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-beaton/miss-marilyn-monroe-calls-to-mind-the-bouquet-of-a-fireworks-display/) [Cecil Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-beaton/) > [You can't teach people photography, they've got to learn how to do it the best way possible for them. They can learn from looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-beaton/you-can-t-teach-people-photography-they-ve-got-to-learn-how-to-do-it/) [Cecil Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-beaton/) [Explore all 21 Cecil Beaton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-beaton/) ## More Assured quotes > [Plenty of white space and generous line spacing,and don't make the type size too miserly. Then you will be assured of a product fit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giambattista-bodoni/plenty-of-white-space-and-generous-line-spacing-and-don-t-make-the/) [Giambattista Bodoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giambattista-bodoni/) > [The planet's survival has become so uncertain that any effort, any thought that presupposes an assured future amounts to a mad gamble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/the-planet-s-survival-has-become-so-uncertain-that-any-effort-any/) [Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/) > [Wherever I am, I see the yoke on women in some form or another. On some it sits easy for they are but beasts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-may-alcott/wherever-i-am-i-see-the-yoke-on-women-in-some-form-or-another-on-some/) [Abby May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-may-alcott/) > [“I remembered what Dad said once, that some people have all of life's answers worked out the day they're born and there's no use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/i-remembered-what-dad-said-once-that-some-people-have-all-of-life-s/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [The slave and those whose present life is miserable and who can find no consolation in the heavens are assured that at least the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-slave-and-those-whose-present-life-is-miserable-and-who-can-find/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was acquainted once with a gallant soldier who assured me that his only measure of courage was this: upon the first fire, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/i-was-acquainted-once-with-a-gallant-soldier-who-assured-me-that-his/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [The Cold War philosophy of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD), which prevented the former Soviet Union and the United States from using the nuclear weapons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lewis/the-cold-war-philosophy-of-mutual-assured-destruction-mad-which/) [Bernard Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lewis/) > [If God has laid your sins upon the Son of His love, you may rest assured that He will never lay them a second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavius-winslow/if-god-has-laid-your-sins-upon-the-son-of-his-love-you-may-rest/) [Octavius Winslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavius-winslow/) > [In Canada, I've had success raising money. 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Unlike a direct investment in an individual bond that you can hold to maturity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-orman/i-have-never-been-a-fan-of-bond-funds-unlike-a-direct-investment-in/) [Suze Orman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suze-orman/) [Browse all 409 Assured quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assured/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Intelligent and alert, wistful but enthusiastic, frank yet tactful, assured without conceit and tender without sentimentality.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cecil Beaton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-beaton/intelligent-and-alert-wistful-but-enthusiastic-frank-yet-tactful/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assured" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-beaton/intelligent-and-alert-wistful-but-enthusiastic-frank-yet-tactful/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/830/cecil-beaton-26730_assured_intelligent-and-alert-wistful-but-enthus_1557939.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/830/cecil-beaton-26730_assured_intelligent-and-alert-wistful-but-enthus_1557939.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/830/cecil-beaton-26730_assured_intelligent-and-alert-wistful-but-enthus_1557939.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Intelligent and alert, wistful but enthusiastic, frank yet tactful, assured without conceit and tender…” — Cecil Beaton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Cecil Beaton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-beaton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Intelligent and alert, wistful but enthusiastic,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-beaton/intelligent-and-alert-wistful-but-enthusiastic-frank-yet-tactful/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-beaton/intelligent-and-alert-wistful-but-enthusiastic-frank-yet-tactful/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```