--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I found this hardly comforting, and…" description: "\"“I found this hardly comforting, and wondered if there was not some virtue in the quality of insincerity.”\" — Daphne du Maurier" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f6/daphne-du-maurier-1185_insincerity_i-found-this-hardly-comforting-and-wonde_237813.png" --- # I found this hardly comforting, and wondered if there was… ![“I found this hardly comforting, and wondered if there was not some virtue in the quality of insincerity.” quote by Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f6/daphne-du-maurier-1185_insincerity_i-found-this-hardly-comforting-and-wonde_237813.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f6/daphne-du-maurier-1185_insincerity_i-found-this-hardly-comforting-and-wonde_237813.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f6/daphne-du-maurier-1185_insincerity_i-found-this-hardly-comforting-and-wonde_237813.png) > ““I found this hardly comforting, and wondered if there was not some virtue in the quality of insincerity.”” [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator questions whether insincerity can have its own value, suggesting that sometimes falsehoods serve a purpose. **In simple terms:** Insincerity may sometimes be useful. Key Takeaway Consider the role of honesty versus practicality. Themes truth morality pragmatism Mood thoughtful ambivalent Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - personal relationships - political negotiations - business dealings Key Concepts ethical relativism social convenience Questions to Reflect On - When is it acceptable to be insincere? - What are the costs of deception? A Different Perspective Insincerity can erode trust over time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comforting Wondered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comforting-wondered-2392095/) [Hardly Comforting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hardly-comforting-2392094/) [Insincerity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insincerity/) [Quality Insincerity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality-insincerity-2392096/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Wondered Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wondered-virtue-2392097/) ## Related quotes > [Once you can fake sincerity, you can fake anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-jo-putney/once-you-can-fake-sincerity-you-can-fake-anything/) [Mary Jo Putney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-jo-putney/) > [The words that I say and things that I do are different than what I mean.~~~](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-chiar/the-words-that-i-say-and-things-that-i-do-are-different-than-what-i/) [Francine Chiar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-chiar/) > [If I try to use human influence strategies and tactics of how to get other people to do what I want, to work better,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-try-to-use-human-influence-strategies-and-tactics-of-how-to-get/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One element of maturity is the realization that we don't get away with anything. Any advantage gained or convenience taken, any private procrastination or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-prather/one-element-of-maturity-is-the-realization-that-we-don-t-get-away/) [Hugh Prather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-prather/) > [Nothing is more disgraceful than insincerity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-is-more-disgraceful-than-insincerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What matters in Politics is what men actually do - sincerity is no excuse for acting unpolitically, and insincerity may be channelled by politics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-crick/what-matters-in-politics-is-what-men-actually-do-sincerity-is-no/) [Bernard Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-crick/) > [I love to read the dedications of old books written in monarchies for they invariably honor some (usually insignificant) knight or duke with fulsome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-love-to-read-the-dedications-of-old-books-written-in-monarchies-for/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [...So Englishmen saw it. Lincoln's insincerity was regarded as proven by two things: his earlier denial of any lawful right or wish to free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-vanauken/so-englishmen-saw-it-lincoln-s-insincerity-was-regarded-as-proven-by/) [Sheldon Vanauken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-vanauken/) > [It's not unfortunate that people aren't genuine; what's unfortunate is that insincere people try to act sincere and in doing so, mislead and deceive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-not-unfortunate-that-people-aren-t-genuine-what-s-unfortunate-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never say sorry to anyone if you don't really mean it, and don't commit about anything that you know you don't really mean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/never-say-sorry-to-anyone-if-you-don-t-really-mean-it-and-don-t/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns, as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-great-enemy-of-clear-language-is-insincerity-when-there-is-a-gap/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [The real loneliness is living among all these kind people who only ask one to pretend!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-real-loneliness-is-living-among-all-these-kind-people-who-only/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [What people call insincerity is simply a method by which we can multiply our personalities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/what-people-call-insincerity-is-simply-a-method-by-which-we-can/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The basis of insincerity is the idealized image we hold of ourselves and wish to impose on others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-basis-of-insincerity-is-the-idealized-image-we-hold-of-ourselves/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [“I am sure you were sincere. Not insincere. True insincerity is hard to find.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-am-sure-you-were-sincere-not-insincere-true-insincerity-is-hard-to/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) ## More by Daphne du Maurier > [He lacked tenderness; he was rude; and he had more than a streak of cruelty in him; he was a thief and a liar.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/he-lacked-tenderness-he-was-rude-and-he-had-more-than-a-streak-of/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“You understand now... how simple life becomes when things like mirrors are forgotten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/you-understand-now-how-simple-life-becomes-when-things-like-mirrors/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [I could fight with the living but I could not fight the dead. If there was some woman in London that Maxim loved, someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/i-could-fight-with-the-living-but-i-could-not-fight-the-dead-if-there/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [It wouldn't make for sanity would it, living with the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/it-wouldn-t-make-for-sanity-would-it-living-with-the-devil/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“The only time I got into trouble was when I forged M's signature on the weekly report we had to take home every Friday…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/the-only-time-i-got-into-trouble-was-when-i-forged-m-s-signature-on/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“They are not brave, the days when we are twenty-one. They are full of little cowardices, little fears without foundation, and one is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/they-are-not-brave-the-days-when-we-are-twenty-one-they-are-full-of/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [Women want love to be a novel, men a short story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/women-want-love-to-be-a-novel-men-a-short-story/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“We all of us have our particular devil who ruses us and torments us, and we must give battle in the end.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/we-all-of-us-have-our-particular-devil-who-ruses-us-and-torments-us/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“Happy in his silence yet eager for his words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/happy-in-his-silence-yet-eager-for-his-words/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“There have been men in arid deserts where the sun has so disfigured them that they have become things of horror – parched and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/there-have-been-men-in-arid-deserts-where-the-sun-has-so-disfigured/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“Packing up. The nagging worry of departure. When shutting drawers and flinging wide an hotel wardrobe, or the impersonal shelves of a furnished villa,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/packing-up-the-nagging-worry-of-departure-when-shutting-drawers-and/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“And perhaps one day, in after years, someone would wander there and listen to the silence, as she had done, and catch the whisper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/and-perhaps-one-day-in-after-years-someone-would-wander-there-and/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“You thought I was mad. Perhaps I was. Perhaps I am. It doesn't make for sanity, does it, living with the devil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/you-thought-i-was-mad-perhaps-i-was-perhaps-i-am-it-doesn-t-make-for/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“many impressions to seize and hold, familiar loved façades, balconies, windows, water lapping the cellar steps of decaying palaces, the little red house where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/many-impressions-to-seize-and-hold-familiar-loved-fa-ades-balconies/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [People who travel are always fugitives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/people-who-travel-are-always-fugitives/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) [Explore all 269 Daphne du Maurier quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) ## More Insincerity quotes > [Once you can fake sincerity, you can fake anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-jo-putney/once-you-can-fake-sincerity-you-can-fake-anything/) [Mary Jo Putney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-jo-putney/) > [The basis of insincerity is the idealized image we hold of ourselves and wish to impose on others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-basis-of-insincerity-is-the-idealized-image-we-hold-of-ourselves/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [What people call insincerity is simply a method by which we can multiply our personalities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/what-people-call-insincerity-is-simply-a-method-by-which-we-can/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The real loneliness is living among all these kind people who only ask one to pretend!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-real-loneliness-is-living-among-all-these-kind-people-who-only/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns, as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-great-enemy-of-clear-language-is-insincerity-when-there-is-a-gap/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Never say sorry to anyone if you don't really mean it, and don't commit about anything that you know you don't really mean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/never-say-sorry-to-anyone-if-you-don-t-really-mean-it-and-don-t/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [It's not unfortunate that people aren't genuine; what's unfortunate is that insincere people try to act sincere and in doing so, mislead and deceive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-not-unfortunate-that-people-aren-t-genuine-what-s-unfortunate-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [...So Englishmen saw it. Lincoln's insincerity was regarded as proven by two things: his earlier denial of any lawful right or wish to free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-vanauken/so-englishmen-saw-it-lincoln-s-insincerity-was-regarded-as-proven-by/) [Sheldon Vanauken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-vanauken/) > [I love to read the dedications of old books written in monarchies for they invariably honor some (usually insignificant) knight or duke with fulsome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-love-to-read-the-dedications-of-old-books-written-in-monarchies-for/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [What matters in Politics is what men actually do - sincerity is no excuse for acting unpolitically, and insincerity may be channelled by politics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-crick/what-matters-in-politics-is-what-men-actually-do-sincerity-is-no/) [Bernard Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-crick/) > [Nothing is more disgraceful than insincerity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-is-more-disgraceful-than-insincerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One element of maturity is the realization that we don't get away with anything. Any advantage gained or convenience taken, any private procrastination or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-prather/one-element-of-maturity-is-the-realization-that-we-don-t-get-away/) [Hugh Prather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-prather/) > [If I try to use human influence strategies and tactics of how to get other people to do what I want, to work better,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-try-to-use-human-influence-strategies-and-tactics-of-how-to-get/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The words that I say and things that I do are different than what I mean.~~~](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-chiar/the-words-that-i-say-and-things-that-i-do-are-different-than-what-i/) [Francine Chiar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-chiar/) > [“I am sure you were sincere. Not insincere. True insincerity is hard to find.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-am-sure-you-were-sincere-not-insincere-true-insincerity-is-hard-to/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) [Browse all 112 Insincerity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insincerity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I found this hardly comforting, and wondered if there was not some virtue in the quality of insincerity.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Daphne du Maurier" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/i-found-this-hardly-comforting-and-wondered-if-there-was-not-some/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Insincerity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/i-found-this-hardly-comforting-and-wondered-if-there-was-not-some/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f6/daphne-du-maurier-1185_insincerity_i-found-this-hardly-comforting-and-wonde_237813.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f6/daphne-du-maurier-1185_insincerity_i-found-this-hardly-comforting-and-wonde_237813.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f6/daphne-du-maurier-1185_insincerity_i-found-this-hardly-comforting-and-wonde_237813.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I found this hardly comforting, and wondered if there was not some virtue in the quality of insincerity.” — Daphne du Maurier", "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": "Daphne du Maurier", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I found this hardly comforting, and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/i-found-this-hardly-comforting-and-wondered-if-there-was-not-some/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/i-found-this-hardly-comforting-and-wondered-if-there-was-not-some/#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 } } ] } ```