--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: nothing is more common than to mistake…" description: "\"nothing is more common than to mistake the sign for the thing itself; nor is any practice more frequent than that of endeavoring to acquire the exterio..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/hannah-more-2695_acquire_nothing-is-more-common-than-to-mistake-t_279263.png" --- # nothing is more common than to mistake the sign for the… ![“nothing is more common than to mistake the sign for the thing itself; nor is any practice more frequent than that of endeavoring to acquire the exterior mark, without once thinking to labor after the interior grace.” quote by Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/hannah-more-2695_acquire_nothing-is-more-common-than-to-mistake-t_279263.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/hannah-more-2695_acquire_nothing-is-more-common-than-to-mistake-t_279263.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/hannah-more-2695_acquire_nothing-is-more-common-than-to-mistake-t_279263.png) > “nothing is more common than to mistake the sign for the thing itself; nor is any practice more frequent than that of endeavoring to acquire the exterior mark, without once thinking to labor after the interior grace.” [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often focus on outward appearances, neglecting inner virtue, mistaking the sign for the substance. **In simple terms:** We chase external symbols instead of inner grace. Key Takeaway Prioritize inner development over superficial markers. Themes morality appearance vs reality virtue self‑improvement Mood introspective thoughtful philosophical Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - education - personal growth - leadership decisionsspiritual practice Key Concepts philosophy ethics inner vs outer Questions to Reflect On - What external signs do you value more than inner qualities? - How can you cultivate inner grace? A Different Perspective Inner focus can be harder to measure than external achievements. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acquire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acquire/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Common Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-mistake-517185/) [Exterior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exterior/) [Exterior Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exterior-mark-2713752/) [Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grace/) [Interiors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interiors/) [Labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor/) [Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mark/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Mistake Sign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake-sign-2713751/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Sign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sign/) [Sign Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sign-thing-836836/) [Superficiality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superficiality/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Striving to do a new mistake as you avoid repeating the same mistake is a sign of transformation that leads to change and success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wordfaith3/striving-to-do-a-new-mistake-as-you-avoid-repeating-the-same-mistake/) [Wordfaith3](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wordfaith3/) > [Some people are just so happy to get published to, they sign anything. Next thing you know, they've signed over the rights to their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/some-people-are-just-so-happy-to-get-published-to-they-sign-anything/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [ “\[T\]he present age, which prefers the sign to the thing signified, the copy to the original\[.\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-feuerbach/t-he-present-age-which-prefers-the-sign-to-the-thing-signified-the/) [Ludwig Feuerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-feuerbach/) > [ I could not conceive that \[fans\] actually wanted me to sign something. It took a long time for me to figure out (a) just… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/i-could-not-conceive-that-fans-actually-wanted-me-to-sign-something/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [It is a common mistake these days to politicize anything and everything, including music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-snow/it-is-a-common-mistake-these-days-to-politicize-anything-and/) [Tony Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-snow/) > [“He had performed the common mistake that many do when confronted with the idea of the miraculous: He had assumed it meant magical . ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/he-had-performed-the-common-mistake-that-many-do-when-confronted-with/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [One common mistake is to think that one reality is the reality. You must always be prepared to leave one reality for a greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-meera/one-common-mistake-is-to-think-that-one-reality-is-the-reality-you/) [Mother Meera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-meera/) > [The common mistake that business people make is they're going to get drive-by business...Only gas stations are helped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warren-kindt/the-common-mistake-that-business-people-make-is-they-re-going-to-get/) [John Warren Kindt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warren-kindt/) > [“Many people make the same common mistake in life:They give up right before they make it. Don't give up!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-pina/many-people-make-the-same-common-mistake-in-life-they-give-up-right/) [Timothy Pina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-pina/) > [A common mistake we make is that we look for God in places where we ourselves wish to find him, yet even in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/a-common-mistake-we-make-is-that-we-look-for-god-in-places-where-we/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/a-common-mistake-that-people-make-when-trying-to-design-something/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“A common mistake that we make is to give the other what we would have liked to receive. Unfortunately, this is not the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/habib-kamara/a-common-mistake-that-we-make-is-to-give-the-other-what-we-would-have/) [Habib Kamara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/habib-kamara/) > [“It is a common mistake to move in a nanosecond from identifying a tough problem to proposing a solution”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/it-is-a-common-mistake-to-move-in-a-nanosecond-from-identifying-a/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [A common mistake among those who work in sport is spending a disproportional amount of time on "x's and o's" as compared to time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-krzyzewski/a-common-mistake-among-those-who-work-in-sport-is-spending-a/) [Mike Krzyzewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-krzyzewski/) > [“Don’t make the common mistake of thinking your opponents are stupid just because they don’t see things your way,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-e-taylor/don-t-make-the-common-mistake-of-thinking-your-opponents-are-stupid/) [Dennis E. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-e-taylor/) ## More by Hannah More > [I am persuaded that there is no affection of the human heart more exquisitely pure, than that which is felt by a grateful son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/i-am-persuaded-that-there-is-no-affection-of-the-human-heart-more/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [Wisdom views with an indifferent eye all finite joys, all blessings born to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/wisdom-views-with-an-indifferent-eye-all-finite-joys-all-blessings/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [Yes, thou art ever present, power divine; not circumscribed by time, nor fixed by space, confined to altars, nor to temples bound. In wealth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/yes-thou-art-ever-present-power-divine-not-circumscribed-by-time-nor/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [All reformations seem formidable before they are attempted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/all-reformations-seem-formidable-before-they-are-attempted/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [He who has once taken to drink can seldom be said to be guilty of one sin only.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/he-who-has-once-taken-to-drink-can-seldom-be-said-to-be-guilty-of-one/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [We are too ready to imagine that we are religious, because we know something of religion. We appropriate to ourselves the pious sentiments we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/we-are-too-ready-to-imagine-that-we-are-religious-because-we-know/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [A corrupt practice may be abolished, but a soiled imagination is not easily cleansed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/a-corrupt-practice-may-be-abolished-but-a-soiled-imagination-is-not/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [A faint endeavor ends in a sure defeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/a-faint-endeavor-ends-in-a-sure-defeat/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [Oh! the joy Of young ideas painted on the mind, In the warm glowing colors fancy spreads On objects not yet known, when all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/oh-the-joy-of-young-ideas-painted-on-the-mind-in-the-warm-glowing/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [The world does not require so much to be informed as to be reminded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/the-world-does-not-require-so-much-to-be-informed-as-to-be-reminded/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [If we commit any crime, or do any good here, it must be in thought; for our words are few and our deeds none…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/if-we-commit-any-crime-or-do-any-good-here-it-must-be-in-thought-for/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [“Forgiveness spares the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/forgiveness-spares-the-expense-of-anger-the-cost-of-hatred-the-waste/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [How much it is to be regretted, that the British ladies should ever sit down contented to polish, when they are able to reform;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/how-much-it-is-to-be-regretted-that-the-british-ladies-should-ever/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [Who are those ever multiplying authors that with unparalleled fecundity are overstocking the world with their quick succeeding progeny? They are novel-writers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/who-are-those-ever-multiplying-authors-that-with-unparalleled/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [Anger is a violent act, envy a constant habit - no one can be always angry, but he may be always envious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/anger-is-a-violent-act-envy-a-constant-habit-no-one-can-be-always/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) [Explore all 154 Hannah More quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) ## More Acquire quotes > [Most people seek after what they do not possess and are enslaved by the very things they want to acquire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anwar-sadat/most-people-seek-after-what-they-do-not-possess-and-are-enslaved-by/) [Anwar Sadat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anwar-sadat/) > [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Humility is an elusive virtue. The more we pursue it - and the more we seem to acquire it - the more we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-aquilina/humility-is-an-elusive-virtue-the-more-we-pursue-it-and-the-more-we/) [Mike Aquilina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-aquilina/) > [Acquire worldly wisdom and adjust your behavior accordingly. If your new behavior gives you a little temporary unpopularity with your peer group then to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/acquire-worldly-wisdom-and-adjust-your-behavior-accordingly-if-your/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [This was Shakespeare's form ; Who walk'd in every path of human life, Felt every passion ; and to all mankind Doth now, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-akenside/this-was-shakespeare-s-form-who-walk-d-in-every-path-of-human-life/) [Mark Akenside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-akenside/) > [Wasn't Saddam destroyed? Wasn't Gaddafi liquidated? Didn't Milosevic go to the Hague? All true. But Stalin survived. Kim Jong-un isn't doing too badly, either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fisk/wasn-t-saddam-destroyed-wasn-t-gaddafi-liquidated-didn-t-milosevic-go/) [Robert Fisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fisk/) > [The best way for women to acquire knowledge is from conversation with a father, a brother, or a friend, in the way of family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/the-best-way-for-women-to-acquire-knowledge-is-from-conversation-with/) [Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/) > [Have you ever wanted something so badly that you would do anything, believe anything in order to acquire it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorraine-heath/have-you-ever-wanted-something-so-badly-that-you-would-do-anything/) [Lorraine Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorraine-heath/) > [Ballet is pure and demands that you serve something larger than yourself, whether it be beauty or art, or a combination of both. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-martins/ballet-is-pure-and-demands-that-you-serve-something-larger-than/) [Peter Martins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-martins/) > [You can't know it all. No matter how smart you are, no matter how comprehensive your education, no matter how wide ranging your experience,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/you-can-t-know-it-all-no-matter-how-smart-you-are-no-matter-how/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [A better distribution of incomes would increase that efficiency by diverting a great fund of wealth from the useless to the useful members of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/a-better-distribution-of-incomes-would-increase-that-efficiency-by/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/i-know-well-monsieur-how-much-you-have-to-endure-in-your-present-duty/) [Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/) > [The enemy's spies who have come to spy on us must be sought out, tempted with bribes, led away and comfortably housed. 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To acquire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harner/shamanism-is-a-path-of-knowledge-not-of-faith-and-that-knowledge/) [Michael Harner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-harner/) [Browse all 1,020 Acquire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acquire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "nothing is more common than to mistake the sign for the thing itself; nor is any practice more frequent than that of endeavoring to acquire the exterior mark, without once thinking to labor after the interior grace.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hannah More" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/nothing-is-more-common-than-to-mistake-the-sign-for-the-thing-itself/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Acquire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/nothing-is-more-common-than-to-mistake-the-sign-for-the-thing-itself/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/hannah-more-2695_acquire_nothing-is-more-common-than-to-mistake-t_279263.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/hannah-more-2695_acquire_nothing-is-more-common-than-to-mistake-t_279263.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/hannah-more-2695_acquire_nothing-is-more-common-than-to-mistake-t_279263.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“nothing is more common than to mistake the sign for the thing itself; nor is any practice more frequent than…” — Hannah More", "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": "Hannah More", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "nothing is more common than to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/nothing-is-more-common-than-to-mistake-the-sign-for-the-thing-itself/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/nothing-is-more-common-than-to-mistake-the-sign-for-the-thing-itself/#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 } } ] } ```