--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When was it that men agreed to respect…" description: "\"When was it that men agreed to respect the appearance and not the reality?\" — Henry David Thoreau" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66a/henry-david-thoreau-20_appearance_when-was-it-that-men-agreed-to-respect-t_3002019.jpg" --- # When was it that men agreed to respect the appearance and… ![“When was it that men agreed to respect the appearance and not the reality?” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66a/henry-david-thoreau-20_appearance_when-was-it-that-men-agreed-to-respect-t_3002019.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66a/henry-david-thoreau-20_appearance_when-was-it-that-men-agreed-to-respect-t_3002019.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66a/henry-david-thoreau-20_appearance_when-was-it-that-men-agreed-to-respect-t_3002019.jpg) > “When was it that men agreed to respect the appearance and not the reality?” [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He questions why society values appearance over true substance. **In simple terms:** Society values looks over reality. Key Takeaway Prioritize substance. Themes appearance vs reality authenticity social values Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - political discourse - personal integrity - media criticism Key Concepts philosophical critique ethical standards Questions to Reflect On - How can we value authenticity? - What incentives promote genuine behavior? A Different Perspective Changing deep‑seated cultural norms is hard. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) ## Related quotes > [“Regardless of how pretty a woman is, looks alone will not sustain his respect. Appearance may pull him in, but it is your independence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-argov/regardless-of-how-pretty-a-woman-is-looks-alone-will-not-sustain-his/) [Sherry Argov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-argov/) > [Respect my feelings, my life, my doing. Respect how I am, who I may, who I kiss. Respect what I find what I think,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-morgan/respect-my-feelings-my-life-my-doing-respect-how-i-am-who-i-may-who-i/) [Harriet Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-morgan/) > [Where consciousness is concerned, the appearance is the reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/where-consciousness-is-concerned-the-appearance-is-the-reality/) [John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/) > [Appearance versus reality? Appearance is reality, God damn it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/appearance-versus-reality-appearance-is-reality-god-damn-it/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“The loveliest girl in Berlin, all the young men agreed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-copeland/the-loveliest-girl-in-berlin-all-the-young-men-agreed/) [Lori Copeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-copeland/) > [“What excited and challenged her shipmates horrified the churched women and each set believed the other deeply, dangerously flawed. Although they had nothing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/what-excited-and-challenged-her-shipmates-horrified-the-churched/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Men ... are not agreed about any one thing, not even that heaven is over our heads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/men-are-not-agreed-about-any-one-thing-not-even-that-heaven-is-over/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [In the sphere of religion, as in other spheres, the things about which men are agreed are apt to be the things that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-the-sphere-of-religion-as-in-other-spheres-the-things-about-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ The most ingenious men are now agreed, that \[universities\] are only nurseries of prejudice, corruption, barbarism, and pedantry. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/the-most-ingenious-men-are-now-agreed-that-universities-are-only/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [All successful men have agreed in one thing -- they were causationists. They believed that things went not by luck, but by law; that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/all-successful-men-have-agreed-in-one-thing-they-were-causationists/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“So, at any rate, it appears. But appearance is not reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-graham/so-at-any-rate-it-appears-but-appearance-is-not-reality/) Gordon Graham > [Sincerity means that the appearance and the reality are exactly the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/sincerity-means-that-the-appearance-and-the-reality-are-exactly-the/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [“Power changes its appearance but not its reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-de-jouvenel/power-changes-its-appearance-but-not-its-reality/) [Bertrand De Jouvenel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-de-jouvenel/) > [“You hide things to change what’s real. I make images to create what’s real. Appearance and reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-livingston/you-hide-things-to-change-what-s-real-i-make-images-to-create-what-s/) [Alex Livingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-livingston/) > [Truth is the most powerful thing in the world, since even fiction itself must be governed by it, and can only please by its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-ashley-cooper-7th-earl-of-shaftesbury/truth-is-the-most-powerful-thing-in-the-world-since-even-fiction-2/) [Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-ashley-cooper-7th-earl-of-shaftesbury/) ## More by Henry David Thoreau > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Men say they know many things; But lo! they have taken wings, — The arts and sciences, And a thousand appliances; The wind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-say-they-know-many-things-but-lo-they-have-taken-wings-the-arts/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or back gammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-voting-is-a-sort-of-gaming-like-checkers-or-back-gammon-with-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-for-doing-good-that-is-one-of-the-professions-which-is-full/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [A traveler who looks at things with an impartial eye may see what the oldest inhabitant has not observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-traveler-who-looks-at-things-with-an-impartial-eye-may-see-what-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be directed in their proper channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-still-youthful-energies-of-the-globe-have-only-to-be-directed-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Concord's little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/concord-s-little-arch-does-not-span-all-our-fate-nor-is-what/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The lumberers rarely trouble themselves to put out their fires, such is the dampness of the primitive forest; and this is one cause, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-lumberers-rarely-trouble-themselves-to-put-out-their-fires-such/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-he-has-obtained-those-things-which-are-necessary-to-life-there/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Wealth is measured by the level of experience in all aspects of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wealth-is-measured-by-the-level-of-experience-in-all-aspects-of-life/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Explore all 3,376 Henry David Thoreau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More Appearance quotes > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I just worried about my weight. Worried about my appearance and thought I wan't pretty enough to be a pop star. It was very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-durham/i-just-worried-about-my-weight-worried-about-my-appearance-and/) [Judith Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-durham/) > [The essence of worldliness is exclusion of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-jacobsen/the-essence-of-worldliness-is-exclusion-of-god/) [Henry Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-jacobsen/) > [We must, however, note that what are usually called the high religions made their appearance within about twenty-five hundred years - most of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-scott-latourette/we-must-however-note-that-what-are-usually-called-the-high-religions/) [Kenneth Scott Latourette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-scott-latourette/) > [First impressions are often the truest, as we find (not infrequently) to our cost, when we have been wheedled out of them by plausible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/first-impressions-are-often-the-truest-as-we-find-not-infrequently-to/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The turning points of lives are not the great moments. The real crises are often concealed in occurrences so trivial in appearance that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-turning-points-of-lives-are-not-the-great-moments-the-real-crises/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [You can have a nice body, dress with the latest fashion. But if you don't have self-confidence sweetheart, forget about looking sexy, you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/you-can-have-a-nice-body-dress-with-the-latest-fashion-but-if-you-don/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [I cannot be convinced that great artists are moralists. Art is first appearances, then meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-cannot-be-convinced-that-great-artists-are-moralists-art-is-first/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [So may the outward shows be least themselves; The world is still deceived with ornament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-may-the-outward-shows-be-least-themselves-the-world-is-still/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We are one of many appearances of the thing called Life; we are not its perfect image, for it has no perfect image except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/we-are-one-of-many-appearances-of-the-thing-called-life-we-are-not/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [I'm OK with my appearance. I have made my peace with it after a long and frankly exhausting battle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-perkins/i-m-ok-with-my-appearance-i-have-made-my-peace-with-it-after-a-long/) [Sue Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-perkins/) > [There is no society or conversation to be kept up in the world without good-nature, or something which must bear its appearance and supply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-no-society-or-conversation-to-be-kept-up-in-the-world/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Appearance records are pretty special. Mine means a lot to me, not only because I love stats, but because it shows that I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james/appearance-records-are-pretty-special-mine-means-a-lot-to-me-not-only/) [David James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james/) > [Every man would fall in love with their voice, their lovely appearance, but no man would ever get past that. They'd never really know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/every-man-would-fall-in-love-with-their-voice-their-lovely-appearance/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) > [I already know what things look like - I don't want description. People believe in appearances, and I don't believe in appearances at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/i-already-know-what-things-look-like-i-don-t-want-description-people/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) Browse all 2,446 Appearance quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When was it that men agreed to respect the appearance and not the reality?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry David Thoreau" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-was-it-that-men-agreed-to-respect-the-appearance-and-not-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Appearance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-was-it-that-men-agreed-to-respect-the-appearance-and-not-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66a/henry-david-thoreau-20_appearance_when-was-it-that-men-agreed-to-respect-t_3002019.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66a/henry-david-thoreau-20_appearance_when-was-it-that-men-agreed-to-respect-t_3002019.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66a/henry-david-thoreau-20_appearance_when-was-it-that-men-agreed-to-respect-t_3002019.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When was it that men agreed to respect the appearance and not the reality?” — Henry David Thoreau", "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": "Henry David Thoreau", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When was it that men agreed...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-was-it-that-men-agreed-to-respect-the-appearance-and-not-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-was-it-that-men-agreed-to-respect-the-appearance-and-not-the/#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 } } ] } ```