--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People can be in general pretty well…" description: "\"People can be in general pretty well trusted, of course--with the clock of their freedom ticking as loud as it seems to do here--to keep an eye on the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/henry-james-417_clock_people-can-be-in-general-pretty-well-tru_1172896.png" --- # People can be in general pretty well trusted, of… ![“People can be in general pretty well trusted, of course--with the clock of their freedom ticking as loud as it seems to do here--to keep an eye on the fleeting hour.” quote by Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/henry-james-417_clock_people-can-be-in-general-pretty-well-tru_1172896.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/henry-james-417_clock_people-can-be-in-general-pretty-well-tru_1172896.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/henry-james-417_clock_people-can-be-in-general-pretty-well-tru_1172896.png) > “People can be in general pretty well trusted, of course--with the clock of their freedom ticking as loud as it seems to do here--to keep an eye on the fleeting hour.” [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People are generally trustworthy, but their freedom is limited, so they watch time closely. **In simple terms:** People can be trusted, but time limits them. Key Takeaway Respect others' time and freedom. Themes trust freedom time responsibility Mood thoughtful reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - workplace - relationships - personal boundaries Key Concepts social contract human nature Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance trust with personal autonomy? - What limits your sense of freedom? A Different Perspective Trust can be eroded when freedom feels constrained. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trust/) ## Related quotes > [I recall my fleeting instants in Savannah as the taste of a cup charged to the brim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-recall-my-fleeting-instants-in-savannah-as-the-taste-of-a-cup/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [The clock is ticking down, it's the final round.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jls/the-clock-is-ticking-down-it-s-the-final-round/) [JLS](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jls/) > [Substantiate or suffocate, Ms. Vetra. Mickey's ticking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/substantiate-or-suffocate-ms-vetra-mickey-s-ticking/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [I like time ticking the way it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-graham/i-like-time-ticking-the-way-it-is/) [Stephen Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-graham/) > [“Trust me, today not even my Timex could take a licking and keep on ticking. Give me a Tonka truck and I’ll squash it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/trust-me-today-not-even-my-timex-could-take-a-licking-and-keep-on/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [The issue I had with the Lightspeed albums was that usually the main purpose with them was to fulfil really dorky musical goals, like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dev-hynes/the-issue-i-had-with-the-lightspeed-albums-was-that-usually-the-main/) [Dev Hynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dev-hynes/) > [It's ok to get wound up every once in awhile…that's what keeps you ticking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/it-s-ok-to-get-wound-up-every-once-in-awhile-that-s-what-keeps-you/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) > [“More than the sound of my own beating heart, I miss the sound of a ticking clock. Time passes. It must pass…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-revis/more-than-the-sound-of-my-own-beating-heart-i-miss-the-sound-of-a/) [Beth Revis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-revis/) > [This is your life and the clock is ticking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-mcgraw/this-is-your-life-and-the-clock-is-ticking/) [Phil McGraw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-mcgraw/) > [I do the 'New York Times' crossword puzzle every morning to keep the old grey matter ticking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/i-do-the-new-york-times-crossword-puzzle-every-morning-to-keep-the/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [“I'm not sure why, but when a person expects something to last forever, they don't notice the little things. It's only when the clock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-wiersbitzky/i-m-not-sure-why-but-when-a-person-expects-something-to-last-forever/) [Shannon Wiersbitzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-wiersbitzky/) > [You have to cherish things in a different way when you know the clock is ticking, you are under pressure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chadwick-boseman/you-have-to-cherish-things-in-a-different-way-when-you-know-the-clock/) [Chadwick Boseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chadwick-boseman/) > [If 1 had 1 life to live why would he wait to the last second to live it !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/militon-munney/if-1-had-1-life-to-live-why-would-he-wait-to-the-last-second-to-live/) [Militon Munney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/militon-munney/) > [I suppose it's like the ticking crocodile, isn't it? Time is chasing after all of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-suppose-it-s-like-the-ticking-crocodile-isn-t-it-time-is-chasing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You get 15 minutes of fame, I hear, and I've had 14 minutes. The clock's ticking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-howard/you-get-15-minutes-of-fame-i-hear-and-i-ve-had-14-minutes-the-clock-s/) [Tim Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-howard/) ## More by Henry James > [Though there are some disagreeable things in Venice there is nothing so disagreeable as the visitors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/though-there-are-some-disagreeable-things-in-venice-there-is-nothing/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“In literature we move through a blest world in which we know nothing except by style, but in which everything is saved by it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/in-literature-we-move-through-a-blest-world-in-which-we-know-nothing/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“I shall stay here as long as I may, I don't want to think — I needn't think. I don't care for anything but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-shall-stay-here-as-long-as-i-may-i-don-t-want-to-think-i-needn-t/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“...It often seemed to her that she thought too much about herself, you could have made her blush any day of the year, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/it-often-seemed-to-her-that-she-thought-too-much-about-herself-you/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“I reflected acutely that the sense of such differences, such superiorities of quality, always, on the part of the majority—which could include even stupid,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-reflected-acutely-that-the-sense-of-such-differences-such/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“She had had a real fright but had fallen back to earth. The odd thing was that in her fall her fear too had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/she-had-had-a-real-fright-but-had-fallen-back-to-earth-the-odd-thing/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [I ought to tell you I'm probably your cousin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-ought-to-tell-you-i-m-probably-your-cousin/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“She had never met a woman who had less of that fault which is the principal obstacle to friendship - the air of reproducing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/she-had-never-met-a-woman-who-had-less-of-that-fault-which-is-the/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [London is on the whole the most possible form of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/london-is-on-the-whole-the-most-possible-form-of-life/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [If you have work to do, don't wait to feel like it; set to work and you will feel like it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/if-you-have-work-to-do-don-t-wait-to-feel-like-it-set-to-work-and-you/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“She answered that she liked standing up and”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/she-answered-that-she-liked-standing-up-and/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [It is no wonder he wins every game. He has never done a thing in his life exept play games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/it-is-no-wonder-he-wins-every-game-he-has-never-done-a-thing-in-his/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [Make (the reader) think the evil, make him think it for himself, and you are released from weak specifications. My values are positively all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/make-the-reader-think-the-evil-make-him-think-it-for-himself-and-you/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“It was the air she wanted and the world she would now exclusively choose; the quiet chambers, nobly overwhelming, rich but slightly veiled, opened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/it-was-the-air-she-wanted-and-the-world-she-would-now-exclusively/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [The time-honored bread-sauce of the happy ending.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/the-time-honored-bread-sauce-of-the-happy-ending/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) [Explore all 571 Henry James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) ## More Clock quotes > [Even Einstein had to rely for his time on his clock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/even-einstein-had-to-rely-for-his-time-on-his-clock/) [Stanislaw Jerzy Lec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/) > [“Time was never neutral and often felt dangerous. We either think we have all the time in the world or time moves too fast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-reay/time-was-never-neutral-and-often-felt-dangerous-we-either-think-we/) [Katherine Reay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-reay/) > [Before a clock was in the tower, Or e'er a watch was worn; I knew of night the passing hour, And prophesied the morn;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/before-a-clock-was-in-the-tower-or-e-er-a-watch-was-worn-i-knew-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A clock struck out the hour of twelve, and the bird in the hedgerow was still singing as we marched out to the roadway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macgill/a-clock-struck-out-the-hour-of-twelve-and-the-bird-in-the-hedgerow/) [Patrick MacGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macgill/) > [“Time is, to put it in its most impressive and some might say poncy-sounding form, my domain. I can see things that once happened,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-rayner/time-is-to-put-it-in-its-most-impressive-and-some-might-say-poncy/) [Jacqueline Rayner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-rayner/) > [Time travel offends our sense of cause and effect - but maybe the universe doesn't insist on cause and effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-m-lerner/time-travel-offends-our-sense-of-cause-and-effect-but-maybe-the/) [Edward M. Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-m-lerner/) > [My only aim is to clock a time that everyone remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hima-das/my-only-aim-is-to-clock-a-time-that-everyone-remembers/) [Hima Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hima-das/) > [Time.The greatest creator, and the worst destroyer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/levi-keely/time-the-greatest-creator-and-the-worst-destroyer/) Levi Keely > [Steven Spielberg seems to have wanted to be a director from 13. He put his dog in a certain position and made him eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-brooks/steven-spielberg-seems-to-have-wanted-to-be-a-director-from-13-he-put/) [Albert Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-brooks/) > [No life goes past so swiftly as an eventless one, no clock spins like a clock whose days are all alike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/no-life-goes-past-so-swiftly-as-an-eventless-one-no-clock-spins-like/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Those who stop marketing to save money are like those who stop a clock to save time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/those-who-stop-marketing-to-save-money-are-like-those-who-stop-a/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [Time is the nervous system of narration, whether factual or fictive. If it gets confused some of the minutiae of human nature are certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenway-wescott/time-is-the-nervous-system-of-narration-whether-factual-or-fictive-if/) [Glenway Wescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenway-wescott/) > [I don't know if it's just me or everyone, but the whole vibe with skiing is not so much thriving on competition against others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/picabo-street/i-don-t-know-if-it-s-just-me-or-everyone-but-the-whole-vibe-with/) [Picabo Street](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/picabo-street/) > [Time goes on, even when yer not looking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/time-goes-on-even-when-yer-not-looking/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [CLOCK, n. A machine of great moral value to man, allaying his concern for the future by reminding him what a lot of time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/clock-n-a-machine-of-great-moral-value-to-man-allaying-his-concern/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) [Browse all 2,738 Clock quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People can be in general pretty well trusted, of course--with the clock of their freedom ticking as loud as it seems to do here--to keep an eye on the fleeting hour.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry James" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/people-can-be-in-general-pretty-well-trusted-of-course-with-the-clock/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Clock" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/people-can-be-in-general-pretty-well-trusted-of-course-with-the-clock/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/henry-james-417_clock_people-can-be-in-general-pretty-well-tru_1172896.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/henry-james-417_clock_people-can-be-in-general-pretty-well-tru_1172896.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/henry-james-417_clock_people-can-be-in-general-pretty-well-tru_1172896.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People can be in general pretty well trusted, of course--with the clock of their freedom ticking as loud as…” — Henry James", "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 James", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "People can be in general pretty...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/people-can-be-in-general-pretty-well-trusted-of-course-with-the-clock/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/people-can-be-in-general-pretty-well-trusted-of-course-with-the-clock/#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 } } ] } ```