--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Those sweetly smiling angels with pensive…" description: "\"Those sweetly smiling angels with pensive looks, innocent faces, and cash-boxes for hearts.\" — Honore de Balzac" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/473/honor-de-balzac-197_angel_those-sweetly-smiling-angels-with-pensiv_607247.png" --- # Those sweetly smiling angels with pensive looks, innocent… ![“Those sweetly smiling angels with pensive looks, innocent faces, and cash-boxes for hearts.” quote by Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/473/honor-de-balzac-197_angel_those-sweetly-smiling-angels-with-pensiv_607247.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/473/honor-de-balzac-197_angel_those-sweetly-smiling-angels-with-pensiv_607247.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/473/honor-de-balzac-197_angel_those-sweetly-smiling-angels-with-pensiv_607247.png) > “Those sweetly smiling angels with pensive looks, innocent faces, and cash-boxes for hearts.” [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A critique of society’s superficial kindness, where people appear caring but are motivated by self‑interest and material gain. **In simple terms:** People may seem kind but are driven by personal gain. Key Takeaway Beware of hidden motives behind friendly appearances. Themes hypocrisy materialism social critique Mood cautious skeptical reflective Type observational critical philosophical When to use this quote - business negotiations - political lobbying - personal relationships - charitable events Key Concepts capitalism human nature masquerade Questions to Reflect On - Do you trust appearances or seek deeper intentions? - How can you discern authentic kindness? A Different Perspective Not all smiles indicate genuine compassion; some are masks for selfish aims. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Angel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angel/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Pensive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pensive/) [Smiling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smiling/) ## Related quotes > [You should always aim to be your own mouse, Lieam. In fact...you already are. You are not so quick to jump into danger as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-petersen/you-should-always-aim-to-be-your-own-mouse-lieam-in-fact-you-already/) [David Petersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-petersen/) > [“By definition, you can’t experience your own death. Death is the end of consciousness. And consciousness persists. In the language of physics, consciousness is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/by-definition-you-can-t-experience-your-own-death-death-is-the-end-of/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [Once more their weird laughter of the loons comes to my ear, the distance lends it a musical, melancholy sound. For a dangerous ledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celia-thaxter/once-more-their-weird-laughter-of-the-loons-comes-to-my-ear-the/) [Celia Thaxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celia-thaxter/) > [Twilight makes us pensive; Aurora is the goddess of activity; despair curses at midnight; hope blesses at noon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/twilight-makes-us-pensive-aurora-is-the-goddess-of-activity-despair/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [With cowslips wan that hang the pensive head, And every flower that sad embroidery wears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/with-cowslips-wan-that-hang-the-pensive-head-and-every-flower-that/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [There never was a man of solid understanding, whose apprehensions are sober, and by a pensive inspection advised, but that he hath found by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-raleigh/there-never-was-a-man-of-solid-understanding-whose-apprehensions-are/) [Walter Raleigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-raleigh/) > [While pensive poets painful vigils keep, Sleepless themselves, to give their readers sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/while-pensive-poets-painful-vigils-keep-sleepless-themselves-to-give/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [In his face there came to be a brooding peace that is seen most often in the faces of the very sorrowful or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/in-his-face-there-came-to-be-a-brooding-peace-that-is-seen-most-often/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [The winter wind is loud and wild, Come close to me, my darling child; Forsake thy books, and mate less play; And, while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/the-winter-wind-is-loud-and-wild-come-close-to-me-my-darling-child/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [The unicorn was white, with hoofs of silver and graceful horn of pearl... The glorious thing about him was his eye. There was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-h-white-2/the-unicorn-was-white-with-hoofs-of-silver-and-graceful-horn-of-pearl/) [T. H. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-h-white-2/) > [Rightly tired of the pain İ hear and feel, boss... where we's comin from or goin to or why... If İ could end it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/rightly-tired-of-the-pain-i-hear-and-feel-boss-where-we-s-comin-from/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Careful observers may foretell the hour (By sure prognostics) when to dread a show'r. While rain depends, the pensive cat gives o'er Her frolics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/careful-observers-may-foretell-the-hour-by-sure-prognostics-when-to/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [I can be jubilant one moment and pensive the next, and a cloud could go by and make that happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-can-be-jubilant-one-moment-and-pensive-the-next-and-a-cloud-could/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [“I remember being unusually pensive that May evening, perhaps it was the heat of Spring's first warm day which, encountering my thick winter blood,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-cassady/i-remember-being-unusually-pensive-that-may-evening-perhaps-it-was/) [Neal Cassady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-cassady/) > [All music, even if its occasion be a gay one, renders us pensive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/all-music-even-if-its-occasion-be-a-gay-one-renders-us-pensive/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) ## More by Honore de Balzac > [“Oh, my friend, when you love, love a woman whom you are sure that you can love always. Never forsake a woman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/oh-my-friend-when-you-love-love-a-woman-whom-you-are-sure-that-you/) [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“You have broken the ice, though you have not even scratched its glossy surface: you have placed your hand upon the croup of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/you-have-broken-the-ice-though-you-have-not-even-scratched-its-glossy/) [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [In a world of hunchbacks, a fine figure becomes a monstrosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/in-a-world-of-hunchbacks-a-fine-figure-becomes-a-monstrosity/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [It is quite right what they say: the three most beautiful sights in the world are a ship in full sail, a galloping horse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/it-is-quite-right-what-they-say-the-three-most-beautiful-sights-in/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [My writing table has seen all my wretchedness, knows all my plans, has overheard all my thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/my-writing-table-has-seen-all-my-wretchedness-knows-all-my-plans-has/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Foppery, being the chronic condition of women, is not so much noticed as it is when it breaks out on the person of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/foppery-being-the-chronic-condition-of-women-is-not-so-much-noticed/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [A married woman is a slave you must know how to seat upon a throne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/a-married-woman-is-a-slave-you-must-know-how-to-seat-upon-a-throne/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Rich men are resolved to be astonished at nothing. When they see a masterpiece, they must needs at one glance recognize some flaw to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/rich-men-are-resolved-to-be-astonished-at-nothing-when-they-see-a/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [I am a galley slave to pen and ink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/i-am-a-galley-slave-to-pen-and-ink/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [One can imagine the look the two lovers exchanged; it was like a flame, for virtuous lovers have not a shred of hypocrisy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/one-can-imagine-the-look-the-two-lovers-exchanged-it-was-like-a-flame/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [White and shining virgin of all human virtues, ark of the covenant between earth and heaven, tender and strong companion partaking of the lion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/white-and-shining-virgin-of-all-human-virtues-ark-of-the-covenant/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [All men can bear a familiar, definite misfortune better than the cruel alternations of a fate which, from one moment to another, brings excessive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/all-men-can-bear-a-familiar-definite-misfortune-better-than-the-cruel/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [The mind, too, has its regimen. It needs gymnastics, just like the body does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/the-mind-too-has-its-regimen-it-needs-gymnastics-just-like-the-body/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Hatred like love feeds on the merest trifles. Everything adds to it. Just as the being we love can do no wrong, so the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/hatred-like-love-feeds-on-the-merest-trifles-everything-adds-to-it/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [All human power is a compound of time and patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/all-human-power-is-a-compound-of-time-and-patience/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) [Explore all 793 Honore de Balzac quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) ## More Angel quotes > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. 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Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/) [Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Behind my eyelids, I saw him dancing in spirals of coloured light, emerald, blue, and brilliant purple, enfolding him like the wings of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-hall/behind-my-eyelids-i-saw-him-dancing-in-spirals-of-coloured-light/) [Alexis Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-hall/) > [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I don't think people will ever forget I was an 'Angel,' anymore than they'll forget Sally Field was 'The Flying Nun.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-ladd/i-don-t-think-people-will-ever-forget-i-was-an-angel-anymore-than/) [Cheryl Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-ladd/) > [It's a great story for us whenever an entrepreneur makes a crazy amount of money and we get to tell the world about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lacy/it-s-a-great-story-for-us-whenever-an-entrepreneur-makes-a-crazy/) [Sarah Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lacy/) > [I believe in UFOs, I believe in extraterrestrials, and I believe in angels. And maybe they'll protect all of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/i-believe-in-ufos-i-believe-in-extraterrestrials-and-i-believe-in/) [Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/) > [Sometimes we have the absolute certainty there's something inside us that's so hideous and monstrous that if we ever search it out we won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-selby-jr/sometimes-we-have-the-absolute-certainty-there-s-something-inside-us/) [Hubert Selby, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-selby-jr/) > [Flowers are the alphabet of angels, whereby they write on the hills and fields mysterious truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/flowers-are-the-alphabet-of-angels-whereby-they-write-on-the-hills/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [You should never feel lonely, neglected, fearful, or defeated when you remember that there are the shining ones. They are watching with keen interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flower-a-newhouse/you-should-never-feel-lonely-neglected-fearful-or-defeated-when-you/) [Flower A. Newhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flower-a-newhouse/) > [Hark the herald angels sing, 'Glory to the new-born king.' Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wesley/hark-the-herald-angels-sing-glory-to-the-new-born-king-peace-on-earth/) [Charles Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wesley/) > [Man was created a little lower than the angels and has been getting a little lower ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/man-was-created-a-little-lower-than-the-angels-and-has-been-getting-a/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Mooner was walking around laying his hands on the cars, divining karma. 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