--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Well, of course, people are only human…" description: "\"Well, of course, people are only human... But it really does not seem much for them to be.\" — Ivy Compton-Burnett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50e/ivy-compton-burnett-10491_human_well-of-course-people-are-only-human-but_2649374.jpg" --- # Well, of course, people are only human... But it really… ![“Well, of course, people are only human... But it really does not seem much for them to be.” quote by Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50e/ivy-compton-burnett-10491_human_well-of-course-people-are-only-human-but_2649374.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50e/ivy-compton-burnett-10491_human_well-of-course-people-are-only-human-but_2649374.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50e/ivy-compton-burnett-10491_human_well-of-course-people-are-only-human-but_2649374.jpg) > “Well, of course, people are only human... But it really does not seem much for them to be.” [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) ## 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 fallible and limited, yet we often expect perfection. **In simple terms:** Humans are imperfect. Key Takeaway Accept human limits. Themes human nature expectations imperfection Mood reflective empathetic Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - Workplace - relationships - parenting Key Concepts Fallibility self‑compassion Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond when others fail? - What expectations are realistic? A Different Perspective Perfectionism can hinder empathy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [I don't mean everyone literally. Of course there are people who truly have your back. It's just hard to tell who those people are...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-mean-everyone-literally-of-course-there-are-people-who-truly/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are, of course, people who didn't create the trouble they're in, but lots of them do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/there-are-of-course-people-who-didn-t-create-the-trouble-they-re-in/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [Why, of course, the people don't want war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-goring/why-of-course-the-people-don-t-want-war/) [Hermann Goring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-goring/) > [Of course, with the people you really know, no one changes that much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-mason/of-course-with-the-people-you-really-know-no-one-changes-that-much/) [Nick Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-mason/) > [“Much as I love looking at the stars, I never learned to guide by them. I mark my course by people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/much-as-i-love-looking-at-the-stars-i-never-learned-to-guide-by-them-2/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [I'd rather people turn up than not. And of course I'd rather have people be enthusiastic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-mccartney/i-d-rather-people-turn-up-than-not-and-of-course-i-d-rather-have/) [Stella McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-mccartney/) > [There are too many people, and too few human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-zend/there-are-too-many-people-and-too-few-human-beings/) Robert Zend > [No human being can really understand another, and no one can arrange anothers happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babloo/no-human-being-can-really-understand-another-and-no-one-can-arrange/) [Babloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babloo/) > [To err is human, but to really foul things up you need a computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-r-ehrlich/to-err-is-human-but-to-really-foul-things-up-you-need-a-computer/) [Paul R. Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-r-ehrlich/) > [We treat our dogs as if they were "almost human": that is why they really become "almost human" in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/we-treat-our-dogs-as-if-they-were-almost-human-that-is-why-they/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [No human being can really understand another, and no one can arrange another's happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/no-human-being-can-really-understand-another-and-no-one-can-arrange-2/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [I think it is impossible for one human being really to know another without first knowing and being at peace with himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/i-think-it-is-impossible-for-one-human-being-really-to-know-another/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [What a laugh, though. To think that one human being could ever really know another. You could get used to each other, get so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/what-a-laugh-though-to-think-that-one-human-being-could-ever-really/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [ “To be conformed to the one who has become human—that is what being really human means.\[77.\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/to-be-conformed-to-the-one-who-has-become-human-that-is-what-being/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [We’re not Indians and we’re not Native Americans. We’re older than both concepts. We’re the people, we’re the human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-trudell/we-re-not-indians-and-we-re-not-native-americans-we-re-older-than/) [John Trudell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-trudell/) ## More by Ivy Compton-Burnett > [Our desires have a way of getting bigger with our incomes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/our-desires-have-a-way-of-getting-bigger-with-our-incomes/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [I never know why self-sacrifice is noble. Why is it better to sacrifice oneself than someone else?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/i-never-know-why-self-sacrifice-is-noble-why-is-it-better-to/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [My youth is escaping without giving me anything it owes me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/my-youth-is-escaping-without-giving-me-anything-it-owes-me/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [It will be a beautiful family talk, mean and worried and full of sorrow and spite and excitement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/it-will-be-a-beautiful-family-talk-mean-and-worried-and-full-of/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [“People do not like to lose their lives. That is the reason why they should not take other people's.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/people-do-not-like-to-lose-their-lives-that-is-the-reason-why-they/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [Never is a long word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/never-is-a-long-word/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [A person who can really be called an unselfish person, has no place in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/a-person-who-can-really-be-called-an-unselfish-person-has-no-place-in/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [We do not discuss the members of our family to their faces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/we-do-not-discuss-the-members-of-our-family-to-their-faces/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [The plot is not very important to me, though a novel must have one, of course. It's just a line to hang the washing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/the-plot-is-not-very-important-to-me-though-a-novel-must-have-one-of/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [Time is not a great healer. It is an indifferent and perfunctory one. Sometimes it does not heal at all. And sometimes when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/time-is-not-a-great-healer-it-is-an-indifferent-and-perfunctory-one/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [There are different kinds of wrong. The people sinned against are not always the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/there-are-different-kinds-of-wrong-the-people-sinned-against-are-not/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [Pushing forty? She's hanging on for dear life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/pushing-forty-she-s-hanging-on-for-dear-life/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [Well, Buttermere, this is a day that is good to live and breathe in, that makes a man feel in his prime. Standing here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/well-buttermere-this-is-a-day-that-is-good-to-live-and-breathe-in/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [Civilized life exacts its toll.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/civilized-life-exacts-its-toll/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [We none of us talk to people as we do behind their backs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/we-none-of-us-talk-to-people-as-we-do-behind-their-backs/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) [Explore all 65 Ivy Compton-Burnett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) ## More Human quotes > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [To hurry through the rise and fall of a fine, full sentence is like defying the role of time in human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/to-hurry-through-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-fine-full-sentence-is-like/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Gambling has held human beings in thrall for millennia. It has been engaged in everywhere, from the dregs of society to the most respectable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-bernstein/gambling-has-held-human-beings-in-thrall-for-millennia-it-has-been/) [Peter L. Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-bernstein/) > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [Every human creates his own problems. Problems are ones private property and we shouldnt meddle into them self-initiatively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-papian/every-human-creates-his-own-problems-problems-are-ones-private/) [Ruben Papian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-papian/) > [I found out about Sister Song through Poppy Liu, who's on the show 'Hacks.' Reproductive rights are human rights, and I wanted to shine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayo-edebiri/i-found-out-about-sister-song-through-poppy-liu-who-s-on-the-show/) [Ayo Edebiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayo-edebiri/) > [The human element should be the two players on the court, not the officials. The best officials are the ones you never notice. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-scott/the-human-element-should-be-the-two-players-on-the-court-not-the/) Gene Scott > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [I've always been a believer in research. It's great to have an instinctual human reaction to a character, too, of course, but it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiwetel-ejiofor/i-ve-always-been-a-believer-in-research-it-s-great-to-have-an/) [Chiwetel Ejiofor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiwetel-ejiofor/) > [Almost all accidents take place because of human distraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-thrun/almost-all-accidents-take-place-because-of-human-distraction/) [Sebastian Thrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-thrun/) > [I think everybody, or the great majority of human beings, have this aspiration to become other: to live a different identity, at least for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-think-everybody-or-the-great-majority-of-human-beings-have-this/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [Professionally speaking, the proudest moment was when I booked the 'Human Stain.' I knew it had Nicole Kidman, Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris and Gary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/professionally-speaking-the-proudest-moment-was-when-i-booked-the/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [A composer knows that music is written by human beings for human beings and that music is a continuation of life, not something separated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-eisler/a-composer-knows-that-music-is-written-by-human-beings-for-human/) Hanns Eisler > [“I take my actions because of my passion not because of compulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/i-take-my-actions-because-of-my-passion-not-because-of-compulsion/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) [Browse all 8,656 Human quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Well, of course, people are only human... 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