---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It takes little or nothing to undo…"
description: "\"It takes little or nothing to undo reputations, the merest trifle makes and remakes them, it is simply a question of finding the best means of engaging..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18f/jos-saramago-208_accomplices_it-takes-little-or-nothing-to-undo-reput_21333.jpg"
---

#  It takes little or nothing to undo reputations, the merest…

![“It takes little or nothing to undo reputations, the merest trifle makes and remakes them, it is simply a question of finding the best means of engaging the confidence or interest of those who are to become one's unsuspecting echoes or accomplices.” quote by Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18f/jos-saramago-208_accomplices_it-takes-little-or-nothing-to-undo-reput_21333.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18f/jos-saramago-208_accomplices_it-takes-little-or-nothing-to-undo-reput_21333.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18f/jos-saramago-208_accomplices_it-takes-little-or-nothing-to-undo-reput_21333.jpg)

> “It takes little or nothing to undo reputations, the merest trifle makes and remakes them, it is simply a question of finding the best means of engaging the confidence or interest of those who are to become one's unsuspecting echoes or accomplices.”

[Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Reputation is fragile; minor actions can reshape it, influencing how others perceive and support you.

**In simple terms:** Reputation can be easily altered by small acts.

Key Takeaway

Minor gestures can reshape public perception.

Themes

power perception influence trust social dynamics

Mood

cautious analytical reflective

Type

observational philosophical

When to use this quote

- political campaigns
- brand crises
- personal branding
- viral social media moments

Key Concepts

reputation management psychology of influence social capital

Practical Applications

- strategic communication
- reputation repair

Questions to Reflect On

- How can small actions be leveraged to rebuild trust?
- What safeguards protect against manipulation of reputation?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Accomplices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplices/) [Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) [Echoes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/echoes/) [Engaging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engaging/) [Engaging Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engaging-confidence-398058/) [Findings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/findings/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Merest Trifle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merest-trifle-398057/) [Remakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remakes/) [Reputation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reputation/) [Reputations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reputations/) [Reputations Merest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reputations-merest-398055/) [Trifles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trifles/) [Undo Reputations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/undo-reputations-398056/) [Unsuspecting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unsuspecting/)

## Related quotes

> [A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/a-movie-is-not-about-what-it-is-about-it-is-about-how-it-is-about-it/)

[Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/)

> [Where utopianism is advanced through gradualism rather than revolution, albeit steady and persistent as in democratic societies, it can deceive and disarm an unsuspecting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/where-utopianism-is-advanced-through-gradualism-rather-than/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Both Marx and Nietzsche understood that moral outrage is the last resort of the powerless. That is why Marx refused to issue moral condemnations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-paul-wolff/both-marx-and-nietzsche-understood-that-moral-outrage-is-the-last/)

[Robert Paul Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-paul-wolff/)

> [An unforseen future nestled somewhere in time. Unsuspecting victims no warnings, no signs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slayer/an-unforseen-future-nestled-somewhere-in-time-unsuspecting-victims-no/)

[Slayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slayer/)

> [With satanic joy in his face, the black-haired Jewish youth lurks in wait for the unsuspecting girl whom he defiles with his blood, thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/with-satanic-joy-in-his-face-the-black-haired-jewish-youth-lurks-in/)

[Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/)

> [Fate intervened. Some of us, that day, she led inexorably through the gates of death. Some of us, innocent and unsuspecting, took, unwillingly, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/fate-intervened-some-of-us-that-day-she-led-inexorably-through-the/)

[Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/)

> [“Ninety percent of a shirt that not only was bright purple and green but with a design on it that, if you moved too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/ninety-percent-of-a-shirt-that-not-only-was-bright-purple-and-green/)

[Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/)

> [Occasionally an unsuspecting innocent will stumble into a movie like this and send me an anguished postcard, asking how I could possibly give a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/occasionally-an-unsuspecting-innocent-will-stumble-into-a-movie-like/)

[Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/)

> [My mother was a feminist, and she gave me some tools of self-possession and self-empowerment, but now that I have lived here for forty-three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/my-mother-was-a-feminist-and-she-gave-me-some-tools-of-self/)

[Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/)

> [For a long time I felt that FDR had developed many thoughts and ideas that were his own to benefit this country, the United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-bean-dall/for-a-long-time-i-felt-that-fdr-had-developed-many-thoughts-and-ideas/)

[Curtis Bean Dall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-bean-dall/)

> [The affected modesty of most women is a decoy for the generous, the delicate, and unsuspecting; while the artful, the bold, and unfeeling either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-affected-modesty-of-most-women-is-a-decoy-for-the-generous-the/)

[William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/)

> [A cut glass English accent can fool unsuspecting Americans into detecting a brilliance that isn't there](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/a-cut-glass-english-accent-can-fool-unsuspecting-americans-into/)

[Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/)

> [“It is unclear if corporate governments are truly the dunces of human health or if they are just faking it in order to propagate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/it-is-unclear-if-corporate-governments-are-truly-the-dunces-of-human/)

[Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/)

> [“Accidents ambush the unsuspecting, often violently, just like love. It”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davidson/accidents-ambush-the-unsuspecting-often-violently-just-like-love-it/)

[Andrew Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davidson/)

> [Military and absolutist regimes are undoubtedly well fitted to get the jump on an unsuspecting or unprepared enemy; but the history of modern warfare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-eliot-morison/military-and-absolutist-regimes-are-undoubtedly-well-fitted-to-get/)

[Samuel Eliot Morison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-eliot-morison/)

## More by Jose Saramago

> [“We are born, and at that moment, it is as if we had signed a pact for the rest of our life, but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/we-are-born-and-at-that-moment-it-is-as-if-we-had-signed-a-pact-for/)

[José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/)

> [One can show no greater respect than to weep for a stranger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/one-can-show-no-greater-respect-than-to-weep-for-a-stranger/)

[Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/)

> [I am not a prophet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-am-not-a-prophet/)

[Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/)

> [With the passage of time, as well as the social evolution and genetic exchange, we ended up putting our conscience in the color of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/with-the-passage-of-time-as-well-as-the-social-evolution-and-genetic/)

[Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/)

> [“Al día siguiente no murió nadie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/al-d-a-siguiente-no-muri-nadie/)

[José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/)

> [“E se as histórias para crianças passassem a ser de leitura obrigatória para os adultos? Seriam eles capazes de aprender realmente o que há…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/e-se-as-hist-rias-para-crian-as-passassem-a-ser-de-leitura-obrigat/)

[José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/)

> [In a king, modesty would be a sign of weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/in-a-king-modesty-would-be-a-sign-of-weakness/)

[Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/)

> [“the inmates of the second ward in the right wing have decided, at long last, to bury their dead, at least we shall be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/the-inmates-of-the-second-ward-in-the-right-wing-have-decided-at-long/)

[José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/)

> [“Stretching one arm behind him, the man passed his hand over the horse's coat, his own skin transformed, or skin which had transformed into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/stretching-one-arm-behind-him-the-man-passed-his-hand-over-the-horse/)

[José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/)

> [I think we are blind. Blind people who can see, but do not see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-think-we-are-blind-blind-people-who-can-see-but-do-not-see/)

[Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/)

> [...you have to leave the island in order to see the island, that we can't see ourselves unless we become free of ourselves, Unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/you-have-to-leave-the-island-in-order-to-see-the-island-that-we-can-t/)

[Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/)

> [anyone who gets up early by inclination or has been forced to rise early out of necessity finds it intolerable that others should go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/anyone-who-gets-up-early-by-inclination-or-has-been-forced-to-rise/)

[Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/)

> [Society has to change, but the political powers we have at the moment are not enough to effect this change. The whole democratic system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/society-has-to-change-but-the-political-powers-we-have-at-the-moment/)

[Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/)

> [“... aborrece os odores nocturnos, aquelas expansões do corpo a que nem poetas escapam".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/aborrece-os-odores-nocturnos-aquelas-expans-es-do-corpo-a-que-nem/)

[José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/)

> [“BESIDES THE CONVERSATION of women, it is dreams that keep the world in orbit. But dreams also form a diadem of moons, therefore the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/besides-the-conversation-of-women-it-is-dreams-that-keep-the-world-in/)

[José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/)

[Explore all 487 Jose Saramago quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/)

## More Accomplices quotes

> [Americans will not allow any Islamic regime to reach the position of governance except if it is an accomplice to the Americans, just like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayman-al-zawahiri/americans-will-not-allow-any-islamic-regime-to-reach-the-position-of/)

[Ayman al-Zawahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayman-al-zawahiri/)

> [And this is the forbidden truth, the unspeakable taboo - that evil is not always repellent but frequently attractive; that it has the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/and-this-is-the-forbidden-truth-the-unspeakable-taboo-that-evil-is/)

[Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/)

> [Insecurity is miserable. That's the bottom line. We don't need it. We don't want it. And we really can live without it. So what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/insecurity-is-miserable-that-s-the-bottom-line-we-don-t-need-it-we/)

[Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/)

> [An American professor complained that a crypto-Marxist like me was invited in the USA, and I was denounced by the press in Eastern European…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/an-american-professor-complained-that-a-crypto-marxist-like-me-was/)

[Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/)

> [And the past held only this wisdom: that love was a damaging mistake, and its accomplice, hope, a treacherous illusion. And whenever those twin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/and-the-past-held-only-this-wisdom-that-love-was-a-damaging-mistake-2/)

[Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/)

> [You're only a victim once. The next time you're an accomplice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-judd/you-re-only-a-victim-once-the-next-time-you-re-an-accomplice/)

[Naomi Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-judd/)

> [Then one day I realized that a false picture of the German camps had been created and that the problem of the concentration camps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rassinier/then-one-day-i-realized-that-a-false-picture-of-the-german-camps-had/)

[Paul Rassinier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rassinier/)

> [And what is an authentic madman? It is a man who preferred to become mad, in the socially accepted sense of the word, rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/and-what-is-an-authentic-madman-it-is-a-man-who-preferred-to-become/)

[Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/)

> [The injustice of defeat lies in the fact that its most innocent victims are made to look like heartless accomplices. It is impossible to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-injustice-of-defeat-lies-in-the-fact-that-its-most-innocent/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Simply because, one hand, there are the haters, The hater has power. All we can do is oppose it, or one becomes an accomplice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/simply-because-one-hand-there-are-the-haters-the-hater-has-power-all/)

[Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/)

> [I have never seen more Senators express discontent with their jobs…I think the major cause is that, deep down in our hearts, we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-danforth/i-have-never-seen-more-senators-express-discontent-with-their-jobs-i/)

[John C. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-danforth/)

> [You give up the world line by line. Stoically. And then one day you realize that your courage is farcical. It doesn't mean anything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-give-up-the-world-line-by-line-stoically-and-then-one-day-you/)

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

> [We become accomplices in evil every time we seek to soothe the unslakable appetites of the crime family that sits in Pyongyang.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/we-become-accomplices-in-evil-every-time-we-seek-to-soothe-the/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [When struck on one cheek to turn the other, is really joining a conspiracy to secure the triumph of brutality. To agree not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/when-struck-on-one-cheek-to-turn-the-other-is-really-joining-a/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [What is irritating about love is that it is a crime that requires an accomplice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/what-is-irritating-about-love-is-that-it-is-a-crime-that-requires-an/)

[Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/)

[Browse all 95 Accomplices quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplices/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "It takes little or nothing to undo reputations, the merest trifle makes and remakes them, it is simply a question of finding the best means of engaging the confidence or interest of those who are to become one's unsuspecting echoes or accomplices.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jose Saramago"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/it-takes-little-or-nothing-to-undo-reputations-the-merest-trifle/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Accomplices"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/it-takes-little-or-nothing-to-undo-reputations-the-merest-trifle/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18f/jos-saramago-208_accomplices_it-takes-little-or-nothing-to-undo-reput_21333.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18f/jos-saramago-208_accomplices_it-takes-little-or-nothing-to-undo-reput_21333.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18f/jos-saramago-208_accomplices_it-takes-little-or-nothing-to-undo-reput_21333.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It takes little or nothing to undo reputations, the merest trifle makes and remakes them, it is simply a…” — Jose Saramago",
                "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": "Jose Saramago",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "It takes little or nothing to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/it-takes-little-or-nothing-to-undo-reputations-the-merest-trifle/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/it-takes-little-or-nothing-to-undo-reputations-the-merest-trifle/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
