--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing that isn't a real crime makes a…" description: "\"Nothing that isn't a real crime makes a man appear so contemptible and little in the eyes of the world as inconsistency.\" — Joseph Addison" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b41/joseph-addison-377_contemptible_nothing-that-isn-t-a-real-crime-makes-a_1185680.png" --- # Nothing that isn't a real crime makes a man appear so… ![“Nothing that isn't a real crime makes a man appear so contemptible and little in the eyes of the world as inconsistency.” quote by Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b41/joseph-addison-377_contemptible_nothing-that-isn-t-a-real-crime-makes-a_1185680.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b41/joseph-addison-377_contemptible_nothing-that-isn-t-a-real-crime-makes-a_1185680.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b41/joseph-addison-377_contemptible_nothing-that-isn-t-a-real-crime-makes-a_1185680.png) > “Nothing that isn't a real crime makes a man appear so contemptible and little in the eyes of the world as inconsistency.” [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Inconsistency damages reputation, making a person seem contemptible and insignificant to society. **In simple terms:** Being inconsistent makes you look bad to others. Key Takeaway Maintain consistency to preserve respect. Themes reputation integrity perception Mood critical reflective Type ethical observational When to use this quote - political leadership - personal relationships - public speaking - media commentary Key Concepts moral philosophy social judgment Questions to Reflect On - How does inconsistency affect trust? - Can reputation be rebuilt after inconsistency? A Different Perspective Consistency alone may not protect against genuine criticism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appear Contemptible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appear-contemptible-3325864/) [Contemptible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemptible/) [Contemptible Little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemptible-little-3325865/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Inconsistency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inconsistency/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World Inconsistency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-inconsistency-3495732/) ## Related quotes > [Nothing that is not a real crime makes a man appear so contemptible and little in the eyes of the world as inconsistency, especially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/nothing-that-is-not-a-real-crime-makes-a-man-appear-so-contemptible/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [There is nothing constant in this world but inconsistency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/there-is-nothing-constant-in-this-world-but-inconsistency/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [“Sometimes, in this multifaceted world of ours, inconsistency can be more eloquent than consistency. 5”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/sometimes-in-this-multifaceted-world-of-ours-inconsistency-can-be/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Title and ancestry render a good man more illustrious, but an ill one more contemptible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/title-and-ancestry-render-a-good-man-more-illustrious-but-an-ill-one/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Nothing is more amiable than true modesty, and nothing more contemptible than the false](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/nothing-is-more-amiable-than-true-modesty-and-nothing-more-2/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Mutability of temper and inconsistency with ourselves is the greatest weakness of human nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/mutability-of-temper-and-inconsistency-with-ourselves-is-the-greatest/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [To my eye Rubens' colouring is most contemptible. His shadows are a filthy brown somewhat the colour of excrement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/to-my-eye-rubens-colouring-is-most-contemptible-his-shadows-are-a/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [As men neither fear nor respect what has been made contemptible, all honor to him who makes oppression laughable as well as detestable. Armies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/as-men-neither-fear-nor-respect-what-has-been-made-contemptible-all/) [Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/) > [The unanimously applauded, self-congratulatory bromides of a Soviet Party Congress seemed contemptible. The unanimity of the sanctimonious, reality-concealing rhetoric spouted by American officials and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-unanimously-applauded-self-congratulatory-bromides-of-a-soviet/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [“For it was intelligence that was the thin line between endearing rapscallion and idiot bastard. - Éibhear the Contemptible”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-a-aiken/for-it-was-intelligence-that-was-the-thin-line-between-endearing/) [G.A. Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-a-aiken/) > [Contemptuous people are sure to be contemptible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/contemptuous-people-are-sure-to-be-contemptible/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [None but the contemptible are apprehensive of contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/none-but-the-contemptible-are-apprehensive-of-contempt/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [“It is a difficult choice sometimes whether to feel revolted at the male sex or merely to dismiss them as contemptible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-is-a-difficult-choice-sometimes-whether-to-feel-revolted-at-the/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [We gave him a hearty welcome, for there was nearly half as much of the entertaining as of the contemptible about the man..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/we-gave-him-a-hearty-welcome-for-there-was-nearly-half-as-much-of-the/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [A man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/a-man-who-lets-himself-be-bored-is-even-more-contemptible-than-the/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) ## More by Joseph Addison > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [There is nothing touches our imagination so much as a beautiful woman in a plain dress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-nothing-touches-our-imagination-so-much-as-a-beautiful-woman/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [We are always doing something for posterity, but I would fain see posterity do something for us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/we-are-always-doing-something-for-posterity-but-i-would-fain-see/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Female Virtues are of a Domestick turn. The Family is the proper Province for Private Women to Shine in. If they must be showing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/female-virtues-are-of-a-domestick-turn-the-family-is-the-proper/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [As addictions go, reading is among the cleanest, easiest to feed, happiest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/as-addictions-go-reading-is-among-the-cleanest-easiest-to-feed/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [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/) > [When love once pleads admission to our hearts, In spite of all the virtue we can boast, The woman that deliberates is lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/when-love-once-pleads-admission-to-our-hearts-in-spite-of-all-the/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Many actions calculated to procure fame are not conducive to ultimate happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/many-actions-calculated-to-procure-fame-are-not-conducive-to-ultimate/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [T is liberty crowns Britannia's Isle, And makes her barren rocks and her bleak mountains smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/t-is-liberty-crowns-britannia-s-isle-and-makes-her-barren-rocks-and/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Reading is a basic tool in the living of a good life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/reading-is-a-basic-tool-in-the-living-of-a-good-life/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [The moral perfections of the Deity, the more attentively, we consider, the more perfectly still shall we know them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/the-moral-perfections-of-the-deity-the-more-attentively-we-consider/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [The utmost we can hope for in this world is contentment; if we aim at anything higher, we shall meet with nothing but grief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/the-utmost-we-can-hope-for-in-this-world-is-contentment-if-we-aim-at/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Courage that grows from constitution often forsakes a man when he has occasion for it; courage which arises from a sense of duty acts;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/courage-that-grows-from-constitution-often-forsakes-a-man-when-he-has/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [The most skillful flattery is to let a person talk on, and be a listener.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/the-most-skillful-flattery-is-to-let-a-person-talk-on-and-be-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) [Explore all 620 Joseph Addison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) ## More Contemptible quotes > [A man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/a-man-who-lets-himself-be-bored-is-even-more-contemptible-than-the/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [We gave him a hearty welcome, for there was nearly half as much of the entertaining as of the contemptible about the man..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/we-gave-him-a-hearty-welcome-for-there-was-nearly-half-as-much-of-the/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“It is a difficult choice sometimes whether to feel revolted at the male sex or merely to dismiss them as contemptible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-is-a-difficult-choice-sometimes-whether-to-feel-revolted-at-the/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [None but the contemptible are apprehensive of contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/none-but-the-contemptible-are-apprehensive-of-contempt/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Contemptuous people are sure to be contemptible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/contemptuous-people-are-sure-to-be-contemptible/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [Nothing that is not a real crime makes a man appear so contemptible and little in the eyes of the world as inconsistency, especially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/nothing-that-is-not-a-real-crime-makes-a-man-appear-so-contemptible/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“For it was intelligence that was the thin line between endearing rapscallion and idiot bastard. - Éibhear the Contemptible”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-a-aiken/for-it-was-intelligence-that-was-the-thin-line-between-endearing/) [G.A. Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-a-aiken/) > [The unanimously applauded, self-congratulatory bromides of a Soviet Party Congress seemed contemptible. The unanimity of the sanctimonious, reality-concealing rhetoric spouted by American officials and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-unanimously-applauded-self-congratulatory-bromides-of-a-soviet/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [As men neither fear nor respect what has been made contemptible, all honor to him who makes oppression laughable as well as detestable. Armies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/as-men-neither-fear-nor-respect-what-has-been-made-contemptible-all/) [Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/) > [To my eye Rubens' colouring is most contemptible. His shadows are a filthy brown somewhat the colour of excrement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/to-my-eye-rubens-colouring-is-most-contemptible-his-shadows-are-a/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [It was better, he thought, to fail in attempting exquisite things than to succeed in the department of the utterly contemptible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/it-was-better-he-thought-to-fail-in-attempting-exquisite-things-than/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [An ignorant man is insignificant and contemptible; nobody cares for his company, and he can just be said to live, and that is all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/an-ignorant-man-is-insignificant-and-contemptible-nobody-cares-for/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [There is something feeble and a little contemptible about a man who cannot face the perils of life without the help of comfortable myths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/there-is-something-feeble-and-a-little-contemptible-about-a-man-who-2/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [There is no being so poor and so contemptible, who does not think there is somebody still poorer, and still more contemptible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-is-no-being-so-poor-and-so-contemptible-who-does-not-think/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“Not one word was said by Moses or Aaron as to the wickedness of depriving a human being of his liberty. Not a word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-g-ingersoll/not-one-word-was-said-by-moses-or-aaron-as-to-the-wickedness-of/) [Robert G. Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-g-ingersoll/) [Browse all 52 Contemptible quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemptible/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nothing that isn't a real crime makes a man appear so contemptible and little in the eyes of the world as inconsistency.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph Addison" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/nothing-that-isn-t-a-real-crime-makes-a-man-appear-so-contemptible/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Contemptible" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/nothing-that-isn-t-a-real-crime-makes-a-man-appear-so-contemptible/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b41/joseph-addison-377_contemptible_nothing-that-isn-t-a-real-crime-makes-a_1185680.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b41/joseph-addison-377_contemptible_nothing-that-isn-t-a-real-crime-makes-a_1185680.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b41/joseph-addison-377_contemptible_nothing-that-isn-t-a-real-crime-makes-a_1185680.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nothing that isn't a real crime makes a man appear so contemptible and little in the eyes of the world as…” — Joseph Addison", "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": "Joseph Addison", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Nothing that isn't a real crime...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/nothing-that-isn-t-a-real-crime-makes-a-man-appear-so-contemptible/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/nothing-that-isn-t-a-real-crime-makes-a-man-appear-so-contemptible/#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 } } ] } ```