--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Of all the cants which are canted in this…" description: "\"Of all the cants which are canted in this canting world - though the cant of hypocrites may be the worst - the cant of criticism is the most tormenting..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fed/laurence-sterne-1405_cant_of-all-the-cants-which-are-canted-in-thi_978072.jpg" --- # Of all the cants which are canted in this canting world… ![“Of all the cants which are canted in this canting world - though the cant of hypocrites may be the worst - the cant of criticism is the most tormenting!” quote by Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fed/laurence-sterne-1405_cant_of-all-the-cants-which-are-canted-in-thi_978072.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fed/laurence-sterne-1405_cant_of-all-the-cants-which-are-canted-in-thi_978072.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fed/laurence-sterne-1405_cant_of-all-the-cants-which-are-canted-in-thi_978072.jpg) > “Of all the cants which are canted in this canting world - though the cant of hypocrites may be the worst - the cant of criticism is the most tormenting!” [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Criticism is the most painful form of deceit, even worse than hypocrisy, because it attacks ideas rather than people. **In simple terms:** Criticism can be more tormenting than hypocrisy. Key Takeaway Be mindful of how you critique others. Themes criticism hypocrisy deceit pain Mood critical reflective analytical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - online forums - workplace reviews - political debates - academic peer review Key Concepts philosophical social dynamics ethical communication Questions to Reflect On - How can criticism be delivered without causing torment? - When is criticism necessary? A Different Perspective Constructive criticism can be useful; the quote focuses on its negative impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) [Hypocrites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypocrites/) [Tormenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tormenting/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [There are no perfect women in the world; only hypocrites exhibit no defects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ninon-de-l-enclos/there-are-no-perfect-women-in-the-world-only-hypocrites-exhibit-no/) [Ninon de L'Enclos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ninon-de-l-enclos/) > [“Unless we start to fight and defeat the enemies in our own country, poverty and racism, and make our talk of equality and opportunity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/unless-we-start-to-fight-and-defeat-the-enemies-in-our-own-country/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [When the Kerner Commission told white America what black America has always known, that prejudice and hatred built the nation’s slums, maintains them and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/when-the-kerner-commission-told-white-america-what-black-america-has/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [You menace others with your deadly fangs. But in tormenting them, you are only tormenting yourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milarepa/you-menace-others-with-your-deadly-fangs-but-in-tormenting-them-you/) [Milarepa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milarepa/) > [“And you managed to pick up on all that while being hung upside down by a fellow agent, getting yourself beat to shit by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-cochet/and-you-managed-to-pick-up-on-all-that-while-being-hung-upside-down/) [Charlie Cochet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-cochet/) > [The person who is tormenting the Tibetans feels they have to get rid of the Tibetans in order to be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/the-person-who-is-tormenting-the-tibetans-feels-they-have-to-get-rid/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [I definitely believe that tormenting other people because of the Bible and for that to be - for lack of a better word, Gospel...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-forge/i-definitely-believe-that-tormenting-other-people-because-of-the/) [Tobias Forge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-forge/) > [“The winners of life's game always set and have goals in focus that they score to fulfill their purposes of existence and making the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/the-winners-of-life-s-game-always-set-and-have-goals-in-focus-that/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“You will then. Listen here...I've always got this to look forward to: I'll settle down by that man's side. I'll be as virtuous as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/you-will-then-listen-here-i-ve-always-got-this-to-look-forward-to-i/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [If you are facing a difficult task don’t put it off. If you do it will just keep tormenting you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/if-you-are-facing-a-difficult-task-don-t-put-it-off-if-you-do-it-will/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [“Ô, the wine of a woman from heaven is sent, more perfect than all that a man can invent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-payne/the-wine-of-a-woman-from-heaven-is-sent-more-perfect-than-all-that-a/) [Roman Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-payne/) > [“So, apart from casting runes, what other hobbies do you have? Forbidden rituals, human sacrifices, torturing? –”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simona-panova/so-apart-from-casting-runes-what-other-hobbies-do-you-have-forbidden/) [Simona Panova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simona-panova/) > [Being hurt is the most tormenting feeling one can ever contemplate particularly if you fall in love for the first time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-hurt-is-the-most-tormenting-feeling-one-can-ever-contemplate/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As long as we want to be different from what God wants us to be at the time, we are only tormenting ourselves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-tersteegen/as-long-as-we-want-to-be-different-from-what-god-wants-us-to-be-at/) [Gerhard Tersteegen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-tersteegen/) > [He lies like a hedgehog rolled up the wrong way, Tormenting himself with his prickles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hood/he-lies-like-a-hedgehog-rolled-up-the-wrong-way-tormenting-himself/) [Thomas Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hood/) ## More by Laurence Sterne > [The insolence of base minds in success is boundless; and would scarce admit of a comparison, did not they themselves furnish us with one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/the-insolence-of-base-minds-in-success-is-boundless-and-would-scarce/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [The world is ashamed of being virtuous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/the-world-is-ashamed-of-being-virtuous/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Digressions incontestably are the sunshine; they are the life, the soul of reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/digressions-incontestably-are-the-sunshine-they-are-the-life-the-soul/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [I was acquainted once with a gallant soldier who assured me that his only measure of courage was this: upon the first fire, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/i-was-acquainted-once-with-a-gallant-soldier-who-assured-me-that-his/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [A man's body and his mind, with the utmost reverence to both I speak it, are exactly like a jerkin and a jerkin's lining;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/a-man-s-body-and-his-mind-with-the-utmost-reverence-to-both-i-speak/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [When the affections so kindly break loose, Joy, is another name for Religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/when-the-affections-so-kindly-break-loose-joy-is-another-name-for/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Sweet pliability of man's spirit, that can at once surrender itself to illusions, which cheat expectation and sorrow of their weary moments! - long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/sweet-pliability-of-man-s-spirit-that-can-at-once-surrender-itself-to/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Philosophy has a fine saying for everything.-For Death it has an entire set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/philosophy-has-a-fine-saying-for-everything-for-death-it-has-an/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Dear sensibility! Source inexhausted of all that's precious in our joys, or costly in our sorrows! Eternal fountain of our feelings! 'tis here I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/dear-sensibility-source-inexhausted-of-all-that-s-precious-in-our/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [The best friends in the world may differ sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/the-best-friends-in-the-world-may-differ-sometimes/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Beauty has so many charms, one knows not how to speak against it; and when it happens that a graceful figure is the habitation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/beauty-has-so-many-charms-one-knows-not-how-to-speak-against-it-and/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [The best hearts are ever the bravest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/the-best-hearts-are-ever-the-bravest/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Hail! the small courtesies of life, for smooth do ye make the road of it, like grace and beauty, which beget inclinations to love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/hail-the-small-courtesies-of-life-for-smooth-do-ye-make-the-road-of/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [There are a thousand unnoticed openings, continued my father, which let penetrating eye at once into a man's soul; and I maintain it, added…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/there-are-a-thousand-unnoticed-openings-continued-my-father-which-let/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [“Button-holes! there is something lively in the very idea of 'em - and trust me, when I get amongst 'em - you gentry with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/button-holes-there-is-something-lively-in-the-very-idea-of-em-and/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) [Explore all 244 Laurence Sterne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) ## More Cant quotes > [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/) [Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) > [Be comfortable; be you. Whats most important is to understand what suits your body type and personality. Stick to that, and you cant go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonakshi-sinha/be-comfortable-be-you-whats-most-important-is-to-understand-what/) [Sonakshi Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonakshi-sinha/) > [I would go to different production houses everyday for auditions and they would reject me saying you cant talk, smile, dance, or act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-tamboli/i-would-go-to-different-production-houses-everyday-for-auditions-and/) [Nikki Tamboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-tamboli/) > [Those with a gift for action, for their part, often express contempt for those whose gifts are more reflective. Men of action like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/those-with-a-gift-for-action-for-their-part-often-express-contempt/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [We can all agree that government cant solve the obesity crisis alone. Its an ongoing issue that will require a collaborative effort across private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-samuelsson/we-can-all-agree-that-government-cant-solve-the-obesity-crisis-alone/) [Marcus Samuelsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-samuelsson/) > [There is nothing of permanent value (putting aside a few human affections) nothing that satisfies quiet reflection--except the sense of having worked according to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/there-is-nothing-of-permanent-value-putting-aside-a-few-human/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [When your house is on fire, you cant be bothered with the neighbors. Or, as we say in Chess, if your King is under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/when-your-house-is-on-fire-you-cant-be-bothered-with-the-neighbors-or/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [The first sentence cant be written until the final sentence is written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-first-sentence-cant-be-written-until-the-final-sentence-is-written/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [There are people I would like to work with. Its a bit harder, because I live out in the sticks anyway, and plus being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wyatt/there-are-people-i-would-like-to-work-with-its-a-bit-harder-because-i/) [Robert Wyatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wyatt/) > [One thing that I think never goes out of style is just purity. Niceness and purity. And the Muppets have never lost that. Kermit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-segel/one-thing-that-i-think-never-goes-out-of-style-is-just-purity/) [Jason Segel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-segel/) > [ “My dear friend, clear your mind of cant \[excessive thought\]. You may talk as other people do: you may say to a man, "Sir,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/my-dear-friend-clear-your-mind-of-cant-excessive-thought-you-may-talk/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Life is full of censorship. I cant spit in your eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hepburn/life-is-full-of-censorship-i-cant-spit-in-your-eye/) [Katharine Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hepburn/) > [To me, there is nothing more soothing than the song of a mosquito that can't get through the mesh to bite you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-smartt-bell/to-me-there-is-nothing-more-soothing-than-the-song-of-a-mosquito-that/) [Madison Smartt Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-smartt-bell/) > [The App Store has democratized the creation of content. As a 12-year-old kid, I was able to put my application on the store. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-d-aloisio/the-app-store-has-democratized-the-creation-of-content-as-a-12-year/) [Nick D'Aloisio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-d-aloisio/) Browse all 390 Cant quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Of all the cants which are canted in this canting world - though the cant of hypocrites may be the worst - the cant of criticism is the most tormenting!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Laurence Sterne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/of-all-the-cants-which-are-canted-in-this-canting-world-though-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cant" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/of-all-the-cants-which-are-canted-in-this-canting-world-though-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fed/laurence-sterne-1405_cant_of-all-the-cants-which-are-canted-in-thi_978072.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fed/laurence-sterne-1405_cant_of-all-the-cants-which-are-canted-in-thi_978072.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fed/laurence-sterne-1405_cant_of-all-the-cants-which-are-canted-in-thi_978072.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Of all the cants which are canted in this canting world - though the cant of hypocrites may be the worst…” — Laurence Sterne", "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": "Laurence Sterne", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Of all the cants which are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/of-all-the-cants-which-are-canted-in-this-canting-world-though-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/of-all-the-cants-which-are-canted-in-this-canting-world-though-the/#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 } } ] } ```