--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even the simple act that we call \"going…" description: "\"Even the simple act that we call \"going to visit a person of our acquaintance\" is in part an intellectual act. We fill the physical appearance of the p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d10/marcel-proust-114_acquaintance_even-the-simple-act-that-we-call-going-t_1791599.jpg" --- # Even the simple act that we call "going to visit a person… ![“Even the simple act that we call "going to visit a person of our acquaintance" is in part an intellectual act. We fill the physical appearance of the person we see with all the notions we have about him, and in the totality of our impressions about him, these notions play the most important role.” quote by Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d10/marcel-proust-114_acquaintance_even-the-simple-act-that-we-call-going-t_1791599.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d10/marcel-proust-114_acquaintance_even-the-simple-act-that-we-call-going-t_1791599.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d10/marcel-proust-114_acquaintance_even-the-simple-act-that-we-call-going-t_1791599.jpg) > “Even the simple act that we call "going to visit a person of our acquaintance" is in part an intellectual act. We fill the physical appearance of the person we see with all the notions we have about him, and in the totality of our impressions about him, these notions play the most important role.” [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We interpret acquaintances through mental concepts, letting ideas shape perception more than appearance. **In simple terms:** Our ideas dominate how we see familiar people. Key Takeaway Recognize and question your assumptions about others. Themes perception identity social cognition Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical insightful When to use this quote - meeting friends - networking events - family gatherings Key Concepts subjectivity mental models bias Questions to Reflect On - How do your preconceptions affect your interactions? - What steps can you take to see people more clearly? A Different Perspective Assumptions can mislead; reality may differ from mental image. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acquaintance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acquaintance/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Physical appearance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physical-appearance/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) ## Related quotes > [“But then, even in the most significant details of our daily life, none of us can be said to constitute a material whole, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/but-then-even-in-the-most-significant-details-of-our-daily-life-none/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“The snide little fucker actually paid you a visit in person? ~ Her Demonic Angel ~”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-heaton/the-snide-little-fucker-actually-paid-you-a-visit-in-person-her/) [Felicity Heaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-heaton/) > [“In peacetime some sort of introduction is generally required to make a person's acquaintance; in war a small eatable will perform the same office.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-clarke/in-peacetime-some-sort-of-introduction-is-generally-required-to-make/) [Susanna Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-clarke/) > [There is a person whose acquaintance and conversation I do earnestly recommend unto you as thing of the greatest advantage: you will be surprised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-berman/there-is-a-person-whose-acquaintance-and-conversation-i-do-earnestly/) [David Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-berman/) > [It seems to me that in the western world, culture has something to do with appearance. A person that's out creating good stuff has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ornette-coleman/it-seems-to-me-that-in-the-western-world-culture-has-something-to-do/) [Ornette Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ornette-coleman/) > [If you will look at the outward appearance of a person just to identify him, you will not see the true character of him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innah-delos-angeles/if-you-will-look-at-the-outward-appearance-of-a-person-just-to/) [Innah Delos Angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innah-delos-angeles/) > [Its not the outer appearance of a person that defines who they are, but whats on the inside that counts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/its-not-the-outer-appearance-of-a-person-that-defines-who-they-are/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [Don't underestimate a person by their appearance now. That person might have better appearance than you in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-underestimate-a-person-by-their-appearance-now-that-person/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Don't misunderstand people by smile or appearance.every person is not living life some one just spend the life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/don-t-misunderstand-people-by-smile-or-appearance-every-person-is-not/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [“Every person is worth your time, Hannibal. If at first appearance a person seems dull, then look harder, look into him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-harris/every-person-is-worth-your-time-hannibal-if-at-first-appearance-a/) [Thomas Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harris/) > [None of us constitutes a material whole, identical for everyone, which a person has only to go look up as though we were a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/none-of-us-constitutes-a-material-whole-identical-for-everyone-which/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [But yeah, a lot of people compare me to Magic. The physical appearance, the tall point guard, the ability to pass the ball. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-livingston/but-yeah-a-lot-of-people-compare-me-to-magic-the-physical-appearance/) [Shaun Livingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-livingston/) > [I grew my mustache when I was nineteen in order to look older. I never shaved it off even though it overran its usefulness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cronkite/i-grew-my-mustache-when-i-was-nineteen-in-order-to-look-older-i-never/) [Walter Cronkite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cronkite/) > [While cities are distinguished by their architecture and physical appearance, Bell and de-Shalit make a compelling case that many major world cities--and their inhabitants--also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witold-rybczynski/while-cities-are-distinguished-by-their-architecture-and-physical/) [Witold Rybczynski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witold-rybczynski/) > [A lot of women are turned off by the physical appearance of some of the first feminists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/a-lot-of-women-are-turned-off-by-the-physical-appearance-of-some-of/) [Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/) ## More by Marcel Proust > [“machinery' of life at Versailles; and was able, too, to persuade herself that her silence, a shade of good humour or of arrogance on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/machinery-of-life-at-versailles-and-was-able-too-to-persuade-herself/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [ “For her \[Françoise\], wealth was like a necessary condition without which virtue would lack both merit and charm. She made so little distinction between… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/for-her-fran-oise-wealth-was-like-a-necessary-condition-without-which/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Knowing does not always allow us to prevent, but at least the things that we know, we hold them, if not in our hands,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/knowing-does-not-always-allow-us-to-prevent-but-at-least-the-things/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Death is in truth an illness from which we recover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/death-is-in-truth-an-illness-from-which-we-recover/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [The bonds that unite another person to our self exist only in our mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-bonds-that-unite-another-person-to-our-self-exist-only-in-our-mind/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [...a writer's works, like the water in an artesian well, mount to a height which is in proportion to the depth to which suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/a-writer-s-works-like-the-water-in-an-artesian-well-mount-to-a-height/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Then from those profound slumbers we awake in a dawn, not knowing who we are, being nobody, newly born, ready for anything, the brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/then-from-those-profound-slumbers-we-awake-in-a-dawn-not-knowing-who/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Art extracted from the most familiar reality does indeed exist and its domain is perhaps the largest of any.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/art-extracted-from-the-most-familiar-reality-does-indeed-exist-and/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [I find very reasonable the Celtic belief that the souls of our dearly departed are trapped in some inferior being, in an animal, aplant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/i-find-very-reasonable-the-celtic-belief-that-the-souls-of-our-dearly/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“When you heard anyone in the middle of a talk which was being deliberately kept off the Affair announce furtively some piece of political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/when-you-heard-anyone-in-the-middle-of-a-talk-which-was-being/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“We betroth ourselves by proxy, and then feel obliged to marry the intermediary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-betroth-ourselves-by-proxy-and-then-feel-obliged-to-marry-the/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“But the old lady on the contrary, far from justifying her daughter’s fears, felt every time someone of her own age “disappeared” that she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/but-the-old-lady-on-the-contrary-far-from-justifying-her-daughter-s/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Often it is just lack of imagination that keeps a man from suffering very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/often-it-is-just-lack-of-imagination-that-keeps-a-man-from-suffering/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“When we are nice to others, we generally lose all claim to their respect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/when-we-are-nice-to-others-we-generally-lose-all-claim-to-their/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Nobility is often no more than the inner aspect which our egotistical feelings assume when we have not yet named and classified them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/nobility-is-often-no-more-than-the-inner-aspect-which-our-egotistical/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) [Explore all 1,113 Marcel Proust quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) ## More Acquaintance quotes > [Distrust all those who love you extremely upon a very slight acquaintance and without any visible reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distrust-all-those-who-love-you-extremely-upon-a-very-slight/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Be much alone with God, and take time to get thoroughly acquainted. Converse over everything with Him. Unburden yourself wholly -every thought, feeling, wish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatius-bonar/be-much-alone-with-god-and-take-time-to-get-thoroughly-acquainted/) [Horatius Bonar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatius-bonar/) > [The study of history and philosophy, accompanied by some acquaintance with art and literature, should be for lawyers and engineers as well as for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/the-study-of-history-and-philosophy-accompanied-by-some-acquaintance/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [The love of new acquaintance comes not so much from being weary of what we had before, or from any satisfaction there is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/the-love-of-new-acquaintance-comes-not-so-much-from-being-weary-of/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [One frequently only finds out how really beautiful a women is, until after considerable acquaintance with her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/one-frequently-only-finds-out-how-really-beautiful-a-women-is-until/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“I'd rather be a nodding acquaintance, than a bobble head”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-stern/i-d-rather-be-a-nodding-acquaintance-than-a-bobble-head/) [Josh Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-stern/) > [In addition to my other numerous acquaintances, I have one more intimate confidant… My depression is the most faithful mistress I have known —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/in-addition-to-my-other-numerous-acquaintances-i-have-one-more/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [God is a spirit. Jesus was led up of the Spirit to be tempted of the Devil; and it is also true that spirits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bradlaugh/god-is-a-spirit-jesus-was-led-up-of-the-spirit-to-be-tempted-of-the/) [Charles Bradlaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bradlaugh/) > [ \[On an anarchist acquaintance:\] Everything in appearance the most alarmist aunt could wish. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/on-an-anarchist-acquaintance-everything-in-appearance-the-most/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [There is no such thing as educational value in the abstract. The notion that some subjects and methods and that acquaintance with certain facts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/there-is-no-such-thing-as-educational-value-in-the-abstract-the/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [ \[Books\] will visit you at your convenience, whether you are lonesome or not, on rainy days or fair. They propose themselves as either transient… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/books-will-visit-you-at-your-convenience-whether-you-are-lonesome-or/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [I'm not dating Prateik; he is just a good acquaintance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amyra-dastur/i-m-not-dating-prateik-he-is-just-a-good-acquaintance/) [Amyra Dastur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amyra-dastur/) > [Moderation is the inseparable companion of wisdom, but with it genius has not even a nodding acquaintance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/moderation-is-the-inseparable-companion-of-wisdom-but-with-it-genius/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [The greatest embarrassment of my political career has been that active duties seem to deprive me of time for careful investigation. I seem almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/the-greatest-embarrassment-of-my-political-career-has-been-that/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [A woman who can't forgive should never have more than a nodding acquaintance with a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-woman-who-can-t-forgive-should-never-have-more-than-a-nodding/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 484 Acquaintance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acquaintance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Even the simple act that we call \"going to visit a person of our acquaintance\" is in part an intellectual act. 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