--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At no time are people so sedulously…" description: "\"At no time are people so sedulously careful to keep their trifling appointments, attend to their ordinary occupations, and thus put a commonplace aspec..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/780/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_appointments_at-no-time-are-people-so-sedulously-care_3011340.jpg" --- # At no time are people so sedulously careful to keep their… ![“At no time are people so sedulously careful to keep their trifling appointments, attend to their ordinary occupations, and thus put a commonplace aspect on life, as when conscious of some secret that if suspected would make them look monstrous in the general eye.” quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/780/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_appointments_at-no-time-are-people-so-sedulously-care_3011340.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/780/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_appointments_at-no-time-are-people-so-sedulously-care_3011340.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/780/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_appointments_at-no-time-are-people-so-sedulously-care_3011340.jpg) > “At no time are people so sedulously careful to keep their trifling appointments, attend to their ordinary occupations, and thus put a commonplace aspect on life, as when conscious of some secret that if suspected would make them look monstrous in the general eye.” [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People hide their true selves behind mundane routines to avoid social judgment, fearing they would appear monstrous if their secrets were known. **In simple terms:** People conceal secrets to look normal. Key Takeaway Embrace authenticity despite fear. Themes identity conformity fear social perception Mood anxious reflective Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - daily work - social media presence - personal relationships - public speaking Key Concepts psychology self‑deception reputation Questions to Reflect On - What secret are you protecting? - How does conformity limit personal growth? A Different Perspective Hidden motives can still be discovered despite caution. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Occupation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occupation/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To a philosopher no circumstance, however trifling, is too minute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/to-a-philosopher-no-circumstance-however-trifling-is-too-minute/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [When whole races and peoples conspire to propagate gigantic mute lies in the interest of tyrannies and shams, why should we care anything about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/when-whole-races-and-peoples-conspire-to-propagate-gigantic-mute-lies/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The question of historicity and actuality with regard to gods and unicorns is a relatively trifling matter which may be left to antiquarians and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/odell-shepard/the-question-of-historicity-and-actuality-with-regard-to-gods-and/) [Odell Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/odell-shepard/) > [The foolish undertake a trifling act, and soon desist, discouraged; wise men engage in mighty works, and persevere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magha/the-foolish-undertake-a-trifling-act-and-soon-desist-discouraged-wise/) [Magha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magha/) > [“The pettiest and slightest nuisances are the most acute; and as small letters hurt and tire the eyes most, so do trifling matters sting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-pettiest-and-slightest-nuisances-are-the-most-acute-and-as-small/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [In revolutions the occasions may be trifling but great interest are at stake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/in-revolutions-the-occasions-may-be-trifling-but-great-interest-are/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [There are many points in the history of an invention which the inventor himself is apt to overlook as trifling, but in which posterity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brewster/there-are-many-points-in-the-history-of-an-invention-which-the/) [David Brewster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brewster/) > [“Genius is not a retainer to any emperor, or is its material silver, or gold, or marble, except to a trifling extent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/genius-is-not-a-retainer-to-any-emperor-or-is-its-material-silver-or/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [True lovers know how trifling a thing is money yet how difficult to blend with love!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/true-lovers-know-how-trifling-a-thing-is-money-yet-how-difficult-to/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [All that the Y.M.C.A.'s horse and rings really accomplished was to fill me with an ineradicable distaste, not only for Christian endeavor in all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/all-that-the-y-m-c-a-s-horse-and-rings-really-accomplished-was-to/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Listening doesn't mean trying to understand. Anything, however trifling, may be of use one day. What matters is to know something that others don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/listening-doesn-t-mean-trying-to-understand-anything-however-trifling/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [Fashion is a great restraint upon your persons of taste and fancy; who would otherwise in the most trifling instances be able to distinguish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/fashion-is-a-great-restraint-upon-your-persons-of-taste-and-fancy-who/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [To give importance to trifling matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-heywood/to-give-importance-to-trifling-matters/) [John Heywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-heywood/) > [First, there is the power of the Wind, constantly exerted over the globe... Here is an almost incalculable power at our disposal, yet how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/first-there-is-the-power-of-the-wind-constantly-exerted-over-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More by Nathaniel Hawthorne > [“there was something of the women molded into the great, stalwart frame of Hollingsworth; nor was he ashamed of it; as men often are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-was-something-of-the-women-molded-into-the-great-stalwart-frame/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [The trees reflected in the river - they are unconscious of a spiritual world so near to them. So are we.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-trees-reflected-in-the-river-they-are-unconscious-of-a-spiritual/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“The dismaying thing about the classic totalitarian mind is that any given gear, though mutilated, will have at its circumference unbroken sequences of teeth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-dismaying-thing-about-the-classic-totalitarian-mind-is-that-any/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“My heart was a habitation large enough for many guests, but lonely and chill, and without a household fire, I longed to kindle one!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/my-heart-was-a-habitation-large-enough-for-many-guests-but-lonely-and/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Wherever there is a heart and an intellect, the diseases of the physical frame are tinged with the peculiarities of these.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/wherever-there-is-a-heart-and-an-intellect-the-diseases-of-the/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-founders-of-a-new-colony-whatever-utopia-of-human-virtue-and/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Generosity is the flower of justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/generosity-is-the-flower-of-justice/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“he seemed to be in quest for mental food, not heart sustenance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/he-seemed-to-be-in-quest-for-mental-food-not-heart-sustenance/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“Unfathomable to mere mortals is the lore of fiends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/unfathomable-to-mere-mortals-is-the-lore-of-fiends/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“Possibly, he was in a state of second growth and recovery, and was constantly assimilating nutriment for his spirit and intellect from sights, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/possibly-he-was-in-a-state-of-second-growth-and-recovery-and-was/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“What wonder, then, should we be frightened by the aspect of a monster, which, after all,—though we can point to every feature of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/what-wonder-then-should-we-be-frightened-by-the-aspect-of-a-monster/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [As the architecture of a country always follows the earliest structures, American architecture should be a refinement of the log-house. The Egyptian is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/as-the-architecture-of-a-country-always-follows-the-earliest/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [What we call real estate - the solid ground to build a house on - is the broad foundation on which nearly all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/what-we-call-real-estate-the-solid-ground-to-build-a-house-on-is-the/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“The bookworm of great libraries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-bookworm-of-great-libraries/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [There are many things in this world that a child must not ask about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-are-many-things-in-this-world-that-a-child-must-not-ask-about/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) [Explore all 526 Nathaniel Hawthorne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) ## More Appointments quotes > [About one-half of the members of Congress are seekers for office at the nomination of the President. Of the remainder, at least one-half have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/about-one-half-of-the-members-of-congress-are-seekers-for-office-at/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [We're living in a time when parenting is not at all mirroring the way I was parented. For me, I just followed my parents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edie-falco/we-re-living-in-a-time-when-parenting-is-not-at-all-mirroring-the-way/) [Edie Falco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edie-falco/) > [Mayor De Blasio's appointment of Bill Bratton as police commissioner is the height of hypocrisy. Asking Bratton to stop racial profiling and stop and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-barron/mayor-de-blasio-s-appointment-of-bill-bratton-as-police-commissioner/) Charles Barron > [When the purpose of the appointment to ,cohabit with the widow bas been attained in accordance with the law, those two shall behave towards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guru-nanak/when-the-purpose-of-the-appointment-to-cohabit-with-the-widow-bas/) [Guru Nanak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guru-nanak/) > [Prayer is a specific divine appointment, an ordinance of Heaven, whereby God purposes to carry out His gracious designs on earth and to execute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-mckendree-bounds/prayer-is-a-specific-divine-appointment-an-ordinance-of-heaven/) [Edward McKendree Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-mckendree-bounds/) > [Not by appointment do we meet Delight And Joy; they heed not our expectancy; But round some corner in the streets of life, They,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-massey/not-by-appointment-do-we-meet-delight-and-joy-they-heed-not-our/) [Gerald Massey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-massey/) > [First, there's the job - where the goal is simply to earn a living and support your family. Then there's the career - where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bella/first-there-s-the-job-where-the-goal-is-simply-to-earn-a-living-and/) Robert Bella > [I have become convinced that if God stands a child before you, for even just a minute, it is a divine appointment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wess-stafford/i-have-become-convinced-that-if-god-stands-a-child-before-you-for/) [Wess Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wess-stafford/) > [I have a sense of urgency, of time. I am a woman and am always running between work, doctors' appointments, school meetings, filling up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/segolene-royal/i-have-a-sense-of-urgency-of-time-i-am-a-woman-and-am-always-running/) [Segolene Royal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/segolene-royal/) > [I worry about the lack of experience that Rex Tillerson has had on the diplomatic front and, frankly, I think that's true for many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-mccaskill/i-worry-about-the-lack-of-experience-that-rex-tillerson-has-had-on/) [Claire McCaskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-mccaskill/) > [No senator's vote, except for the declaration of war or the authorization for the use of force, is more important than the confirmation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/no-senator-s-vote-except-for-the-declaration-of-war-or-the/) [Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) > [The night before, go over your schedule and see what you're going to do and what the purpose of what you're doing is. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pozen/the-night-before-go-over-your-schedule-and-see-what-you-re-going-to/) [Robert Pozen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pozen/) > [Jesus . . . wants us to see that the neighbor next door or the people sitting next to us on a plane or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-pippert/jesus-wants-us-to-see-that-the-neighbor-next-door-or-the-people/) [Rebecca Pippert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-pippert/) > [The muse holds no appointments. You can never call on it. I don't understand people who get up at 9 o'clock in the morning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-hansard/the-muse-holds-no-appointments-you-can-never-call-on-it-i-don-t/) [Glen Hansard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-hansard/) > [People are amazed to realize they can enjoy the moment rather than be stressed by it when hurrying to an appointment. 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