--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hypocrisy is the most difficult and…" description: "\"Hypocrisy is the most difficult and nerve-racking vice that any man can pursue; it needs an unceasing vigilance and a rare detachment of spirit. It can..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/332/w-somerset-maugham-237_adultery_hypocrisy-is-the-most-difficult-and-nerv_2783330.jpg" --- # Hypocrisy is the most difficult and nerve-racking vice… ![“Hypocrisy is the most difficult and nerve-racking vice that any man can pursue; it needs an unceasing vigilance and a rare detachment of spirit. It cannot, like adultery or gluttony, be practiced at spare moments; it is a whole-time job.” quote by W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/332/w-somerset-maugham-237_adultery_hypocrisy-is-the-most-difficult-and-nerv_2783330.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/332/w-somerset-maugham-237_adultery_hypocrisy-is-the-most-difficult-and-nerv_2783330.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/332/w-somerset-maugham-237_adultery_hypocrisy-is-the-most-difficult-and-nerv_2783330.jpg) > “Hypocrisy is the most difficult and nerve-racking vice that any man can pursue; it needs an unceasing vigilance and a rare detachment of spirit. It cannot, like adultery or gluttony, be practiced at spare moments; it is a whole-time job.” [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hypocrisy demands constant vigilance and detachment, making it a demanding, all‑consuming vice. **In simple terms:** Hypocrisy is a full‑time, exhausting vice. Key Takeaway Cultivate honesty and self‑awareness. Themes hypocrisy self‑control integrity vigilance psychology Mood uneasy reflective serious Type ethical psychological When to use this quote - personal relationships - workplace ethics - political discourse - social media - family dynamics Key Concepts moral fatigue cognitive dissonance self‑deception Questions to Reflect On - How do you detect your own hypocrisy? - Can you ever be fully honest? A Different Perspective Complete honesty may be socially costly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adultery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adultery/) [Detachment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detachment/) [Gluttony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gluttony/) [Hypocrisy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypocrisy/) [Hypocrite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypocrite/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Nerves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nerves/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) [Vigilance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vigilance/) ## Related quotes > [“After all, Donald Trump has made adultery seem as ordinary as the sun rising every morning. How does that play with the man who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-schatt/after-all-donald-trump-has-made-adultery-seem-as-ordinary-as-the-sun/) [Stan Schatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-schatt/) > [University degrees are a bit like adultery: You may not want to get involved with that sort of thing, but you don't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-imbert-peter-imbert/university-degrees-are-a-bit-like-adultery-you-may-not-want-to-get/) Baron Imbert Peter Imbert > [Gluttony is an emotional escape, a sign something is eating us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/gluttony-is-an-emotional-escape-a-sign-something-is-eating-us/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [Jerry Falwell says that abortion and homosexuality are sins. Oh yeah? Well, so is gluttony, Jerry. So maybe you should think about dropping 50 pounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-miller/jerry-falwell-says-that-abortion-and-homosexuality-are-sins-oh-yeah/) [Dennis Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-miller/) > [“When a man’s love of finery clouds his moral judgment, that is vanity. When he lets a demanding palate make his moral choices, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/when-a-man-s-love-of-finery-clouds-his-moral-judgment-that-is-vanity/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [“It may be easier to believe that we remain lean because we're virtuous and we get fat because we're not, but the evidence simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-taubes/it-may-be-easier-to-believe-that-we-remain-lean-because-we-re/) [Gary Taubes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-taubes/) > [“Mirrors on the ceiling, The pink champagne on ice And she said 'We are all just prisoners here, of our own device' And in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-eagles/mirrors-on-the-ceiling-the-pink-champagne-on-ice-and-she-said-we-are/) [The Eagles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-eagles/) > [What I like about gluttony, a bishop I knew used to say, is that it doesnt hurt anyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-furlong/what-i-like-about-gluttony-a-bishop-i-knew-used-to-say-is-that-it/) [Monica Furlong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-furlong/) > [I think that of all the diseases in the world, the disease that all humankind suffers from, the disease that is most devastating to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-think-that-of-all-the-diseases-in-the-world-the-disease-that-all/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [“Rockaway? That's my special place with Gage - was anyway. Now it'll 'forever' be marked with gluttony and vomit - sounds about right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/addison-moore/rockaway-that-s-my-special-place-with-gage-was-anyway-now-it-ll/) [Addison Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/addison-moore/) > [Gluttony should be destroyed by self-control; unchastity by desire for God and longing for the blessings held in store; avarice by compassion for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-damascus/gluttony-should-be-destroyed-by-self-control-unchastity-by-desire-for/) [John of Damascus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-damascus/) > [I read a lot. I always have, but in those two years I gorged myself on books with a voluptuous, almost erotic gluttony. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/i-read-a-lot-i-always-have-but-in-those-two-years-i-gorged-myself-on/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [As dialect began to be collected in the late 19th century, such words as Yorkshire's 'gobslotch' emerged, revealing the burgeoning association between gluttony and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/as-dialect-began-to-be-collected-in-the-late-19th-century-such-words/) [Susie Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-dent/) > [Born merely for the purpose of digestion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/born-merely-for-the-purpose-of-digestion/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [Adam became so proud that he wished to become God and died for his pride; the Son of God humbled Himself unto death, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-kronstadt/adam-became-so-proud-that-he-wished-to-become-god-and-died-for-his/) [John of Kronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-kronstadt/) ## More by W. Somerset Maugham > [“A man thinks it quite natural that he should fall out of love with a woman, but it never strikes him for a moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-thinks-it-quite-natural-that-he-should-fall-out-of-love-with-a/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A man's work reveals him. In social intercourse he gives you the surface that he wishes the world to accept, but in his book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-s-work-reveals-him-in-social-intercourse-he-gives-you-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/love-is-only-a-dirty-trick-played-on-us-to-achieve-continuation-of/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The world is hard and cruel. 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It makes one long for an apple occasionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/in-hollywood-the-women-are-all-peaches-it-makes-one-long-for-an-apple/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/follow-your-inclinations-with-due-regard-to-the-policeman-round-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“His love became a prison from which he longed to escape, but he had not the strength merely to open the door-that was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/his-love-became-a-prison-from-which-he-longed-to-escape-but-he-had/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I did not believe him capable of love. That is an emotion in which tenderness is an essential part, but Strickland had no tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-did-not-believe-him-capable-of-love-that-is-an-emotion-in-which/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [If only the good were a little less heavy-footed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-only-the-good-were-a-little-less-heavy-footed/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/perfection-has-one-grave-defect-it-is-apt-to-be-dull/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A God that can be understood is no God. Who can explain the Infinite in words?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-god-that-can-be-understood-is-no-god-who-can-explain-the-infinite/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“My dear, you used to be quite a dish; now you're quite a tureen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/my-dear-you-used-to-be-quite-a-dish-now-you-re-quite-a-tureen/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“When people say they do not care what others thing of them, for the most part they deceive themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-thing-of-them-for-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) [Explore all 840 W. Somerset Maugham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## More Adultery quotes > [A hundred years ago Hester Prynne of The Scarlet Letter was given an A for adultery; today she would rate no better than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/a-hundred-years-ago-hester-prynne-of-the-scarlet-letter-was-given-an/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [“Reality has a way of bursting the bubble of illusion, and an affair is one of the biggest illusions that anyone can experience in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/reality-has-a-way-of-bursting-the-bubble-of-illusion-and-an-affair-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Once a cheater always remain's a cheater, if you love your partner, why cheat? That dosent makes any sense, that can tell that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittannia-calder/once-a-cheater-always-remain-s-a-cheater-if-you-love-your-partner-why/) [Brittannia Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittannia-calder/) > [Marriage is honourable, as you say; and if so, wherefore should Cuckoldom be a Discredit, being deriv'd from so honourable a Root?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-congreve/marriage-is-honourable-as-you-say-and-if-so-wherefore-should/) [William Congreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-congreve/) > [L'adulte' re introduit l'esprit dans la lettre quebien souvent le mariage e u" t laisse e morte. Adultery breathes new life into marriages which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/l-adulte-re-introduit-l-esprit-dans-la-lettre-quebien-souvent-le/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“I shan't make a fuss over the babe's father.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-e-pearson/i-shan-t-make-a-fuss-over-the-babe-s-father/) [Mary E. Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-e-pearson/) > [When adultery walks in, everything worth having walks out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-m-kroll/when-adultery-walks-in-everything-worth-having-walks-out/) [Woodrow M. Kroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-m-kroll/) > [Splendid couple - slept with both of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-bowra/splendid-couple-slept-with-both-of-them/) Maurice Bowra > [“I was thinking of murder, mutilation and dessert like Ignacia Sandoval’s instructions for delectable empanadas made of minced mother-in-law’s tongue (said to induce peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-ramos-o-briant/i-was-thinking-of-murder-mutilation-and-dessert-like-ignacia-sandoval/) Sandra Ramos O'Briant > [Adultery is an image of hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/adultery-is-an-image-of-hell/) [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) > [Adolescence: A stage between infancy and adultery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/adolescence-a-stage-between-infancy-and-adultery/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Sin aims always at the utmost; every time it rises up to tempt or entice, if it has its own way it will go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen/sin-aims-always-at-the-utmost-every-time-it-rises-up-to-tempt-or/) [John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen/) > [“Next to Joel on the beach was Martha. Two years back in time she had been Joel’s bimbo. That’s because Joel was still married…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-deck/next-to-joel-on-the-beach-was-martha-two-years-back-in-time-she-had/) Stephen Deck > [Homer and Hesiod attributed to the gods all things which are disreputable and worthy of blame when done by men; and they told of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xenophanes/homer-and-hesiod-attributed-to-the-gods-all-things-which-are/) [Xenophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xenophanes/) > [I was growing tired of all the fussing and prevaricating, of the stolen hours and the secret rendez-vous; of the small indignities and broad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/i-was-growing-tired-of-all-the-fussing-and-prevaricating-of-the/) [Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/) [Browse all 426 Adultery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adultery/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Hypocrisy is the most difficult and nerve-racking vice that any man can pursue; it needs an unceasing vigilance and a rare detachment of spirit. 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