Abraham Quote by William Hazlitt
“There are persons who are never easy unless they are putting your books and papers in order--that is, according to their notions of the matter--and hide things lest they should be lost, where neither the owner nor anybody else can find them. This is a sort of magpie faculty. If anything is left where you want it, it is called litter. There is a pedantry in housewifery, as well as in the gravest concerns. Abraham Tucker complained that whenever his maid servant had been in his library, he could not see comfortably to work again for several days.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: "On the Pleasures of Literature" by William Hazlitt, 1821
People become irritable when others disrupt their personal order, treating misplaced items as litter and obsessing over trivial details.
In simple terms: Disorder irritates; control over surroundings matters.
Key Takeaway
Respect others' organization preferences.
Themes
order
irritation
control
petty
attention to detail
Mood
frustrated
reflective
Type
advice
observational
When to use this quote
- shared living spaces
- office organization
- library management
- household chores
- team projects
Key Concepts
psychology
personal space
habits
environment
social friction
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you react when your space is altered?
- What strategies help balance personal order with shared environments?
A Different Perspective
Not everyone values the same level of tidiness, leading to conflict.
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