--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are persons who are never easy…" description: "\"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 hid..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/william-hazlitt-326_abraham_there-are-persons-who-are-never-easy-unl_1563432.png" --- # There are persons who are never easy unless they are… ![“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…” quote by William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/william-hazlitt-326_abraham_there-are-persons-who-are-never-easy-unl_1563432.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/william-hazlitt-326_abraham_there-are-persons-who-are-never-easy-unl_1563432.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/william-hazlitt-326_abraham_there-are-persons-who-are-never-easy-unl_1563432.png) > “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.” [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. 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. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abraham/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Magpies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magpies/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Pedantry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pedantry/) [Servant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/servant/) ## Related quotes > [Ugster vinyl pumps, Partridge Family records, plastic daisy jewelry, old postcards. . . . It's a magpie Christmas market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/ugster-vinyl-pumps-partridge-family-records-plastic-daisy-jewelry-old/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [Over a pint in the pub, you have a good moan That's the fate of every Magpie While Mam perfects her game show skills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walter-bratton/over-a-pint-in-the-pub-you-have-a-good-moan-that-s-the-fate-of-every/) [John Walter Bratton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walter-bratton/) > [I'm a bit of a magpie: whatever I see or hear or read feeds into the songs,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-marling/i-m-a-bit-of-a-magpie-whatever-i-see-or-hear-or-read-feeds-into-the/) [Laura Marling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-marling/) > [Perhaps it was Maggie, perhaps not. In solitary moments magpies will perch on a branch and mutter soft soliloquies of whines and squeals and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-crawford/perhaps-it-was-maggie-perhaps-not-in-solitary-moments-magpies-will/) [Stanley Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-crawford/) > [The fox when it sees a flock of herons or magpies or birds of that kind, suddenly flings himself on the ground with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-fox-when-it-sees-a-flock-of-herons-or-magpies-or-birds-of-that/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [There's a lot of Hollywood bullshit about flying. I mean, look at the movies about test pilots or fighter pilots who face imminent death.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-olds/there-s-a-lot-of-hollywood-bullshit-about-flying-i-mean-look-at-the/) [Robin Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-olds/) > [We were language's magpies by nature, stealing whatever sounded bright and shiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/we-were-language-s-magpies-by-nature-stealing-whatever-sounded-bright/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm very superstitious... I never shout at magpies, walk under ladders or put my shoes on the table.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-very-superstitious-i-never-shout-at-magpies-walk-under-ladders-or/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I like sparkles; I think I'm a magpie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paloma-faith/i-like-sparkles-i-think-i-m-a-magpie/) [Paloma Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paloma-faith/) > [Style is something you can use, and you can be like a magpie, just taking what you want. The idea of the rigid style…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/style-is-something-you-can-use-and-you-can-be-like-a-magpie-just/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [Writers are magpies, and we collect details about people and we use them for fictional characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/writers-are-magpies-and-we-collect-details-about-people-and-we-use/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [“Dry snow coming down in the hills. Magpies hair-triggered and thuggish in worn trees. A wall has started to fall in you, it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lilburn/dry-snow-coming-down-in-the-hills-magpies-hair-triggered-and-thuggish/) [Tim Lilburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lilburn/) > [My head was a magpie's nest lined with such bright scraps of information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/my-head-was-a-magpie-s-nest-lined-with-such-bright-scraps-of/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [I probably live in the best province for independent filmmakers. Manitoba has a sort of thieving-magpie approach, trying to lift productions from other provinces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-maddin/i-probably-live-in-the-best-province-for-independent-filmmakers/) [Guy Maddin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-maddin/) > [I'm like a magpie. I use lots of different things to build a character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lincoln/i-m-like-a-magpie-i-use-lots-of-different-things-to-build-a-character/) [Andrew Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lincoln/) ## More by William Hazlitt > [First impressions are often the truest, as we find (not infrequently) to our cost, when we have been wheedled out of them by plausible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/first-impressions-are-often-the-truest-as-we-find-not-infrequently-to/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The art of life is to know how to enjoy a little and to endure very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-art-of-life-is-to-know-how-to-enjoy-a-little-and-to-endure-very/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [We are thankful for good-will rather than for services, for the motive than the quantum of favor received.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-are-thankful-for-good-will-rather-than-for-services-for-the-motive/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The discussing the characters and foibles of common friends is a great sweetness and cement of friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-discussing-the-characters-and-foibles-of-common-friends-is-a/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Want of principle is power. Truth and honesty set a limit to our efforts, which impudence and hypocrisy easily overleap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/want-of-principle-is-power-truth-and-honesty-set-a-limit-to-our/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Repose is as necessary in conversation as in a picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/repose-is-as-necessary-in-conversation-as-in-a-picture/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [No act terminating in itself constitutes greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/no-act-terminating-in-itself-constitutes-greatness/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Vice is man's nature: virtue is a habit--or a mask.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/vice-is-man-s-nature-virtue-is-a-habit-or-a-mask/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [We never do anything well till we cease to think about the manner doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-never-do-anything-well-till-we-cease-to-think-about-the-manner/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps; for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/man-is-the-only-animal-that-laughs-and-weeps-for-he-is-the-only/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Those who have had none of the cares of this life to harass and disturb them, have been obliged to have recourse to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/those-who-have-had-none-of-the-cares-of-this-life-to-harass-and/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Poverty, when it is voluntary, is never despicable, but takes an heroical aspect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/poverty-when-it-is-voluntary-is-never-despicable-but-takes-an/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [We are not satisfied to be right, unless we can prove others to be quite wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-are-not-satisfied-to-be-right-unless-we-can-prove-others-to-be/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The world judge of men by their ability in their profession, and we judge of ourselves by the same test: for it is on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-world-judge-of-men-by-their-ability-in-their-profession-and-we/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The best part of our lives we pass in counting on what is to come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-best-part-of-our-lives-we-pass-in-counting-on-what-is-to-come/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) [Explore all 671 William Hazlitt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) ## More Abraham quotes > [“That’s all! Now either leave us alone or join us as a father rather than a receiver of sacrifices. You have the choice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/that-s-all-now-either-leave-us-alone-or-join-us-as-a-father-rather/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Hebron is a bone of contention between Israeli settlers and the Palestinians in part because Abraham is buried there, in the Tomb of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/hebron-is-a-bone-of-contention-between-israeli-settlers-and-the/) [Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/) > [Donald Trump is not going to be the nominee, because we are not going to allow - people will wake up and we're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/donald-trump-is-not-going-to-be-the-nominee-because-we-are-not-going/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [“Never you look down on your Abraham because of your Sarah because the blessing is not in the womb of Sarah but in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ikechukwu-izuakor/never-you-look-down-on-your-abraham-because-of-your-sarah-because-the/) [Ikechukwu Izuakor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ikechukwu-izuakor/) > [“Whatever you are, be a good one.”   Abraham Lincoln”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rriiver-nyile/whatever-you-are-be-a-good-one-abraham-lincoln/) [Rriiver Nyile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rriiver-nyile/) > [Moses was a great leader, right? But he wasn't a great communicator. And so God sent him Aaron so he could, let's say, communicate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javier-milei/moses-was-a-great-leader-right-but-he-wasn-t-a-great-communicator-and/) [Javier Milei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javier-milei/) > [“king of Heshbon. 6 b Moses, the servant of the”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/king-of-heshbon-6-b-moses-the-servant-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In the end, thought Sol, past logic and hope, it is dreams and the love of those dearest to us that form Abraham’s answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/in-the-end-thought-sol-past-logic-and-hope-it-is-dreams-and-the-love/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [It was psychobabbler Abraham Maslow who wrote of the phenomena of self-actualization. What Maslow failed to grasp is that reaching true self-actualization can only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/it-was-psychobabbler-abraham-maslow-who-wrote-of-the-phenomena-of/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [“Mungu hutumia watu 'wajinga' na 'wapumbavu' kufanya mambo makubwa katika maisha yao na ya watu wengine. Katika Biblia, Musa aliitwa mjinga alipokiuka amri ya…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enock-maregesi/mungu-hutumia-watu-wajinga-na-wapumbavu-kufanya-mambo-makubwa-katika/) [Enock Maregesi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enock-maregesi/) > [“9. Abraham’s death (25:1 – 11) After Sarah’s death, Abraham took another wife, Keturah. Abraham was a rejuvenated old man and continued to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-h-sailhamer/9-abraham-s-death-25-1-11-after-sarah-s-death-abraham-took-another/) [John H. Sailhamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-h-sailhamer/) > [“The biblical story of the binding of Isaac shows that human sacrifice was far from unthinkable in the 1st millennium BCE. The Israelites boasted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-biblical-story-of-the-binding-of-isaac-shows-that-human-sacrifice/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Everybody faces obstacles. And I looked to people who had been through many to succeed in life. Abraham Lincoln, born to a poor family,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-winfield/everybody-faces-obstacles-and-i-looked-to-people-who-had-been-through/) [Dave Winfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-winfield/) > [Someone asked me...how it felt and I was reminded of a story that a fellow townsman of ours used to tell--Abraham Lincoln. They asked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/someone-asked-me-how-it-felt-and-i-was-reminded-of-a-story-that-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [American foreign policy and military might have opened an opportunity for the Gospel in the land of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stanley/american-foreign-policy-and-military-might-have-opened-an-opportunity/) [Charles Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stanley/) [Browse all 484 Abraham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abraham/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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. 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