Eleanor Catton Quotes

I have no confidence in a man whose faults you cannot see.

Ah! yes, I know: those who see me rarely trust my word: I must look too intelligent to keep it.

Competence, like truth, beauty, and contact lenses, is in the eye of the beholder.

I think I'm a good judge of character.

To begin with myself, then, the utterances of men concerning me will differ widely, since in passing judgment almost every one is influenced not so much by truth as by preference, and good and evil report alike know no bounds.

Common sense is the most widely shared commodity in the world, for every man is convinced that he is well supplied with it.

It is necessary to judge accurately the things that rest on opinion

Trust is an important lubricant of a social system. It is extremely efficient; it saves a lot of trouble to have a fair degree of reliance on other people's word. Unfortunately this is not a commodity which can be bought very easily.

I can always tell if someone is good in the core.

If you have doubt about a person's humility or smarts, don't ignore it. More often than not, there is something causing that doubt.

Good or bad is what we tend to want to affix to people, but we're all complicated.

Generally speaking, I think one has to take reviews with a grain of salt, unless you know who the person is and what their qualifications are.

I distrust a man that says when. If he's got to be careful not to drink to much it's because he's not to be trusted when he does.

I wonder men dare trust themselves with men.

Distrust your judgment the moment you can discern the shadow of a personal motive in it.

To one who said, "I do not believe that there is an honest man in the world," another replied, "It is impossible that any one man should know all the world, but quite possible that one may know himself."

A man who believes the word of a donkey in preference to my word does not deserve to be lent anything.

I'm not as trusting as people think I am. Sure, I see the best in people, but that doesn't mean it's really there.

The eyes of critics, whether in commending or carping, are both on one side, like a turbot's.

When you're right, nobody remembers. When you're wrong, nobody forgets.

I have two rules. One is, never trust a man who smokes a pipe. The other is, never trust a man with shiny shoes.

The real question is should we trust people who don't like cheese?

No story ever looks as bad as the story you've just bought; no story ever looks as good as the story the other fellow just bought.

Consider seriously how quickly people change, and how little trust is to be had in them; and hold fast to God, Who does not change.

I don't deny it," said Frodo, looking at Sam, who was now grinning. "I don't deny it, but I'll never believe you are sleeping again, whether you snore or not. I shall kick you hard to make sure.