I have known a vast quantity of nonsense talked about bad men not looking you in the face. Don't trust that conventional idea. Dishonesty will stare honesty out of countenance, any day in the week, if there is anything to be got by it.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Dishonest people often act confident and direct to manipulate others, contradicting the belief that bad men avoid eye contact.
- In plain terms
- Untrustworthy people may look you straight in the eye to get what they want.
- What can you take from it?
- Do not assume eye contact indicates honesty.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you distinguish confidence from deception?
- What signals do you trust more than eye contact?
Another view
Some honest people may avoid eye contact due to shyness rather than deceit.
More from Charles Dickens
It was a good thing to have a couple of thousand people all rigid and frozen together, in the palm of one's hand.
Permalink to quote #7 Resisting the slow touch of a frozen finger tracing out my spine.
Permalink to quote #9 La difficulte d'ecrire l'anglais m'est extremement ennuyeuse. Ah, mon Dieu ! si l'on pouvait toujours ecrire cette belle langue de France!
Permalink to quote #6
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