An inability to stay quiet, an irritable desire to act directly, is one of the most conspicuous failings of mankind.

Bagehot is criticizing a common human impulse: the discomfort with stillness and the compulsion to “do something” immediately, even when patience, observation, or restraint would yield better outcomes. The phrase “irritable desire” suggests action driven by anxiety or ego rather than judgment. In Bagehot’s broader intellectual milieu—Victorian debates about politics, public opinion, and decision-making—the remark fits a skeptical view of impulsive intervention: institutions and individuals often mistake motion for progress and confuse decisiveness with wisdom. The quote thus reads as an argument for deliberation and self-command, warning that premature action can be a moral and practical failure.