Sentence:  The most rapid and most seductive transition in all human nature is that which attends the palliation of a ravenous appetite....Can those <WSD>harmless</WSD> but refined fellow-diners be the selfish cads whose gluttony and personal appearance so raised your contemptuous wrath on your arrival? 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Not intended to harm; inoffensive.