Quotes by George Eliot

About George Eliot:

Mary Ann Evans is the author of seven novels, including Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), Middlemarch (1871–72), and Daniel Deronda (1876), most of them set in provincial England and known for their realism and psychological insight.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Adventure is not outside man; it is within.

George Eliot

All meanings, we know, depend on the key of interpretation.

George Eliot

The strongest principle of growth lies in the human choice.

George Eliot

Cruelty, like every other vice, requires no motive outside of itself; it only requires opportunity.

George Eliot

The years between fifty and seventy are the hardest. You are always being asked to do things, and yet you are not decrepit enough to turn them down.

George Eliot

Hobbies are apt to run away with us, you know; it doesn't do to be run away with. We must keep the reins.

George Eliot

The egoism which enters into our theories does not affect their sincerity; rather, the more our egoism is satisfied, the more robust is our belief.

George Eliot

You may try but you can never imagine what it is to have a man's form of genius in you, and to suffer the slavery of being a girl.

George Eliot

The responsibility of tolerance lies with those who have the wider vision.

George Eliot

One must be poor to know the luxury of giving!

George Eliot

Ignorant kindness may have the effect of cruelty; but to be angry with it as if it were direct cruelty would be an ignorant unkindness.

George Eliot

No compliment can be eloquent, except as an expression of indifference.

George Eliot

Conscientious people are apt to see their duty in that which is the most painful course.

George Eliot

The beginning of an acquaintance whether with persons or things is to get a definite outline of our ignorance.

George Eliot

The finest language is mostly made up of simple unimposing words.

George Eliot

Our words have wings, but fly not where we would.

George Eliot

It always remains true that if we had been greater, circumstance would have been less strong against us.

George Eliot

Harold, like the rest of us, had many impressions which saved him the trouble of distinct ideas.

George Eliot

People who can't be witty exert themselves to be devout and affectionate.

George Eliot

Perhaps the most delightful friendships are those in which there is much agreement, much disputation, and yet more personal liking.

George Eliot

There are some cases in which the sense of injury breeds not the will to inflict injuries and climb over them as a ladder, but a hatred of all injury.

George Eliot

Author Bio

  • NameGeorge Eliot
  • DescriptionEnglish novelist, journalist and translator
  • AliasesMary Anne Evans; Mary Ann Evans; Marian Evans
  • BornNovember 22, 1819
  • DiedDecember 22, 1880
  • CountryUnited Kingdom
  • ProfessionNovelist; Translator; Philosopher; Writer; Poet
  • WorksThe Mill On The Floss; Silas Marner; Middlemarch; Daniel Deronda