George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Ann Evans, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the most influential writers of the Victorian era. She is best known for her work Middlemarch which was named the greatest British novel of all time by the BBC. Here are the most famous George Eliot quotes from the strong and independent woman who dared to dream big and made them true.
Born on November 22, 1819, in Warwickshire, England, Eliot is celebrated for her writings known for their realism, psychological insight, sense of place, and detailed depiction of the countryside.
Her writings often explore complex moral and social issues within Victorian society, reflecting her philosophical perspective and intellectual depth.
Some of her most notable works include Adam Bede, The Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner, Romola, Felix Holt, the Radical, and Daniel Deronda.
Through her thought-provoking works, Eliot provides motivation, inspiration and wisdom about human nature and the complexities of life.
She was a fearless woman who pushed boundaries by challenging societal norms, paving the way for future generations of female writers. Her profound contributions to literature has earned her a place as one of the greatest novelists of the 19th century.
Check out these inspirational George Eliot quotes about life, love, friendship, animals, and more.
Top 10 George Eliot Quotes
- “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” — George Eliot
George Eliot Quotes - “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” — George Eliot
Quotes By George Eliot - “The strongest principle of growth lies in the human choice.” — George Eliot
George Eliot Quote - “Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them.” — George Eliot
Quotes From George Eliot - “Only in the agony of parting do we look into the depths of love.” — George Eliot
George Eliot Quotations - “What do we live for, if not to make life less difficult for each other?” — George Eliot
Best George Eliot Quotes - “Blessed is the influence of one true, loving human soul on another.” — George Eliot
George Eliot Sayings - “It will never rain roses: when we want to have more roses we must plant more trees.” — George Eliot
Inspirational George Eliot Quotes - “Animals are such agreeable friends – they ask no questions; they pass no criticisms.” — George Eliot, Mr Gilfil’s Love Story
George Eliot Quotes About Animals - “There is no despair so absolute as that which comes with the first moments of our first great sorrow, when we have not yet known what it is to have suffered and be healed, to have despaired and have recovered hope.” — George Eliot
Famous Quotes By George Eliot
- “Go forward with joyful confidence.” — George Eliot
- “Falsehood is easy, truth so difficult.” — George Eliot
- “Adventure is not outside man; it is within.” — George Eliot
- “No man can be wise on an empty stomach.” — George Eliot
- “I desire no future that will break the ties of the past.” — George Eliot
- “All meanings, we know, depend on the key of interpretation.” — George Eliot
- “People are always better than their neighbors think they are.” — George Eliot
- “Life seems to go on without effort when I am filled with music.” — George Eliot
- “In every parting there is an image of death.” — George Eliot, Scenes of Clerical Life
- “Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds.” — George Eliot, Adam Bede
- “Whether happiness may come or not, one should try and prepare one’s self to do without it.” — George Eliot
- “Blessed is the man, who having nothing to say, abstains from giving wordy evidence of the fact.” — George Eliot
- “It is a narrow mind which cannot look at a subject from various points of view.” — George Eliot, Middlemarch
- “Failure after long perseverance is much grander than never to have a striving good enough to be called a failure.” — George Eliot
- “Friendship is the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words.” — George Eliot
- “No evil dooms us hopelessly except the evil we love, and desire to continue in, and make no effort to escape from.” — George Eliot, Daniel Deronda
Best Quotes of George Eliot
- “Affection is the broadest basis of a good life.” — George Eliot
- “The responsibility of tolerance lies with those who have the wider vision.” — George Eliot
- “It is never too late to become the person you always thought you could be.” — George Eliot
- “There is only one failure in life possible, and that is not to be true to the best one knows.” — George Eliot
- “The important work of moving the world forward does not wait to be done by perfect men.” — George Eliot
- “Jealousy is never satisfied with anything short of an omniscience that would detect the subtlest fold of the heart.” — George Eliot
- “Any coward can fight a battle when he’s sure of winning; but give me the man who has the pluck to fight when he’s sure of losing.” — George Eliot
- “What greater thing is there for two human souls than to feel that they are joined – to strengthen each other – to be at one with each other in silent unspeakable memories.” — George Eliot
- “As the stone which has been kicked by generations of clowns may come by curious little links of effect under the eyes of a scholar, through whose labors it may at last fix the date of invasions and unlock religions.” ― George Eliot, Middlemarch
- “What greater thing is there for two human souls, than to feel that they are joined for life to strengthen each other in all labor, to rest on each other in all sorrow, to minister to each other in all pain, to be one with each other in silent unspeakable memories at the moment of the last parting?” — George Eliot
George Eliot Quotes And Sayings
- “Life began with waking up and loving my mother’s face.” — George Eliot
- “Wear a smile and have friends; wear a scowl and have wrinkles.” — George Eliot
- “And, of course men know everything, except what women know better.” — George Eliot
- “The happiest women, like the happiest nations, have no history.” – George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss
- “Keep true. Never be ashamed of doing right. Decide what you think is right and stick to it.” — George Eliot
- “A woman dictates before marriage in order that she may have an appetite for submission afterwards.” — George Eliot
- “Under every guilty secret there is hidden a brood of guilty wishes, whose unwholesome infecting life is cherished by the darkness.” — George Eliot
- “The growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts: and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.” — George Eliot
- “Fine old Christmas, with the snowy hair and ruddy face, had done his duty that year in the noblest fashion, and had set off his rich gifts of warmth and color with all the heightening contrast of frost and snow.” — George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss
- “Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.” — George Eliot
Conclusion
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