Go forward with joyful confidence.
George EliotRead
He was one of those men, and they are not the commonest, of whom we can know the best only by following them away from the marketplace, the platform, and the pulpit, entering with them into their own homes, hearing the voice with which they speak to the young and aged about their own hearthstone, and witnessing their thoughtful care for the everyday wants of everyday companions, who take all their kindness as a matter of course, and not as a subject for panegyric.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the importance of understanding a person deeply by observing their private life and interactions rather than their public persona.
George Eliot's quote emphasizes that true knowledge of a person comes from witnessing their private life and relationships rather than just their public activities. It suggests that the most genuine and profound insights into someone's character are found in their everyday interactions, particularly with family and close friends, rather than in their place in society or their public achievements. The quote invites us to value the intimate, often overlooked moments that define a person’s true nature and character.
Themes
CharacterPublic LifePrivate LifeRelationshipsKindness
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a speech about the importance of family values.
More from George Eliot
All quotes →You must love your work, and not be always looking over the edge of it, wanting your play to begin. And the other is, you must not be ashamed of your work, and think it would be more honorable to you to be doing something else. You must have a pride in your own work and in learning to do it well.
George EliotRead
She thought it was part of the hardship of her life that there was laid upon her the burthen of larger wants than others seemed to feel – that she had to endure this wide hopeless yearning for that something, whatever it was, that was greatest and best on this earth.
George EliotRead
Life seems to go on without effort when I am filled with music.
George EliotRead
I think I should have no other mortal wants, if I could always have plenty of music. It seems to infuse strength into my limbs and ideas into my brain. Life seems to go on without effort, when I am filled with music.
George EliotRead
Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them: they can be injured by us, they can be wounded; they know all our penitence, all our aching sense that their place is empty, all the kisses we bestow on the smallest relic of their presence.
George EliotRead
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