Go forward with joyful confidence.
George EliotRead
If we use common words on a great occasion, they are the more striking, because they are felt at once to have a particular meaning, like old banners, or everyday clothes, hung up in a sacred place.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Using familiar language in significant moments can enhance their impact and meaning.
This quote by George Eliot highlights the power of ordinary words used in extraordinary contexts. By comparing them to 'old banners' and 'everyday clothes' displayed in sacred places, Eliot emphasizes that common expressions can take on profound significance when employed during important occasions, making them resonate more deeply with the audience.
Themes
LanguageImportanceMeaningCommunicationImpact
In practice
Example use cases
In a wedding speech, using heartfelt yet simple words can create a lasting impression.
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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