Go forward with joyful confidence.
George EliotRead
Our deeds still travel with us from afar, and what we have been makes us what we are.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Our actions shape our identity and remain with us throughout life.
This quote emphasizes the idea that the actions we take have lasting effects on our character and who we become. It suggests that our past deeds, whether good or bad, influence our present selves and choices, reminding us of the importance of mindful living and personal responsibility.
Themes
DeedsIdentityPastActionsSelfCharacter
In practice
Example use cases
In a graduation speech to remind students that their experiences shape their futures.
More from George Eliot
All quotes βYou 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 β 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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