Go forward with joyful confidence.
George EliotRead
Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Our actions define who we are, just as we have the power to shape those actions.
This quote by George Eliot suggests a reciprocal relationship between our actions and our identity. We are shaped by the deeds we perform, which reflect our values and beliefs; simultaneously, we possess the agency to choose and influence those very deeds, thus asserting our character and direction in life.
Themes
DeedsIdentityActionAgencyCharacter
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech to emphasize the power of personal responsibility.
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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Every day without fail one should consider himself as dead. There is a saying of the elders that goes, 'Step from under the eaves and you're a dead man. Leave the gate and the enemy is waiting.' This is not a matter of being careful. It is to consider oneself as dead beforehand.
Yamamoto TsunetomoRead