Go forward with joyful confidence.
George EliotRead
One's self-satisfaction is an untaxed kind of property which it is very unpleasant to find deprecated.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Self-satisfaction is a valuable quality that should be cherished and not dismissed by others.
George Eliot emphasizes that self-satisfaction is a unique and valuable state of being that doesn't come with societal judgment or taxation. It suggests that being content with oneself is a form of wealth that should not be criticized, as it is essential for personal happiness and well-being.
Themes
Self-SatisfactionContentmentHappinessWealthPersonal Growth
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about personal growth and self-worth.
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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A crude meal, no doubt, but the best of all sauces is hunger.
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