We cannot reform our forefathers.

George Eliot

Adam Bede

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More information about this quote

Topic

Morality of the past The past Progress

Author

George Eliot

Source

Adam Bede

Medium

Novel

Statement Type

Proverbs, aphorisms and adages

Language

English

Time

1859 1850s 19th century

Occupation

Novelist Writer

From

United Kingdom Europe

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Eliot, George. Adam Bede. Edinburgh/London: William Blackwood & Sons, 1859, ch. 53.

Current Citation

Eliot, George. Adam Bede, edited by Carol A. Martin. Oxford University Press, 2008, ch. 53.

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A quote by George Eliot about morality of the past: “We cannot reform our forefathers.”
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A quote by George Eliot about morality of the past: “We cannot reform our forefathers.”
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A quote by George Eliot about morality of the past: “We cannot reform our forefathers.”
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Related Quotes

Below are one or more quotes that share at least one tag with the quote at the top of the page

Another quote from the 1850s

And this is what ye have shipped for, men! to chase that white whale on both sides of land, and over all sides of earth, till he spouts black blood and rolls fin out.

Herman Melville

Moby-Dick; or, The Whale

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More information about this quote
Topic
Obsession Hunting Whales Charismatic megafauna Animals

Author

Herman Melville
Source
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
Medium
Novel
Language
English
Time
1851 1850s 19th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Melville, Herman. Moby-Dick; or, The Whale. London: Richard Bentley/New York: Harper & Brothers, 1851, ch. 36.

Current Citation

Melville, Herman. Moby-Dick or, The Whale. Penguin Classics, 2002, ch. 36.

Another quote about Progress

We must march my darlings, we must bear the brunt of danger,
We the youthful sinewy races, all the rest on us depend,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

Walt Whitman

Pioneers! O Pioneers!

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More information about this quote
Topic
Progress

Author

Walt Whitman
Source
Pioneers! O Pioneers! Leaves of Grass
Medium
Poem
Language
English
Time
1867 1860s 19th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

Whitman, Walt. "Pioneers! O Pioneers!" Leaves of Grass. New York: Self-published, 1867, st. 2. Originally published in Drum-Taps. New York: Peter Eckler, 1865, st. 2.

Another quote from 1859

Oh, the comfort-the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person-having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.

Dinah Craik

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More information about this quote
Topic
Connecting with others Value of friendship

Author

Dinah Craik
Source
A Life for a Life
Language
English
Time
1859 1850s 19th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

Craik, Dinah Mulock. A Life for a Life. B. Tauchnitz, 1859, ch. 16.

Another quote of the following type Proverbs, aphorisms and adages

Fortune, that arrant whore,
Ne’er turns the key to th’ poor.

William Shakespeare

King Lear

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More information about this quote
Topic
Fortune Good luck The poor
Speaker
Fool

Author

William Shakespeare
Source
King Lear
Medium
Play
Genre
Tragedy (play)
Statement Type
Proverbs, aphorisms and adages
Language
English
Time
1606 1600s 17th century
Era
European Renaissance
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. King Lear. King's Men, 26 Dec. 1606, Palace of Whitehall, Westminster, England, UK, act 2, sc. 4.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Tragedy of King Lear." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 2, sc. 4.