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.

Illustrated Quote

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

On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A.

Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Scarlet Letter

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More information about this quote
Topic
Stigma Outsiders and outcasts

Author

Nathaniel Hawthorne
Source
The Scarlet Letter
Medium
Novel
Language
English
Time
1850 1850s 19th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter: A Romance. Boston: Ticknor, Reed & Fields, 1850, ch. 2.

Current Citation

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter, edited by Brian Harding. Oxford University Press, 2009, ch. 2.

Another quote about Progress

Loyalty to petrified opinions never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul.

Mark Twain

More information about this quote
Topic
Conservatism Progress
Speaker
Mark Twain
Source
Consistency (speech) Speeches of Mark Twain
Medium
Speech
Language
English
Time
1884 1880s 19th century
Authentication Score 1
Original Citation

Twain, Mark. "Consistency." Hartford Monday Evening Club. 5 Dec. 1884, Hartford, CT, USA.

Current Citation

Twain, Mark. "The Czar's Soliloquy." Collected Nonfiction of Mark Twain. Vol. 1, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2016.

Another quote from 1859

I hold that if the Almighty had ever made a set of men that should do all the eating and none of the work, he would have made them with mouths only and no hands, and if he had ever made another class that he intended should do all the work and none of the eating, he would have made them without mouths and with all hands.

Abraham Lincoln

More information about this quote
Topic
Equality
Speaker
Abraham Lincoln
Medium
Speech
Genre
Political speech
Language
English
Time
1859 1850s 19th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Lincoln, Abraham. Speech at Cincinnati, Ohio. 17 Sept. 1859, Cincinnati, OH, USA.

Current Citation

Lincoln, Abraham. "Speech at Cincinnati, Ohio, September 17, 1859." Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1859-1865, edited by Don E. Fehrenbacher. Library of America, 1989.

Another quote of the following type Proverbs, aphorisms and adages

When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water.

Poor Richard (Benjamin Franklin)

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More information about this quote
Topic
Appreciation Scarcity

Author

Poor Richard (Benjamin Franklin)
Source
Poor Richard's Almanack
Medium
Almanac
Statement Type
Proverbs, aphorisms and adages Metaphor, analogy and simile
Language
English
Time
1746 1740s 18th century
Era
Colonial America
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Franklin, Benjamin [published as Richard Saunders]. Poor Richard's Almanack. Philadelphia, 1746.

Current Citation

Franklin, Benjamin. "Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1746." Benjamin Franklin: Autobiography, Poor Richard, and Later Writings, edited by J. A. Leo Lemay. Library of America, 2005.