We cannot reform our forefathers.

George Eliot

Adam Bede

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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

The Sultan asked for a Signet motto, that should hold good for Adversity or Prosperity. Solomon gave him, "This also shall pass away."

Edward FitzGerald

More information about this quote
Topic
Equanimity

Author

Edward FitzGerald
Language
English
Time
1852 1850s 19th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

Fitzgerald, Edward. Polonius: A Collection of Wise Saws and Modern Instances. London: William Pickering, 1852.

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

Whatever crushes individuality is despotism, by whatever name it may be called.

John Stuart Mill

On Liberty

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More information about this quote
Topic
Individual freedom

Author

John Stuart Mill
Source
On Liberty
Medium
Essay
Genre
Philosophical literature Political literature
Language
English
Time
1859 1850s 19th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty. London: J.W. Parker and Son, 1859, ch. 3.

Current Citation

Mill, John Stuart. "On Liberty." On Liberty, Utilitarianism and Other Essays, edited by Mark Philp and Frederick Rosen. Oxford University Press, 2015, ch. 3.

Another quote of the following type Proverbs, aphorisms and adages

What does not destroy me, makes me stronger.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Twilight of the Idols

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More information about this quote
Topic
Resilience Overcoming adversity Adversity Character

Author

Friedrich Nietzsche
Source
Twilight of the Idols
Genre
Philosophical literature
Statement Type
Proverbs, aphorisms and adages
Language
German
Time
1889 1880s 19th century
Authentication Score 0
Original Citation

Nietzsche, Friedrich. Götzen-Dämmerung, oder, Wie man mit dem Hammer philosophiert [Twilight of the Idols, or, How to Philosophize with a Hammer]. 1889.

Current Citation

Nietzsche, Frederick. Twilight of the Idols and the Anti-Christ: or How to Philosophize with a Hammer, translated by Walter Kaufman and R. J. Hollingdale. Penguin Classics, 1990.