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

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

If civilization had been left in female hands, we would still be living in grass huts.

Camille Paglia

Sexual Personae

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More information about this quote
Topic
Progress

Author

Camille Paglia
Source
Sexual Personae
Genre
Feminist literature
Language
English
Time
1990 1990s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

Paglia, Camille. Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson. Yale University Press, 1990, ch. 1.

Another quote from 1859

He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that.

John Stuart Mill

On Liberty

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More information about this quote
Topic
Making arguments

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. 2.

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. 2.

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.