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

A man who has no mental needs, because his intellect is of the narrow and normal amount, is, in the strict sense of the word, what is called a philistine.

Arthur Schopenhauer

What a Man Is

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More information about this quote
Topic
Philistinism

Author

Arthur Schopenhauer
Source
What a Man Is Parerga and Paralipomena
Language
German
Time
1851 1850s 19th century
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Schopenhauer, Arthur. "Aphorismen zu Lebensweisheit: Bon Dem, was Einer ist [Aphorisms on the Wisdom of Life: What a Man is]." Parerga und Paralipomena. Vol. 1, Berlin: Druck und Verlag von U. W. Haan, 1851.

Current Citation

Schopenhauer, Arthur. "Aphorisms on the wisdom of life." Parerga and Paralipomena, translated by Sabine Roehr and Christopher Janaway. Vol. 1, Cambridge University Press, 2016.

Another quote about Progress

Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned... Until there are no longer first-class and second-class citizens of any nation... Until the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes... Until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race... Until that day, the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but never attained.

Haile Selassie I

More information about this quote
Topic
Racism Progress World peace
Speaker
Haile Selassie I
Medium
Speech
Language
English
Time
1963 1960s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

Selassie, Haile. Address to the United Nations General Assembly. United Nations General Assembly. 4 Oct. 1963, New York, NY, USA.

Another quote from 1859

There is grandeur in this view of life...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.

Charles Darwin

On the Origin of Species

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More information about this quote
Topic
Human evolution Creation of man Evolution Human origins

Author

Charles Darwin
Source
On the Origin of Species
Genre
Scientific literature
Language
English
Time
1859 1850s 19th century
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Darwin, Charles. On the Origin of Species. London: John Murray, 1859, ch. 14.

Current Citation

Darwin, Charles. The Origin of the Species, edited by William Bynum. Penguin, 2009, ch. 14.

Another quote of the following type Proverbs, aphorisms and adages

Justice is truth in action.

Benjamin Disraeli

More information about this quote
Topic
Justice
Speaker
Benjamin Disraeli
Source
Speeches of Benjamin Disraeli
Medium
Speech
Genre
Political speech
Statement Type
Proverbs, aphorisms and adages
Language
English
Time
1851 1850s 19th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

Disraeli, Benjamin. Address on agricultural distress. House of Commons. 11 Feb. 1851, The Palace of Westminster, London, England, UK.