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

Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul,
As the swift seasons roll!
Leave thy low-vaulted past!

Oliver Wendell Holmes

The Chambered Nautilus

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More information about this quote
Topic
Self-improvement Formation of character

Author

Oliver Wendell Holmes
Source
The Chambered Nautilus The Atlantic
Medium
Poem Magazine
Language
English
Time
1858 1850s 19th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Sr. "The Chambered Nautilus." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Phillips, Sampson and Company, Feb. 1858, st. 5.

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

Read A Life for a Life at Project Gutenberg
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

Great Estates may venture more;
Little Boats must keep near Shore.

Poor Richard (Benjamin Franklin)

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Read this proverb at the National Archives website
More information about this quote
Topic
Appetite for risk Taking risks Risk Rich vs. poor

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
1751 1750s 18th century
Era
Colonial America
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Franklin, Benjamin [published as Richard Saunders]. Poor Richard Improved. Philadelphia, 1751.

Current Citation

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