Bible Quote by George Eliot
““He was a quick fellow, and when hot from play, would toss himself in a corner, and in five minutes be deep in any sort of book that he could lay his hands on: if it were Rasselas or Gulliver, so much the better, but Bailey's Dictionary would do, or the Bible with the Apocrypha in it. Something he must read, when he was not riding the pony, or running and hunting, or listening to the talk of men. All this was true of him at ten years of age; he had then read through Chrysal, or the Adventures of a Guinea, which was neither milk for babes, nor any chalky mixture meant to pass for milk, and it had already occurred to him that books were stuff, and that life was stupid.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Middlemarch by George Eliot, 1871
He devoured any book, seeing reading as a refuge from idle pursuits, and concluded that books are mere material while life is foolish.
In simple terms: He read everything, thinking books are stuff and life is stupid.
Key Takeaway
Question reading as a mental escape.
Themes
curiosity
reading
escapism
Mood
reflective
skeptical
Type
analytical
critical
When to use this quote
- childhood learning
- personal growth
- literary analysis
- philosophical reflection
Key Concepts
literature
existentialism
Questions to Reflect On
- What does this say about the balance between knowledge and experience?
- Can reading replace real life?
A Different Perspective
He may undervalue lived experience and practical knowledge.
![“[Gulliver was soon being read] "from the cabinet council to the nursery".” quote by John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e62/john-gay-4141_cabinets_gulliver-was-soon-being-read-from-the-ca_403882.jpg)
![“[W]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range of music, and will not vibrate in the least under a touch that fills others with tremulous rapture or quivering agony.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9be/george-eliot-84_agony_w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves_12409.jpg)
