Covetousness Quote by George Eliot
““Plotting covetousness and deliberate contrivance, in order to compass a selfish end, are nowhere abundant but in the world of the dramatist: they demand too intense a mental action for many of our fellow-parishioners to be guilty of them. It is easy enough to spoil the lives of our neighbors without taking so much trouble; we can do it by lazy acquiescence and lazy omission, by trivial falsities for which we hardly know a reason, by small frauds neutralized by small extravagances, by maladroit flatteries, and clumsily improvised insinuations. We live from hand to mouth, most of us, with a small family of immediate desires; we do little else than snatch a morsel to satisfy the hungry brood, rarely thinking of seed-corn or the next year's crop. Mr.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Middlemarch by George Eliot, 1871
Eliot critiques how people often harm others through small, lazy acts rather than grand conspiracies, highlighting everyday moral negligence.
In simple terms: People cause harm through small, careless actions.
Key Takeaway
Be mindful of subtle harms you cause.
Themes
morality
human nature
social responsibility
Mood
reflective
critical
Type
observational
ethical
When to use this quote
- personal interactions
- workplace
- community
- family
- politics
Key Concepts
ethical negligence
everyday harm
selfishness
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you recognize subtle harms you cause?
- What small actions can you change to reduce harm?
A Different Perspective
Even small acts can have large negative impacts, making change difficult.
![“[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)
