--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man must have a very rare genius to…" description: "\"“A man must have a very rare genius to make changes of that sort. I am afraid mine would not carry me even to the pitch of doing well what has been don..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/800/george-eliot-84_change_a-man-must-have-a-very-rare-genius-to-ma_3168249.png" --- # A man must have a very rare genius to make changes of that… ![“A man must have a very rare genius to make changes of that sort. I am afraid mine would not carry me even to the pitch of doing well what has been done already, at least not so well as to make it worth while. And” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/800/george-eliot-84_change_a-man-must-have-a-very-rare-genius-to-ma_3168249.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/800/george-eliot-84_change_a-man-must-have-a-very-rare-genius-to-ma_3168249.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/800/george-eliot-84_change_a-man-must-have-a-very-rare-genius-to-ma_3168249.png) > ““A man must have a very rare genius to make changes of that sort. I am afraid mine would not carry me even to the pitch of doing well what has been done already, at least not so well as to make it worth while. And”” [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker doubts their own exceptional talent to improve upon existing work, fearing they cannot match or surpass prior achievements. **In simple terms:** Self‑doubt about being able to surpass previous work. Key Takeaway Accept that progress can be incremental and collaborative. Themes self‑doubt creativity legacy Mood reflective encouraging Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing - scientific research - artistic creation - career development Key Concepts innovation confidence comparative standards Questions to Reflect On - What small steps can you take to build confidence? - How can collaboration mitigate fear of inadequacy? A Different Perspective Perfectionism can paralyze effort and stifle growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) ## Related quotes > [Fans are afraid to meet me. They're sort of afraid for their lives and won't look me in the eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-bauer-van-straten/fans-are-afraid-to-meet-me-they-re-sort-of-afraid-for-their-lives-and/) [Kristin Bauer van Straten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-bauer-van-straten/) > [A genius is one who can do anything except make a living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-lauren-adams/a-genius-is-one-who-can-do-anything-except-make-a-living/) [Joey Lauren Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-lauren-adams/) > [Common sense is as rare as genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/common-sense-is-as-rare-as-genius/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Common sense is as rare as genius, - is the basis of genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/common-sense-is-as-rare-as-genius-is-the-basis-of-genius/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Genius, throughout history, has been found difficult to classify because it varies in amount: It's rare to find a genius in the context of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/genius-throughout-history-has-been-found-difficult-to-classify/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [“A Horrible thought: could this be the pattern of my life ahead? Every ambition thwarted, every dream stillborn? But a seconds reflection tells me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/a-horrible-thought-could-this-be-the-pattern-of-my-life-ahead-every/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [A man of rare common sense and directness of speech, as of action; a transcendentalist above all, a man of ideas and principles,Mthat was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-man-of-rare-common-sense-and-directness-of-speech-as-of-action-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The man must have a rare recipe for melancholy, who can be dull in Fleet Street.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/the-man-must-have-a-rare-recipe-for-melancholy-who-can-be-dull-in/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [Constancy in a man is rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-cookson/constancy-in-a-man-is-rare/) [Catherine Cookson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-cookson/) > [In all the world there is nothing so remarkable as a great man, nothing so rare, nothing which so well repays study.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/in-all-the-world-there-is-nothing-so-remarkable-as-a-great-man/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [“A thoroughly honest man is a rare jewel in the shallow stream of meaningless pebbles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-kristian-goldmund-aumann/a-thoroughly-honest-man-is-a-rare-jewel-in-the-shallow-stream-of/) Sir Kristian Goldmund Aumann > [The perfect woman is a higher type of human than the perfect man, and also something much more rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-perfect-woman-is-a-higher-type-of-human-than-the-perfect-man-and/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-encounter-a-man-of-rare-intellect-we-should-ask-him-what-books/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The older I get, I realize, 'Man, I'm a very rare bird,' and that's not because of necessarily my talent or ability; it so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-stokes-mitchell/the-older-i-get-i-realize-man-i-m-a-very-rare-bird-and-that-s-not/) [Brian Stokes Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-stokes-mitchell/) > [“If you do not have persistence then no amount of education, talent or genius can make up for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/if-you-do-not-have-persistence-then-no-amount-of-education-talent-or/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) ## More by George Eliot > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-the-effect-of-her-being-on-those-around-her-was-incalculably/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Scepticismcan never be thoroughly applied, else life would come to a standstill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/scepticismcan-never-be-thoroughly-applied-else-life-would-come-to-a/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Under every guilty secret there is hidden a brood of guilty wishes, whose unwholesome infecting life is cherished by the darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/under-every-guilty-secret-there-is-hidden-a-brood-of-guilty-wishes/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [The most powerful movement of feeling with a liturgy is the prayer which seeks for nothing special, but is a yearning to escape from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-most-powerful-movement-of-feeling-with-a-liturgy-is-the-prayer/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [ “\[W\]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… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Mr. Casaubon had never had a strong bodily frame, and his soul was sensitive without being enthusiastic: it was too languid to thrill out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/mr-casaubon-had-never-had-a-strong-bodily-frame-and-his-soul-was/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“... she took her husband's jokes and joviality as patiently as everything else, considering that "men would be so", and viewing the stronger sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/she-took-her-husband-s-jokes-and-joviality-as-patiently-as-everything/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [What is opportunity to the man who can't use it? An unfecundated egg, which the waves of time wash away into nonentity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/what-is-opportunity-to-the-man-who-can-t-use-it-an-unfecundated-egg/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [And, of course men know best about everything, except what women know better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/and-of-course-men-know-best-about-everything-except-what-women-know/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“But let the wise be warned against too great readiness at explanation: it multiplies the sources of mistake, lengthening the sum for reckoners sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-let-the-wise-be-warned-against-too-great-readiness-at-explanation/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“But any one watching keenly the stealthy convergence of human lots, sees a slow preparation of effects from one life on another, which tells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-any-one-watching-keenly-the-stealthy-convergence-of-human-lots/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Perspective, as its inventor remarked, is a beautiful thing. What horrors of damp huts, where human beings languish, may not become picturesque through aerial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/perspective-as-its-inventor-remarked-is-a-beautiful-thing-what/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Sane people did what their neighbours did, so that if any lunatics were at large, one might know and avoid them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/sane-people-did-what-their-neighbours-did-so-that-if-any-lunatics/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [even those who call themselves 'intimate' know very little about each other - hardly ever know just how a sorrow is felt, and hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/even-those-who-call-themselves-intimate-know-very-little-about-each/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) [Explore all 1,492 George Eliot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) ## More Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 33,920 Change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A man must have a very rare genius to make changes of that sort. 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