--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Duty has a trick of behaving unexpectedly…" description: "\"Duty has a trick of behaving unexpectedly -- something like a heavy friend whom we have amiably asked to visit us, and who breaks his leg within our ga..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/george-eliot-84_break_duty-has-a-trick-of-behaving-unexpectedl_2640357.png" --- # Duty has a trick of behaving unexpectedly -- something… ![“Duty has a trick of behaving unexpectedly -- something like a heavy friend whom we have amiably asked to visit us, and who breaks his leg within our gates.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/george-eliot-84_break_duty-has-a-trick-of-behaving-unexpectedl_2640357.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/george-eliot-84_break_duty-has-a-trick-of-behaving-unexpectedl_2640357.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/george-eliot-84_break_duty-has-a-trick-of-behaving-unexpectedl_2640357.png) > “Duty has a trick of behaving unexpectedly -- something like a heavy friend whom we have amiably asked to visit us, and who breaks his leg within our gates.” [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. Duty can appear unexpectedly burdensome, like a friend who arrives unannounced and brings complications. **In simple terms:** Duty may be surprising and heavy. Key Takeaway Prepare for unforeseen responsibilities. Themes duty unexpectedness friendship burden Mood thoughtful cautious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - family life - workplace - community involvement Key Concepts social obligations personal responsibility Questions to Reflect On - When have you accepted a duty that turned problematic? - How can you assess the true cost of a new responsibility? A Different Perspective Not all duties are beneficial; some may cause harm if accepted blindly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Behaving Unexpectedly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behaving-unexpectedly-2264289/) [Break](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break/) [Breaks Leg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaks-leg-575358/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Duty Trick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty-trick-2264290/) [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gates/) [Heavy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heavy/) [Heavy Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heavy-friend-2264291/) [Legs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legs/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Tricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tricks/) ## Related quotes > [If a man gets drunk and goes out and breaks his leg so that it must be amputated, God will forgive him if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-l-moody/if-a-man-gets-drunk-and-goes-out-and-breaks-his-leg-so-that-it-must/) [Dwight L. Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-l-moody/) > [When someone breaks your leg,dont break his back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-someone-breaks-your-leg-dont-break-his-back/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For every bad there might be a worse; and when one breaks his leg let him be thankful it was not his neck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hall/for-every-bad-there-might-be-a-worse-and-when-one-breaks-his-leg-let/) [Joseph Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hall/) > [Give up the dream that Love may trick the fates To live again somewhere beyond the gleam Of dying stars, or shatter the strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/give-up-the-dream-that-love-may-trick-the-fates-to-live-again/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [Artists are the gate keepers of truth. We are civilization’s radical voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-robeson/artists-are-the-gate-keepers-of-truth-we-are-civilization-s-radical/) [Paul Robeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-robeson/) > [It's been said that Bill Gates has come up with something that'll be released in December that's gonna put a lid on counterfeiting. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-haggard/it-s-been-said-that-bill-gates-has-come-up-with-something-that-ll-be/) [Merle Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-haggard/) > [The incorruptible things are all within the narrow gate. The peace of God which passed all understanding - the bright hope of good things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-incorruptible-things-are-all-within-the-narrow-gate-the-peace-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Astrology is knocking at the gates of our universities: A Tübingen professor has switched over to astrology and a course on astrology was given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/astrology-is-knocking-at-the-gates-of-our-universities-a-t-bingen/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Hateful to me as are the gates of hell, Is he who, hiding one thing in his heart, Utters another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/hateful-to-me-as-are-the-gates-of-hell-is-he-who-hiding-one-thing-in/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [ Software gets slower faster than hardware gets faster. (Or, sometimes known by\] Grove \[the head of Intel\] giveth and Gates \[the head of Microsoft\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niklaus-wirth/software-gets-slower-faster-than-hardware-gets-faster-or-sometimes/) [Niklaus Wirth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niklaus-wirth/) > [There's nothing nice about Steve Jobs and there's nothing evil about Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-peddle/there-s-nothing-nice-about-steve-jobs-and-there-s-nothing-evil-about/) [Chuck Peddle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-peddle/) > [I don't think generally speaking, there are a lot of innovators and inventors. Many of the designers take what exists already and update it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-hilfiger/i-don-t-think-generally-speaking-there-are-a-lot-of-innovators-and/) [Tommy Hilfiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-hilfiger/) > [If Bill Gates left Microsoft we wouldn't allow Donald Trump to run it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-i-am/if-bill-gates-left-microsoft-we-wouldn-t-allow-donald-trump-to-run-it/) [will.i.am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-i-am/) > [If you’re a person struggling to eat and stay healthy you might have heard about Michael Jordan or Muhammad Ali, but you’ll never have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/if-you-re-a-person-struggling-to-eat-and-stay-healthy-you-might-have/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) ## 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 Break quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [Things are going well in Germany because the economy is booming and as an export-driven nation, we are profiting from the fact that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/things-are-going-well-in-germany-because-the-economy-is-booming-and/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [There were songs that we cut out after we chose the name, because 'Praise Break' turned out to be an underlying concept that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-caesar/there-were-songs-that-we-cut-out-after-we-chose-the-name-because/) [Daniel Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-caesar/) > [“He didn't break my heart. No one can break your heart except you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/he-didn-t-break-my-heart-no-one-can-break-your-heart-except-you/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [“She couldn't break the orbit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/she-couldn-t-break-the-orbit/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/your-pain-is-the-breaking-of-the-shell-that-encloses-your/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I hadn't worked for a year when I had my Prison Break audition and it was the easiest audition I've ever had. I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/i-hadn-t-worked-for-a-year-when-i-had-my-prison-break-audition-and-it/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [If you strike upon a thought that baffles you, break off from that entanglement and try another, so shall your wits be fresh to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/if-you-strike-upon-a-thought-that-baffles-you-break-off-from-that/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [“A hole ain’t nothing either, but you can still break your neck in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-donati/a-hole-ain-t-nothing-either-but-you-can-still-break-your-neck-in-it/) [Sara Donati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-donati/) > [“I break things, a lot of things, but I don’t want one of them to be you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-break-things-a-lot-of-things-but-i-don-t-want-one-of-them-to-be-you/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Motor racing's less of a sport these days than a commercial break doing 150 mph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dunne/motor-racing-s-less-of-a-sport-these-days-than-a-commercial-break/) [Peter Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dunne/) > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [The purpose is to be in gratitude forever. Live with applied consciousness, prosperity will break through the walls, flood you with it. You do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/the-purpose-is-to-be-in-gratitude-forever-live-with-applied/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [Never break another man's rice bowl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akio-morita/never-break-another-man-s-rice-bowl/) [Akio Morita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akio-morita/) [Browse all 8,188 Break quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Duty has a trick of behaving unexpectedly -- something like a heavy friend whom we have amiably asked to visit us, and who breaks his leg within our gates.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Eliot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/duty-has-a-trick-of-behaving-unexpectedly-something-like-a-heavy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Break" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/duty-has-a-trick-of-behaving-unexpectedly-something-like-a-heavy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/george-eliot-84_break_duty-has-a-trick-of-behaving-unexpectedl_2640357.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/george-eliot-84_break_duty-has-a-trick-of-behaving-unexpectedl_2640357.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/george-eliot-84_break_duty-has-a-trick-of-behaving-unexpectedl_2640357.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Duty has a trick of behaving unexpectedly -- something like a heavy friend whom we have amiably asked to…” — George Eliot", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "George Eliot", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Duty has a trick of behaving...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/duty-has-a-trick-of-behaving-unexpectedly-something-like-a-heavy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/duty-has-a-trick-of-behaving-unexpectedly-something-like-a-heavy/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```