--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Education was almost always a matter of…" description: "\"Education was almost always a matter of luck usually ill luck in those distant days.\" — George Eliot" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/604/george-eliot-84_education_education-was-almost-always-a-matter-of_532464.png" --- # Education was almost always a matter of luck usually ill… ![“Education was almost always a matter of luck usually ill luck in those distant days.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/604/george-eliot-84_education_education-was-almost-always-a-matter-of_532464.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/604/george-eliot-84_education_education-was-almost-always-a-matter-of_532464.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/604/george-eliot-84_education_education-was-almost-always-a-matter-of_532464.png) > “Education was almost always a matter of luck usually ill luck in those distant days.” [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. Education historically depended heavily on chance, often unfavorable, shaping opportunities for many. **In simple terms:** Education used to be about luck. Key Takeaway Seek equitable educational access. Themes education luck social mobility history Mood thoughtful critical Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - policy reform - scholarship programs - community tutoring - career counseling Key Concepts meritocracy systemic inequality historical context Questions to Reflect On - How can we reduce luck's role in education? - What structures perpetuate educational inequity? A Different Perspective Luck alone cannot guarantee true learning outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Ill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ill/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) ## Related quotes > [Education was almost entirely a matter of luck — usually of ill-luck — in those distant days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/education-was-almost-entirely-a-matter-of-luck-usually-of-ill-luck-in/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Luck usually visits me at 2 am on a cold morning when, red-eyed and bone-weary, I am pouring over law books preparing a case.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-nizer/luck-usually-visits-me-at-2-am-on-a-cold-morning-when-red-eyed-and/) [Louis Nizer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-nizer/) > [There’s nothing in the world worse than having an opportunity that you’re not prepared for. Good luck usually follows the collision of opportunity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quincy-jones/there-s-nothing-in-the-world-worse-than-having-an-opportunity-that/) [Quincy Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quincy-jones/) > [“What’s called luck is usually an outgrowth of successful communication.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ries/what-s-called-luck-is-usually-an-outgrowth-of-successful-communication/) [Al Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ries/) > [Bad luck is usually transmitted by close proximity to habitual sufferers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/bad-luck-is-usually-transmitted-by-close-proximity-to-habitual/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [Backboneless employees are too ready to attribute the success of others to luck. Luck is usually the fruit of intelligent application. The man who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/backboneless-employees-are-too-ready-to-attribute-the-success-of/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [“Getting published is a matter of luck. The more we rewrite, the luckier we get.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-van-rooyen/getting-published-is-a-matter-of-luck-the-more-we-rewrite-the-luckier/) Pierre Van Rooyen > [Success is a matter of luck,ask any failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lekan-wahab/success-is-a-matter-of-luck-ask-any-failure/) [Lekan Wahab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lekan-wahab/) > [Success is always a matter of some luck and timing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-kennedy/success-is-always-a-matter-of-some-luck-and-timing/) [Kathleen Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-kennedy/) > [Sometimes they are a matter of luck; the photographer could not expect or hope for them. Sometimes they are a matter of patience, waiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-brandt/sometimes-they-are-a-matter-of-luck-the-photographer-could-not-expect/) [Bill Brandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-brandt/) > [Whether or not we have personality disturbances, whether or not we have the ability to overcome deficiencies of early environment, is like the answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hospers/whether-or-not-we-have-personality-disturbances-whether-or-not-we/) [John Hospers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hospers/) > [Success is a matter of luck. If you want proof, ask any failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-wilson/success-is-a-matter-of-luck-if-you-want-proof-ask-any-failure/) [Earl Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-wilson/) > [Everything in life is a matter of luck. If luck is with you, people will know where you live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/everything-in-life-is-a-matter-of-luck-if-luck-is-with-you-people/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [I think there's a million talented people out there, it's just a matter of luck a lot of the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-cusack/i-think-there-s-a-million-talented-people-out-there-it-s-just-a/) [Joan Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-cusack/) > [Success is not a miracle. Nor is it a matter of luck. Everything happens for a reason, good or bad, positive or negative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/success-is-not-a-miracle-nor-is-it-a-matter-of-luck-everything/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) ## 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 Education quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [“In school you are taught to obey and not to think straight for your own good. Otherwise the world would be full of millionaires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/in-school-you-are-taught-to-obey-and-not-to-think-straight-for-your/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. So what you have is a lot of students who are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-no-authoritarian-structure-at-reed-college-but-the-education/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“What's the best thing about being in college? Good teachers. They inspire you, they entertain you, and you end up learning a ton even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/what-s-the-best-thing-about-being-in-college-good-teachers-they/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“If one has not a head of steel it will burst; if he has not within it a brain of liquid quicksilver, he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ioannes-amos-commenius/if-one-has-not-a-head-of-steel-it-will-burst-if-he-has-not-within-it/) Ioannes Amos Commenius > [“let us not teach / what we have learned badly / and not profited by”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-hilda-doolittle/let-us-not-teach-what-we-have-learned-badly-and-not-profited-by/) H.D. (Hilda Doolittle > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“I only began to enjoy studying after I got through the educational system and became a so-called member of society. If something interested me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-only-began-to-enjoy-studying-after-i-got-through-the-educational/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [English teachers tend to put more thought in the books than the author did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/english-teachers-tend-to-put-more-thought-in-the-books-than-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) [Browse all 37,666 Education quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Education was almost always a matter of luck usually ill luck in those distant days.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Eliot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/education-was-almost-always-a-matter-of-luck-usually-ill-luck-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Education" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/education-was-almost-always-a-matter-of-luck-usually-ill-luck-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/604/george-eliot-84_education_education-was-almost-always-a-matter-of_532464.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/604/george-eliot-84_education_education-was-almost-always-a-matter-of_532464.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/604/george-eliot-84_education_education-was-almost-always-a-matter-of_532464.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Education was almost always a matter of luck usually ill luck in those distant days.” — 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": "Education was almost always a matter...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/education-was-almost-always-a-matter-of-luck-usually-ill-luck-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/education-was-almost-always-a-matter-of-luck-usually-ill-luck-in/#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 } } ] } ```