--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: his soul was sensitive without being…" description: "\"“his soul was sensitive without being enthusiastic: it was too languid to thrill out of self-consciousness into passionate delight; it went on flutteri..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/george-eliot-84_change_his-soul-was-sensitive-without-being-ent_419676.jpg" --- # his soul was sensitive without being enthusiastic: it was… ![“his soul was sensitive without being enthusiastic: it was too languid to thrill out of self-consciousness into passionate delight; it went on fluttering in the swampy ground where it was hatched, thinking of its wings and never flying. His experience was of that pitiable kind which shrinks from…” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/george-eliot-84_change_his-soul-was-sensitive-without-being-ent_419676.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/george-eliot-84_change_his-soul-was-sensitive-without-being-ent_419676.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/george-eliot-84_change_his-soul-was-sensitive-without-being-ent_419676.jpg) > ““his soul was sensitive without being enthusiastic: it was too languid to thrill out of self-consciousness into passionate delight; it went on fluttering in the swampy ground where it was hatched, thinking of its wings and never flying. His experience was of that pitiable kind which shrinks from pity, and fears most of all that is should be known: it was that proud narrow sensitiveness which has not mass enough to spare for transformation into sympathy, and quivers threadlike in small currents of self-preoccupation or at best of an egoistic scrupulosity. ”” [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. A sensitive soul, lacking enthusiasm, remains stuck in self‑consciousness, fearing exposure and unable to transform into empathy. **In simple terms:** A shy, self‑absorbed person avoids deep feeling and change. Key Takeaway Cultivate openness and empathy despite fear. Themes self‑consciousness empathy transformation fear sensitivity Mood reflective melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal growth - therapy - creative writing - relationship building Key Concepts psychology existentialism identity self‑awareness Questions to Reflect On - How does fear of being known limit personal growth? - What steps can foster genuine empathy? A Different Perspective Self‑consciousness can also protect from vulnerability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Consciousness Passionate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness-passionate-3723544/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Narrow Sensitiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrow-sensitiveness-3723545/) [Sensitive Enthusiastic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensitive-enthusiastic-3723543/) [Sensitiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensitiveness/) [Soul Sensitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul-sensitive-3723542/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) ## Related quotes > [Our JOURNEY in LIFE is a Teaching, Depending on the SOUL; who is SENSITIVE enough to catch the wording's in the Teaching... Not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imisioluwat94/our-journey-in-life-is-a-teaching-depending-on-the-soul-who-is/) [ImisioluwaT94](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imisioluwat94/) > [“The opposite sensitive is not brave. It's not brave to refuse to pay attention, to refuse to notice, to refuse to feel and know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glennon-doyle/the-opposite-sensitive-is-not-brave-it-s-not-brave-to-refuse-to-pay/) [Glennon Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glennon-doyle/) > [“Sensitive people usually love deeply and hate deeply. They don't know any other way to live than by extremes because thier emotional theromastat is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/sensitive-people-usually-love-deeply-and-hate-deeply-they-don-t-know/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“A long mission was ahead of them, and no one wanted to get on anyone else's nerves with unnecessary chatter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-steele/a-long-mission-was-ahead-of-them-and-no-one-wanted-to-get-on-anyone/) [Allen Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-steele/) > [If the artist is necessarily sensitive, does that sensitiveness form in its essence a state constantly liable to shade off into the morbid? Does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/if-the-artist-is-necessarily-sensitive-does-that-sensitiveness-form/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [One of the effects of a safe and civilized life is an immense over sensitiveness which makes all the primary emotions somewhat disgusting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/one-of-the-effects-of-a-safe-and-civilized-life-is-an-immense-over/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [In a living civilization there is always an element of unrest, for sensitiveness to ideas means curiosity, adventure, change. Civilized order survives on its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/in-a-living-civilization-there-is-always-an-element-of-unrest-for/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Exaggerated sensitiveness is an expression of the feeling of inferiority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/exaggerated-sensitiveness-is-an-expression-of-the-feeling-of/) [Alfred Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adler/) > [We should always remember that sensitiveness and emotion constitute the real content of a work of art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-ravel/we-should-always-remember-that-sensitiveness-and-emotion-constitute/) [Maurice Ravel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-ravel/) > [It is all a question of sensitiveness. Brute force and overbearing may make a terrific effect. But in the end, that which lives by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/it-is-all-a-question-of-sensitiveness-brute-force-and-overbearing-may/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Sensitiveness is closely allied to egotism; and excessive sensibility is only another name for morbid self-consciousness. The cure for tender sensibilities is to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/sensitiveness-is-closely-allied-to-egotism-and-excessive-sensibility/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [“Why is sensitivity perceived as being dangerous? When we’re sensitive, we feel things we were taught not to feel. When we’re sensitive, we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aletheia-luna/why-is-sensitivity-perceived-as-being-dangerous-when-we-re-sensitive/) [Aletheia Luna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aletheia-luna/) > [“We're just two lost souls Swimming in a fish bowl, Year after year, Running over the same old ground. What have we found? The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/we-re-just-two-lost-souls-swimming-in-a-fish-bowl-year-after-year/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [Women are ever the dupes or the victims of their extreme sensitiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/women-are-ever-the-dupes-or-the-victims-of-their-extreme-sensitiveness/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“Indeed this gentleman's stoicism was of that not uncommon kind, which enables a man to bear with exemplary fortitude the afflictions of his friends,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/indeed-this-gentleman-s-stoicism-was-of-that-not-uncommon-kind-which/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "“his soul was sensitive without being enthusiastic: it was too languid to thrill out of self-consciousness into passionate delight; it went on fluttering in the swampy ground where it was hatched, thinking of its wings and never flying. 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