--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I easily sink into mere absorption of…" description: "\"I easily sink into mere absorption of what other minds have done, and should like a whole life for that alone.\" — George Eliot" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d1/george-eliot-84_absorption_i-easily-sink-into-mere-absorption-of-wh_1519086.png" --- # I easily sink into mere absorption of what other minds… ![“I easily sink into mere absorption of what other minds have done, and should like a whole life for that alone.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d1/george-eliot-84_absorption_i-easily-sink-into-mere-absorption-of-wh_1519086.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d1/george-eliot-84_absorption_i-easily-sink-into-mere-absorption-of-wh_1519086.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d1/george-eliot-84_absorption_i-easily-sink-into-mere-absorption-of-wh_1519086.png) > “I easily sink into mere absorption of what other minds have done, and should like a whole life for that alone.” [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. Absorbing others’ ideas without original contribution leads to a life lacking personal creativity and purpose. **In simple terms:** Living only by others’ work empties life. Key Takeaway Create your own path and ideas. Themes creativity originality self‑realization Mood inspirational reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - career development - academic work - personal projects Key Concepts intellectual independence artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - What unique contribution can you make today? - How do you balance learning from others with personal creation? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on others can stifle innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) ## Related quotes > [The mere absorption of facts and truths is so exclusively an individual affair that it tends very naturally to pass into selfishness. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-mere-absorption-of-facts-and-truths-is-so-exclusively-an/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [“For limited minds, it seems like we only live once. But who knows what the future holds after the so-called death?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/for-limited-minds-it-seems-like-we-only-live-once-but-who-knows-what/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [Ways of Life : Minds are like parachutes...they function only when open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/ways-of-life-minds-are-like-parachutes-they-function-only-when-open/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [I prefer open minds over like minds. Its part of that whole think for yourself thingy that I try to subscribe to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rock-cowles/i-prefer-open-minds-over-like-minds-its-part-of-that-whole-think-for/) [Rock Cowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rock-cowles/) > [Old minds are like old horses; you must exercise them if you wish to keep them in working order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/old-minds-are-like-old-horses-you-must-exercise-them-if-you-wish-to/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [Minds are like parachutes - they only function when open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/minds-are-like-parachutes-they-only-function-when-open/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Minds are like parachutes, they don't function unless they are open.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-c-baridon/minds-are-like-parachutes-they-don-t-function-unless-they-are-open/) Philip C. Baridon > [Every man in the back of their minds would like to own a bar or a racehorse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graydon-carter/every-man-in-the-back-of-their-minds-would-like-to-own-a-bar-or-a/) [Graydon Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graydon-carter/) > [Adults have pretty much made up their minds - they like you to the extent that you confirm what they already believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/adults-have-pretty-much-made-up-their-minds-they-like-you-to-the/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [Minds, like parachutes, work only when open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dewar/minds-like-parachutes-work-only-when-open/) James Dewar > [“Great minds like a think -The Economist-”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-gompers/great-minds-like-a-think-the-economist/) [Samuel Gompers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-gompers/) > [“Minds are like parachutes, they don't work unless you open them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-landreth/minds-are-like-parachutes-they-don-t-work-unless-you-open-them/) Carla Landreth > [Minds are like flowers. If you let it sit there without soaking anything up, it will dry up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-hill/minds-are-like-flowers-if-you-let-it-sit-there-without-soaking/) [Ken Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-hill/) > [Minds are like parachutes, they only function when they are open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dewar/minds-are-like-parachutes-they-only-function-when-they-are-open/) James Dewar > [I'm convinced women actually think they can read minds. Like when a woman goes, "I can tell you don't want to hang out with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-zahn/i-m-convinced-women-actually-think-they-can-read-minds-like-when-a/) [Steve Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-zahn/) ## 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 Absorption quotes > [In fact, studies show that vegans tend to get more iron than meat eaters. Vitamin C from fruits and vegetables increases iron absorption. Meanwhile,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-gannon/in-fact-studies-show-that-vegans-tend-to-get-more-iron-than-meat/) [Sharon Gannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-gannon/) > [I am not the center of the universe. And it's a lesson that I keep having to learn; it's my ongoing work, I'd say.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-fabian/i-am-not-the-center-of-the-universe-and-it-s-a-lesson-that-i-keep/) [Patrick Fabian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-fabian/) > [The greatness of peoples springs from their ability to grasp the grand conceptions of being. It is the absorption of a people, of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-crummell/the-greatness-of-peoples-springs-from-their-ability-to-grasp-the/) [Alexander Crummell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-crummell/) > [Melancholy betrays the world for the sake of knowledge. But in its tenacious self-absorption it embraces dead objects in its contemplation, in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/melancholy-betrays-the-world-for-the-sake-of-knowledge-but-in-its/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [I was in a garden at the Rodin Museum. For a few minutes I was alone, sitting on a bench between two long hedges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-howe/i-was-in-a-garden-at-the-rodin-museum-for-a-few-minutes-i-was-alone/) [Irving Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-howe/) > [Those who work at a thing heart and soul not only achieve success in it but through their absorption in that they also realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/those-who-work-at-a-thing-heart-and-soul-not-only-achieve-success-in/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Self-absorption intensifies isolation, but permits it to go unnoticed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/self-absorption-intensifies-isolation-but-permits-it-to-go-unnoticed/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Life is a state of constant radiation and absorption; to exist is to radiate; to exist is to be the recipient of radiations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-george-jordan/life-is-a-state-of-constant-radiation-and-absorption-to-exist-is-to/) [William George Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-george-jordan/) > [I had learned that science is a rewarding, active process of discovery, not the passive absorption of what others had discovered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/i-had-learned-that-science-is-a-rewarding-active-process-of-discovery/) [Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/) > [Selfishness and self-absorption are deadly charm-exterminators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-young/selfishness-and-self-absorption-are-deadly-charm-exterminators/) [Loretta Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-young/) > [Prayer gives us relief from the melancholy burden of self-absorption .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/prayer-gives-us-relief-from-the-melancholy-burden-of-self-absorption/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [ \[Pope Francis\]sees a world in need of the Gospel, and of friendship with Jesus Christ, as an antidote to the self-absorption and loneliness that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-weigel/pope-francis-sees-a-world-in-need-of-the-gospel-and-of-friendship/) [George Weigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-weigel/) > [The ecstasy and completion of absorption in God is so fantastic that you can't possibly have lost anything because all the things you've always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-ecstasy-and-completion-of-absorption-in-god-is-so-fantastic-that/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [ \[T\]he mass-man sees in the State an anonymous power, and feeling himself, like it, anonymous, he believes that the State is something of his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/t-he-mass-man-sees-in-the-state-an-anonymous-power-and-feeling/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [“But the work had told upon the Editor. Work of that sort carries its penalties with it. Success means absorption, and absorption spells softening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/but-the-work-had-told-upon-the-editor-work-of-that-sort-carries-its/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) Browse all 118 Absorption quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I easily sink into mere absorption of what other minds have done, and should like a whole life for that alone.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Eliot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/i-easily-sink-into-mere-absorption-of-what-other-minds-have-done-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absorption" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/i-easily-sink-into-mere-absorption-of-what-other-minds-have-done-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d1/george-eliot-84_absorption_i-easily-sink-into-mere-absorption-of-wh_1519086.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d1/george-eliot-84_absorption_i-easily-sink-into-mere-absorption-of-wh_1519086.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d1/george-eliot-84_absorption_i-easily-sink-into-mere-absorption-of-wh_1519086.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I easily sink into mere absorption of what other minds have done, and should like a whole life for that alone.” — 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": "I easily sink into mere absorption...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/i-easily-sink-into-mere-absorption-of-what-other-minds-have-done-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/i-easily-sink-into-mere-absorption-of-what-other-minds-have-done-and/#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 } } ] } ```