--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In all private quarrels the duller nature…" description: "\"In all private quarrels the duller nature is triumphant by reason of dullness.\" — George Eliot" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19e/george-eliot-84_dullness_in-all-private-quarrels-the-duller-natur_3134051.png" --- # In all private quarrels the duller nature is triumphant by… ![“In all private quarrels the duller nature is triumphant by reason of dullness.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19e/george-eliot-84_dullness_in-all-private-quarrels-the-duller-natur_3134051.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19e/george-eliot-84_dullness_in-all-private-quarrels-the-duller-natur_3134051.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19e/george-eliot-84_dullness_in-all-private-quarrels-the-duller-natur_3134051.png) > “In all private quarrels the duller nature is triumphant by reason of dullness.” [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. In petty disputes, the less lively person often wins because they are less likely to provoke conflict. **In simple terms:** Quiet people often win arguments due to their calmness. Key Takeaway Use calmness to defuse tension. Themes conflict communication personality power dynamics Mood reflective analytical Type observational insightful When to use this quote - family arguments - workplace disagreements - online debates - neighbor disputes Key Concepts psychology social dynamics assertiveness Questions to Reflect On - How does calmness affect outcomes in arguments? - When might assertiveness be more effective? A Different Perspective Quietness can be mistaken for weakness, leading to being overlooked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Duller Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duller-nature-5555894/) [Dullness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dullness/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Private Quarrels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/private-quarrels-5555896/) [Quarrels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quarrels/) [Quarrels Duller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quarrels-duller-5555893/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Reason Dullness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason-dullness-5555895/) [Triumphant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triumphant/) ## Related quotes > [Self-confidence is apt to address itself to an imaginary dullness in others; as people who are well off speak in a cajoling tone to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/self-confidence-is-apt-to-address-itself-to-an-imaginary-dullness-in/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [I think what we call the dullness of things is a disease in ourselves. Else how could anyone find an intense interest in life?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/i-think-what-we-call-the-dullness-of-things-is-a-disease-in-ourselves/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Dullness is the spice of life. Which is why we must always use other spices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/dullness-is-the-spice-of-life-which-is-why-we-must-always-use-other/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [The psychic plane is clouded over by emotions and thoughts and the general dullness and malaise that develops in our contemporary world through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-psychic-plane-is-clouded-over-by-emotions-and-thoughts-and-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Although the primitive in art may be both interesting and impressive, as portrayed in American fiction it is conspicuous for dullness alone. Drab persons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/although-the-primitive-in-art-may-be-both-interesting-and-impressive/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [I envy Pete Sampras's dullness. I wish I could emulate his spectacular lack of inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-agassi/i-envy-pete-sampras-s-dullness-i-wish-i-could-emulate-his-spectacular/) [Andre Agassi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-agassi/) > [The number one problem in academia today is not ignorant students but ignorant professors, who have substituted narrow "expertise" and "theoretical sophistication" (a preposterous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/the-number-one-problem-in-academia-today-is-not-ignorant-students-but/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [He is not only dull himself, but the cause of dulness in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/he-is-not-only-dull-himself-but-the-cause-of-dulness-in-others/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“Dullness. Only humans could have invented it. What imaginations they had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/dullness-only-humans-could-have-invented-it-what-imaginations-they-had/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [You can, I think, have a quiet and steady protagonist and not run the risk of terminal dullness as long as exciting things happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-williams/you-can-i-think-have-a-quiet-and-steady-protagonist-and-not-run-the/) [Liz Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-williams/) > [“I will tell you what I have learned myself. For me, a long five- or six-mile walk helps. And one must go alone and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/i-will-tell-you-what-i-have-learned-myself-for-me-a-long-five-or-six/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [The only thing about 3-D is the dullness of the image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-jackson/the-only-thing-about-3-d-is-the-dullness-of-the-image/) [Peter Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-jackson/) > [“To me, at least in retrospect, the really interesting question is why dullness proves to be such a powerful impediment to attention. Why we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-me-at-least-in-retrospect-the-really-interesting-question-is-why/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Dullness is a courteous fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammad-mustafa/dullness-is-a-courteous-fear/) [Mohammad MUSTAFA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammad-mustafa/) > [I write the way you might arrange flowers. Not every try works, but each one launches another. Every constraint, even dullness, frees up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-write-the-way-you-might-arrange-flowers-not-every-try-works-but/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) ## 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 Dullness quotes > [I write the way you might arrange flowers. Not every try works, but each one launches another. Every constraint, even dullness, frees up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-write-the-way-you-might-arrange-flowers-not-every-try-works-but/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [Dullness is a courteous fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammad-mustafa/dullness-is-a-courteous-fear/) [Mohammad MUSTAFA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammad-mustafa/) > [“To me, at least in retrospect, the really interesting question is why dullness proves to be such a powerful impediment to attention. Why we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-me-at-least-in-retrospect-the-really-interesting-question-is-why/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [The only thing about 3-D is the dullness of the image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-jackson/the-only-thing-about-3-d-is-the-dullness-of-the-image/) [Peter Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-jackson/) > [“I will tell you what I have learned myself. For me, a long five- or six-mile walk helps. And one must go alone and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/i-will-tell-you-what-i-have-learned-myself-for-me-a-long-five-or-six/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [You can, I think, have a quiet and steady protagonist and not run the risk of terminal dullness as long as exciting things happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-williams/you-can-i-think-have-a-quiet-and-steady-protagonist-and-not-run-the/) [Liz Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-williams/) > [“Dullness. Only humans could have invented it. What imaginations they had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/dullness-only-humans-could-have-invented-it-what-imaginations-they-had/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [He is not only dull himself, but the cause of dulness in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/he-is-not-only-dull-himself-but-the-cause-of-dulness-in-others/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The number one problem in academia today is not ignorant students but ignorant professors, who have substituted narrow "expertise" and "theoretical sophistication" (a preposterous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/the-number-one-problem-in-academia-today-is-not-ignorant-students-but/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [I envy Pete Sampras's dullness. I wish I could emulate his spectacular lack of inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-agassi/i-envy-pete-sampras-s-dullness-i-wish-i-could-emulate-his-spectacular/) [Andre Agassi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-agassi/) > [Although the primitive in art may be both interesting and impressive, as portrayed in American fiction it is conspicuous for dullness alone. Drab persons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/although-the-primitive-in-art-may-be-both-interesting-and-impressive/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [I think what we call the dullness of things is a disease in ourselves. Else how could anyone find an intense interest in life?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/i-think-what-we-call-the-dullness-of-things-is-a-disease-in-ourselves/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [The psychic plane is clouded over by emotions and thoughts and the general dullness and malaise that develops in our contemporary world through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-psychic-plane-is-clouded-over-by-emotions-and-thoughts-and-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Dullness is the spice of life. Which is why we must always use other spices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/dullness-is-the-spice-of-life-which-is-why-we-must-always-use-other/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/make-no-expense-but-to-do-good-to-others-or-yourself/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) [Browse all 148 Dullness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dullness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In all private quarrels the duller nature is triumphant by reason of dullness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Eliot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/in-all-private-quarrels-the-duller-nature-is-triumphant-by-reason-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dullness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/in-all-private-quarrels-the-duller-nature-is-triumphant-by-reason-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19e/george-eliot-84_dullness_in-all-private-quarrels-the-duller-natur_3134051.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19e/george-eliot-84_dullness_in-all-private-quarrels-the-duller-natur_3134051.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19e/george-eliot-84_dullness_in-all-private-quarrels-the-duller-natur_3134051.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In all private quarrels the duller nature is triumphant by reason of dullness.” — 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": "In all private quarrels the duller...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/in-all-private-quarrels-the-duller-nature-is-triumphant-by-reason-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/in-all-private-quarrels-the-duller-nature-is-triumphant-by-reason-of/#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 } } ] } ```