--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It had never occurred to him that he…" description: "\"“It had never occurred to him that he should live in any other than what he would have called an ordinary way, with green glasses for hock, and excelle..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/george-eliot-84_assumptions_it-had-never-occurred-to-him-that-he-sho_965078.png" --- # It had never occurred to him that he should live in any… ![“It had never occurred to him that he should live in any other than what he would have called an ordinary way, with green glasses for hock, and excellent waiting at table. In warming himself at French social theories he had brought away no smell of scorching. We may handle even extreme opinions…” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/george-eliot-84_assumptions_it-had-never-occurred-to-him-that-he-sho_965078.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/george-eliot-84_assumptions_it-had-never-occurred-to-him-that-he-sho_965078.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/george-eliot-84_assumptions_it-had-never-occurred-to-him-that-he-sho_965078.png) > ““It had never occurred to him that he should live in any other than what he would have called an ordinary way, with green glasses for hock, and excellent waiting at table. In warming himself at French social theories he had brought away no smell of scorching. We may handle even extreme opinions with impunity while our furniture, our dinner-giving, and preference for armorial bearings in our own ease, link us indissolubly with the established order.”” [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. The narrator observes a character’s complacent acceptance of ordinary life, noting how social theories fail to change his habits or status, keeping him tied to the established order. **In simple terms:** He is content with a conventional, unremarkable life, untouched by radical ideas. Key Takeaway Recognize how comfort can mask deeper conformity. Themes conformity social critique comfort zones Mood reflective critical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - social analysis - literary study Key Concepts class identity status quo Questions to Reflect On - Do you accept comfort over change? - How do social theories affect personal habits? A Different Perspective The passage romanticizes ordinary life, overlooking systemic oppression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assumptions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumptions/) [French Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/french-social-1812858/) [Hock Excellent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hock-excellent-1812859/) [Indissolubly Established](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indissolubly-established-1812860/) [Materialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materialism/) [Social Theories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-theories-1812861/) [Warming French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warming-french-1812857/) ## Related quotes > [“We may handle even extreme opinions with impunity while our furniture, our dinner giving, and preference for armorial bearings in our own case link…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/we-may-handle-even-extreme-opinions-with-impunity-while-our-furniture/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [As a 'parisien d'adoption,' I am only semicognizant of where I may fit at any given time into the French social fabric.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chatterton-williams/as-a-parisien-d-adoption-i-am-only-semicognizant-of-where-i-may-fit/) [Thomas Chatterton Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chatterton-williams/) > [The economic and social theories used by those who take part in the social struggle ought to be judged not by their objective value…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vilfredo-pareto/the-economic-and-social-theories-used-by-those-who-take-part-in-the/) [Vilfredo Pareto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vilfredo-pareto/) > [Like all social theories, internationalism must seek its basis in the economic and technical fields; here are to be found the most profound and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-lous-lange/like-all-social-theories-internationalism-must-seek-its-basis-in-the/) [Christian Lous Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-lous-lange/) > [“The vast differences in power contributed to faulty social theories of these differences that are still with us today. When a society is economically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-d-sachs/the-vast-differences-in-power-contributed-to-faulty-social-theories/) [Jeffrey D. Sachs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-d-sachs/) > [The explanation requiring the fewest assumptions is most likely to be correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-explanation-requiring-the-fewest-assumptions-is-most-likely-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People just assume, over the years, that soccer players are not too intelligent. As with most assumptions, they're wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-beckham/people-just-assume-over-the-years-that-soccer-players-are-not-too/) [David Beckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-beckham/) > [“The problem with making assumptions is that we believe they are the truth. We could swear they are real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-ruiz/the-problem-with-making-assumptions-is-that-we-believe-they-are-the/) [Miguel Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-ruiz/) > [For me, filmmaking is not about making statements but about exposing human behavior so people are eager enough to start thinking on their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yorgos-lanthimos/for-me-filmmaking-is-not-about-making-statements-but-about-exposing/) [Yorgos Lanthimos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yorgos-lanthimos/) > [“Civilizaton rests on the assumption that the universe is kindly disposed towards mankind and intended for our benefit. Imagine the upheaval were it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lovegrove/civilizaton-rests-on-the-assumption-that-the-universe-is-kindly/) [James Lovegrove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lovegrove/) > [“While you judge me by my outward appearance I am silently doing the same to you, even though there's a ninety-percent chance that in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/while-you-judge-me-by-my-outward-appearance-i-am-silently-doing-the/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [I think facts remove assumptions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monty-williams/i-think-facts-remove-assumptions/) [Monty Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monty-williams/) > [“One should not make more assumptions than are absolutely necessary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-kerner/one-should-not-make-more-assumptions-than-are-absolutely-necessary/) [Ian Kerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-kerner/) > [When assumptions were made that I was going to bail out there was a little part of my brain that thought 'I am going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-stevens/when-assumptions-were-made-that-i-was-going-to-bail-out-there-was-a/) [Craig Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-stevens/) > [There was a lot of stress and assumptions made without me even saying anything, which was very upsetting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-stevens/there-was-a-lot-of-stress-and-assumptions-made-without-me-even-saying/) [Craig Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-stevens/) ## 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 Assumptions quotes > [There was a lot of stress and assumptions made without me even saying anything, which was very upsetting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-stevens/there-was-a-lot-of-stress-and-assumptions-made-without-me-even-saying/) [Craig Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-stevens/) > [When assumptions were made that I was going to bail out there was a little part of my brain that thought 'I am going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-stevens/when-assumptions-were-made-that-i-was-going-to-bail-out-there-was-a/) [Craig Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-stevens/) > [“One should not make more assumptions than are absolutely necessary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-kerner/one-should-not-make-more-assumptions-than-are-absolutely-necessary/) [Ian Kerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-kerner/) > [I think facts remove assumptions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monty-williams/i-think-facts-remove-assumptions/) [Monty Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monty-williams/) > [“While you judge me by my outward appearance I am silently doing the same to you, even though there's a ninety-percent chance that in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/while-you-judge-me-by-my-outward-appearance-i-am-silently-doing-the/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“Civilizaton rests on the assumption that the universe is kindly disposed towards mankind and intended for our benefit. Imagine the upheaval were it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lovegrove/civilizaton-rests-on-the-assumption-that-the-universe-is-kindly/) [James Lovegrove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lovegrove/) > [For me, filmmaking is not about making statements but about exposing human behavior so people are eager enough to start thinking on their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yorgos-lanthimos/for-me-filmmaking-is-not-about-making-statements-but-about-exposing/) [Yorgos Lanthimos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yorgos-lanthimos/) > [“The problem with making assumptions is that we believe they are the truth. We could swear they are real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-ruiz/the-problem-with-making-assumptions-is-that-we-believe-they-are-the/) [Miguel Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-ruiz/) > [People just assume, over the years, that soccer players are not too intelligent. As with most assumptions, they're wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-beckham/people-just-assume-over-the-years-that-soccer-players-are-not-too/) [David Beckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-beckham/) > [The explanation requiring the fewest assumptions is most likely to be correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-explanation-requiring-the-fewest-assumptions-is-most-likely-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Words in the head are sticky and social creatures – when you finally pull one out, you're liable to get lots of bits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-carlson/words-in-the-head-are-sticky-and-social-creatures-when-you-finally/) [Greg Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-carlson/) > [“The professor argues against measuring effectiveness in the shallow short-term in the "fierce humanities," for teaching that seeks not merely learning, but unlearning, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cary-nelson/the-professor-argues-against-measuring-effectiveness-in-the-shallow/) [Cary Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cary-nelson/) > [I'm like anyone; I make a lot of my assumptions about actors I don't know from what I read about them. And then I'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strong/i-m-like-anyone-i-make-a-lot-of-my-assumptions-about-actors-i-don-t/) [Mark Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strong/) > [One thing that irritates me is when people kind of make assumptions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-pegg/one-thing-that-irritates-me-is-when-people-kind-of-make-assumptions/) [Simon Pegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-pegg/) > [“To assume is to presume.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jude-morgan/to-assume-is-to-presume/) [Jude Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jude-morgan/) [Browse all 393 Assumptions quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumptions/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It had never occurred to him that he should live in any other than what he would have called an ordinary way, with green glasses for hock, and excellent waiting at table. 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