--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is a sad weakness in us, after all…" description: "\"It is a sad weakness in us, after all, that the thought of a man's death hallows him anew to us; as if life were not sacred too.\" — George Eliot" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0b/george-eliot-84_death_it-is-a-sad-weakness-in-us-after-all-tha_580384.png" --- # It is a sad weakness in us, after all, that the thought of… ![“It is a sad weakness in us, after all, that the thought of a man's death hallows him anew to us; as if life were not sacred too.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0b/george-eliot-84_death_it-is-a-sad-weakness-in-us-after-all-tha_580384.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0b/george-eliot-84_death_it-is-a-sad-weakness-in-us-after-all-tha_580384.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0b/george-eliot-84_death_it-is-a-sad-weakness-in-us-after-all-tha_580384.png) > “It is a sad weakness in us, after all, that the thought of a man's death hallows him anew to us; as if life were not sacred too.” [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. We tend to revere the dead, overlooking the sanctity of living life. **In simple terms:** We value death more than life. Key Takeaway Respect life as much as death. Themes mortality value sanctity Mood reflective somber Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - funeral rites - memorials - ethical debates - life appreciation Key Concepts existentialism human nature Questions to Reflect On - How does reverence for the dead affect how we live today? - What practices honor both life and death? A Different Perspective It can lead to neglecting present responsibilities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Sacred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacred/) [Weakness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weakness/) ## Related quotes > [It is a sad weakness in us, after all, that the thought of a person's death consecrates him or her anew to us. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/it-is-a-sad-weakness-in-us-after-all-that-the-thought-of-a-person-s/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“I let you in.” He reentered my space, as if he could do nothing else. “I let you get close, so I could get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-zoelle/i-let-you-in-he-reentered-my-space-as-if-he-could-do-nothing-else-i/) [Anne Zoelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-zoelle/) > [The life of the individual has meaning only insofar as it aids in making the life of every living thing nobler and more beautiful.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-life-of-the-individual-has-meaning-only-insofar-as-it-aids-in/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“The journey of life is a sacred travel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-journey-of-life-is-a-sacred-travel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Life is a sacred service.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/life-is-a-sacred-service/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Let's pass more gun control laws and buy metal detectors for every public school in the land - anything but tell kids that life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-feder/let-s-pass-more-gun-control-laws-and-buy-metal-detectors-for-every/) [Don Feder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-feder/) > [Yes, all of life is sacred, including plants; and yes, there is research that demonstrates that plants have feelings - they feel it when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-gannon/yes-all-of-life-is-sacred-including-plants-and-yes-there-is-research/) [Sharon Gannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-gannon/) > [“Your life is a sacred journey & it is about change, growth, discovery... You are on the path & from here you can only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-joy-adams/your-life-is-a-sacred-journey-it-is-about-change-growth-discovery-you/) Caroline Joy Adams > [Every form of life is sacred. It is not possible to have an activity that is not sacred...Coming to see everything as sacred and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/every-form-of-life-is-sacred-it-is-not-possible-to-have-an-activity/) [Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/) > [There are two questions of value in this life... What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-depp-3/there-are-two-questions-of-value-in-this-life-what-is-sacred-of-what/) Johnny Depp<3 > [To the truly ethical man, all of life is sacred, including forms of life that from the human point of view may seem lower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/to-the-truly-ethical-man-all-of-life-is-sacred-including-forms-of/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [When you look at what is happening to our world-and it is hard to look at what's happening to our water, our air, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/when-you-look-at-what-is-happening-to-our-world-and-it-is-hard-to/) [Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/) > [Every man's death is standing in for every other. And since death comes to all there is no way to abate the fear of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/every-man-s-death-is-standing-in-for-every-other-and-since-death/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“The destiny of every man is death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-destiny-of-every-man-is-death/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“It wasn’t the victory of one man or the death of another. It was the death of the future, and of our youth, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/it-wasn-t-the-victory-of-one-man-or-the-death-of-another-it-was-the/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) ## 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 Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is a sad weakness in us, after all, that the thought of a man's death hallows him anew to us; as if life were not sacred too.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Eliot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/it-is-a-sad-weakness-in-us-after-all-that-the-thought-of-a-man-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/it-is-a-sad-weakness-in-us-after-all-that-the-thought-of-a-man-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0b/george-eliot-84_death_it-is-a-sad-weakness-in-us-after-all-tha_580384.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0b/george-eliot-84_death_it-is-a-sad-weakness-in-us-after-all-tha_580384.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0b/george-eliot-84_death_it-is-a-sad-weakness-in-us-after-all-tha_580384.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is a sad weakness in us, after all, that the thought of a man's death hallows him anew to us; as if life…” — 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": "It is a sad weakness in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/it-is-a-sad-weakness-in-us-after-all-that-the-thought-of-a-man-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/it-is-a-sad-weakness-in-us-after-all-that-the-thought-of-a-man-s/#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 } } ] } ```