---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ... it is one thing to like defiance, and…"
description: "\"... it is one thing to like defiance, and another thing to like its consequences.\" — George Eliot"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/george-eliot-84_consequence_it-is-one-thing-to-like-defiance-and-ano_474916.png"
---

#  ... it is one thing to like defiance, and another thing to…

![“... it is one thing to like defiance, and another thing to like its consequences.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/george-eliot-84_consequence_it-is-one-thing-to-like-defiance-and-ano_474916.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/george-eliot-84_consequence_it-is-one-thing-to-like-defiance-and-ano_474916.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/george-eliot-84_consequence_it-is-one-thing-to-like-defiance-and-ano_474916.png)

> “... it is one thing to like defiance, and another thing to like its consequences.”

[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.

It distinguishes between enjoying rebellion itself and being comfortable with its outcomes.

**In simple terms:** Liking defiance differs from liking its results.

Key Takeaway

Consider both the act and its consequences.

Themes

defiance consequences values ethics

Mood

cautious critical

Type

ethical philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal decision making
- political activism
- creative writing
- conflict resolution

Key Concepts

moral philosophy psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- Do you enjoy the act of defiance or its results?
- Can you accept the fallout of your rebellious acts?

A Different Perspective

People may romanticize rebellion without facing fallout.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Consequence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequence/) [Consequences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequences/) [Defiance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defiance/) [Defiance Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defiance-thing-2227472/) [Like Consequences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-consequences-2227473/) [Like Defiance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-defiance-2227471/) [One thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-thing/) [Rebellion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rebellion/)

## Related quotes

> [“But it is one thing to like defiance, and another thing to like its consequences.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-it-is-one-thing-to-like-defiance-and-another-thing-to-like-its/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [“If you don't like the consequences of change then you have chosen to stay the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bogdan-vaida/if-you-don-t-like-the-consequences-of-change-then-you-have-chosen-to/)

[Bogdan Vaida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bogdan-vaida/)

> [“One moment follows another. Next comes from previous. So you have to stay on your toes. Protect yourself. Listen to that little voice inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caprice-crane/one-moment-follows-another-next-comes-from-previous-so-you-have-to/)

[Caprice Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caprice-crane/)

> [“Dominance. Control. These things the unjust seek most of all. And so it is the duty of the just to defy dominance and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fanney/dominance-control-these-things-the-unjust-seek-most-of-all-and-so-it/)

[Robert Fanney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fanney/)

> [“Making-out is one thing that won’t change even if civilization fizzles and humanity is reduced to two people. So each time Jack and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-george/making-out-is-one-thing-that-won-t-change-even-if-civilization/)

[Caroline George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-george/)

> [There's defiance and then theres stupidity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-marin/there-s-defiance-and-then-theres-stupidity/)

[Juan Marin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-marin/)

> [Mighty is the force of motherhood! It transforms all things by its vital heat; it turns timidity into fierce courage, and dreadless defiance into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/mighty-is-the-force-of-motherhood-it-transforms-all-things-by-its/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [Pity that consequences are determined not by excuses but by actions!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/pity-that-consequences-are-determined-not-by-excuses-but-by-actions/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [“Dare to dream, for in the daring there is defiance to live beyond your circumstances”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dare-to-dream-for-in-the-daring-there-is-defiance-to-live-beyond-your/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I want nevertheless to add that for me the world is a defiance of common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-magritte/i-want-nevertheless-to-add-that-for-me-the-world-is-a-defiance-of/)

[Rene Magritte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-magritte/)

> [As one, they leap, laughing, and that is where we leave them - mouths open, arms spread wide, fingers splayed to take in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/as-one-they-leap-laughing-and-that-is-where-we-leave-them-mouths-open/)

[Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/)

> [There is all the difference in the world between the criminal's avoiding the public eye and the civil disobedience's taking the law into his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/there-is-all-the-difference-in-the-world-between-the-criminal-s/)

[Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/)

> [If you tell me, I will leave you alone," I said. "And if you don't tell me, I am going to grab the nearest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/if-you-tell-me-i-will-leave-you-alone-i-said-and-if-you-don-t-tell-me/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [One response was given by the innkeeper when Mary and Joseph wanted to find a room where the Child could be born. The innkeeper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/one-response-was-given-by-the-innkeeper-when-mary-and-joseph-wanted/)

[Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/)

> [“Defiance, Catherine, is a gift of God, who is superior to nature. When nature comes to get you, honor God by treating it, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/defiance-catherine-is-a-gift-of-god-who-is-superior-to-nature-when/)

[Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/)

## 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 Consequence quotes

> [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/)

[Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/)

> [The world's problems are, by and large, human problems-the unavoidable consequence of egoic sleepwalking. If we care to look, all the signs are present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/the-world-s-problems-are-by-and-large-human-problems-the-unavoidable/)

[Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/)

> [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/)

[Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/)

> [It's easy to make mistakes. It's living with the consequences of them that's the hardest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/it-s-easy-to-make-mistakes-it-s-living-with-the-consequences-of-them/)

[Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/)

> [Actions have consequences... first rule of life. And the second rule is this - you are the only one responsible for your own actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/actions-have-consequences-first-rule-of-life-and-the-second-rule-is/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The contempt for law and the contempt for the human consequences of lawbreaking go from the bottom to the top of American society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-contempt-for-law-and-the-contempt-for-the-human-consequences-of/)

[Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/)

> [Cultivate the habit of thinking ahead, and of anticipating the necessary and immediate consequences of all your actions… Likewise in your pleasures, ask yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/cultivate-the-habit-of-thinking-ahead-and-of-anticipating-the/)

[Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/)

> [There is no silver bullet. There are always options and the options have consequences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-horowitz/there-is-no-silver-bullet-there-are-always-options-and-the-options/)

[Ben Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-horowitz/)

> [“Each day I learn that every single action we take has its own consequence – for either good or bad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginny-dye/each-day-i-learn-that-every-single-action-we-take-has-its-own/)

[Ginny Dye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginny-dye/)

> [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/)

[Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/)

> [If you wish to be a lawyer, attach no consequence to the place you are in, or the person you are with; but get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/if-you-wish-to-be-a-lawyer-attach-no-consequence-to-the-place-you-are/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [Any kind of restrictions put on free speech would have worse consequences than bullying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-starlight/any-kind-of-restrictions-put-on-free-speech-would-have-worse/)

[Lady Starlight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-starlight/)

> [So, I'm not the only one who believes that there is such a thing as "the law of gravity," and if it's a law,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-comfort/so-i-m-not-the-only-one-who-believes-that-there-is-such-a-thing-as/)

[Ray Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-comfort/)

> [The average American expends more time becoming informed about choosing a car than choosing a candidate. But, then, the consequences of the former choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-average-american-expends-more-time-becoming-informed-about/)

[George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/)

[Browse all 3,099 Consequence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequence/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "... it is one thing to like defiance, and another thing to like its consequences.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "George Eliot"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/it-is-one-thing-to-like-defiance-and-another-thing-to-like-its/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Consequence"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/it-is-one-thing-to-like-defiance-and-another-thing-to-like-its/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/george-eliot-84_consequence_it-is-one-thing-to-like-defiance-and-ano_474916.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/george-eliot-84_consequence_it-is-one-thing-to-like-defiance-and-ano_474916.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/george-eliot-84_consequence_it-is-one-thing-to-like-defiance-and-ano_474916.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“... it is one thing to like defiance, and another thing to like its consequences.” — 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 one thing to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/it-is-one-thing-to-like-defiance-and-another-thing-to-like-its/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/it-is-one-thing-to-like-defiance-and-another-thing-to-like-its/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
