--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Joy and peace are not resignation…" description: "\"“Joy and peace are not resignation: resignation is the willing endurance of a pain that is not allayed – that you don’t expect to be allayed. Stupefact..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e45/george-eliot-84_life_joy-and-peace-are-not-resignation-resign_1457866.png" --- # Joy and peace are not resignation: resignation is the… ![“Joy and peace are not resignation: resignation is the willing endurance of a pain that is not allayed – that you don’t expect to be allayed. Stupefaction is not resignation: and it is stupefaction to remain in ignorance – to shut up all the avenues by which the life of your fellow-men might become…” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e45/george-eliot-84_life_joy-and-peace-are-not-resignation-resign_1457866.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e45/george-eliot-84_life_joy-and-peace-are-not-resignation-resign_1457866.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e45/george-eliot-84_life_joy-and-peace-are-not-resignation-resign_1457866.png) > ““Joy and peace are not resignation: resignation is the willing endurance of a pain that is not allayed – that you don’t expect to be allayed. Stupefaction is not resignation: and it is stupefaction to remain in ignorance – to shut up all the avenues by which the life of your fellow-men might become known to you. I am not resigned: I am not sure that life is long enough to learn that lesson. You are not resigned: you are only trying to stupefy yourself.”” [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. Resignation is passive endurance of unresolved pain; true growth requires confronting ignorance and seeking understanding. **In simple terms:** Accepting pain without change is resignation; seek knowledge instead. Key Takeaway Avoid passive acceptance. Themes philosophy psychology existentialism Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal crisis - social activism - mental health - learning journeys Key Concepts resignation stupefaction ignorance Questions to Reflect On - What pain are you enduring without action? - How can you turn ignorance into insight? A Different Perspective Resignation may be a coping mechanism for some. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Joy And Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy-and-peace/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patience/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Resignation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resignation/) [Resignation Resignation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resignation-resignation-5258811/) [Resignation Stupefaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resignation-stupefaction-3946491/) [Resigned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resigned/) [Stupefaction Resignation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupefaction-resignation-3946492/) ## Related quotes > [“Stupefaction is not resignation; and it is stupefaction to remain in ignorance,–to shut up all the avenues by which the life of your fellow-men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/stupefaction-is-not-resignation-and-it-is-stupefaction-to-remain-in/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [It may well be that our means are fairly limited and our possibilities restricted when it comes to applying pressure on our government But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/it-may-well-be-that-our-means-are-fairly-limited-and-our/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“When he resigned his boss thought he was asking for more money. 'No,' he said. 'I'm just going to try to be a full-time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/when-he-resigned-his-boss-thought-he-was-asking-for-more-money-no-he/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [We are all resigned to death: it's life we aren't resigned to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/we-are-all-resigned-to-death-it-s-life-we-aren-t-resigned-to/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“She is resigned, with that resignation resembling indifference as death resembles sleep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/she-is-resigned-with-that-resignation-resembling-indifference-as/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I myself am a person who has never resigned myself, who is absolutely never resigned, who can’t imagine it at all. I simply observe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingeborg-bachmann/i-myself-am-a-person-who-has-never-resigned-myself-who-is-absolutely/) [Ingeborg Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingeborg-bachmann/) > [I am not resigned: I am not sure life is long enough to learn that lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/i-am-not-resigned-i-am-not-sure-life-is-long-enough-to-learn-that/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“I am done with the monster of "We," the word of serfdom, of plunder, of misery, falsehood and shame. And now I see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/i-am-done-with-the-monster-of-we-the-word-of-serfdom-of-plunder-of/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Whatever we focus our attention on will expand in our experience. If we focus on cultivating the higher qualities of love, compassion, joy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/whatever-we-focus-our-attention-on-will-expand-in-our-experience-if/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [May the joy and peace of Christmas be with you all through the Year. Wishing you a season of blessings from heaven above. Merry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/may-the-joy-and-peace-of-christmas-be-with-you-all-through-the-year/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“When meditation is mastered, The mind is unwavering like the Flame of a lamp in a windless place. In the still mind, In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhagavad-gita/when-meditation-is-mastered-the-mind-is-unwavering-like-the-flame-of/) [Bhagavad Gita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhagavad-gita/) > [“So, are there other paths, lifestyles or value systems to consider? Of course, there are plenty. I suggest one alternative here: a meditative life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farnaz-masumian/so-are-there-other-paths-lifestyles-or-value-systems-to-consider-of/) [Farnaz Masumian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farnaz-masumian/) > [God. I just want to thank YOU for filling my life with joy and peace, I want to thank YOU for blessing me with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/god-i-just-want-to-thank-you-for-filling-my-life-with-joy-and-peace-i/) [Unkown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unkown/) > [I have continually watched as some people let their past define who they are today. The past has literally robbed them of any joy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kreger/i-have-continually-watched-as-some-people-let-their-past-define-who/) [David Kreger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kreger/) > [Love is the key to the mystery. Love by its very nature is not selfish, but generous. It seeks not its own, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/love-is-the-key-to-the-mystery-love-by-its-very-nature-is-not-selfish/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) ## 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 Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [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/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) [Deanna L. Lawlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-l-lawlis/) > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Joy and peace are not resignation: resignation is the willing endurance of a pain that is not allayed – that you don’t expect to be allayed. Stupefaction is not resignation: and it is stupefaction to remain in ignorance – to shut up all the avenues by which the life of your fellow-men might become known to you. I am not resigned: I am not sure that life is long enough to learn that lesson. You are not resigned: you are only trying to stupefy yourself.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Eliot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/joy-and-peace-are-not-resignation-resignation-is-the-willing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/joy-and-peace-are-not-resignation-resignation-is-the-willing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e45/george-eliot-84_life_joy-and-peace-are-not-resignation-resign_1457866.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e45/george-eliot-84_life_joy-and-peace-are-not-resignation-resign_1457866.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e45/george-eliot-84_life_joy-and-peace-are-not-resignation-resign_1457866.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Joy and peace are not resignation: resignation is the willing endurance of a pain that is not allayed – that…” — 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": "“Joy and peace are not resignation:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/joy-and-peace-are-not-resignation-resignation-is-the-willing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/joy-and-peace-are-not-resignation-resignation-is-the-willing/#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 } } ] } ```