--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Perhaps nothing ud be a lesson to us if…" description: "\"Perhaps nothing ud be a lesson to us if it didn't come too late. It's well we should feel as life's a reckoning we can't make twice over; there's no re..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e5/george-eliot-84_amends_perhaps-nothing-ud-be-a-lesson-to-us-if_1853726.png" --- # Perhaps nothing ud be a lesson to us if it didn't come too… ![“Perhaps nothing ud be a lesson to us if it didn't come too late. It's well we should feel as life's a reckoning we can't make twice over; there's no real making amends in this world, any more nor you can mend a wrong subtraction by doing your addition right.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e5/george-eliot-84_amends_perhaps-nothing-ud-be-a-lesson-to-us-if_1853726.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e5/george-eliot-84_amends_perhaps-nothing-ud-be-a-lesson-to-us-if_1853726.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e5/george-eliot-84_amends_perhaps-nothing-ud-be-a-lesson-to-us-if_1853726.png) > “Perhaps nothing ud be a lesson to us if it didn't come too late. It's well we should feel as life's a reckoning we can't make twice over; there's no real making amends in this world, any more nor you can mend a wrong subtraction by doing your addition right.” [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. Life’s mistakes cannot be undone; trying to correct past errors by new actions is impossible **In simple terms:** You cannot fix past wrongs by doing something else now Key Takeaway Accept responsibility and learn from mistakes Themes regret irrevocability morality Mood somber thoughtful Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - Counseling - ethical decision‑making - personal reflection Key Concepts Ethics of accountability philosophy of time personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What can you do now to prevent future regrets? - How do you reconcile past errors with present actions? A Different Perspective Some may argue redemption is possible through sincere effort ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amends/) [Feel Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-life-332483/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/late/) [Late Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/late-feel-1253745/) [Lesson Didn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lesson-didn-2043684/) [Lessons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lessons/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Making amends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-amends/) [Mend Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mend-wrong-2449538/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Reckoning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reckoning/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Subtraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subtraction/) [This world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/this-world/) [Too late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-late/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Unhappily the habit of being offensive 'without meaning it' leads usually to a way of making amends which the injured person cannot but regard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/unhappily-the-habit-of-being-offensive-without-meaning-it-leads/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [I learned a lesson which I didn't heed: Don't put yourself in your movies. It's too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-radnor/i-learned-a-lesson-which-i-didn-t-heed-don-t-put-yourself-in-your/) [Josh Radnor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-radnor/) > [If you have behaved badly, repent, make what amends you can and address yourself to the task of behaving better next time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/if-you-have-behaved-badly-repent-make-what-amends-you-can-and-address/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [The forgiveness of God is one thing, but the proof that we want that forgiveness is the energy we expend to make amends for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-forgiveness-of-god-is-one-thing-but-the-proof-that-we-want-that/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I don't wanna die without making amends with him, even if it doesnt happen, I still wanna make amends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-wanna-die-without-making-amends-with-him-even-if-it-doesnt/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [True repentance means making amends with the person when at all possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawana-blackwell/true-repentance-means-making-amends-with-the-person-when-at-all/) [Lawana Blackwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawana-blackwell/) > [I have thought about making amends with some people, but then it occurs to me that when you do that, people try to walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-thought-about-making-amends-with-some-people-but-then-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am making amends and seeking forgiveness. My only hope is that some good can come out of my situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-blair/i-am-making-amends-and-seeking-forgiveness-my-only-hope-is-that-some/) [Jayson Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-blair/) > [Making amends, being civil, respectful & friendly with](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanna-marie-davis/making-amends-being-civil-respectful-friendly-with/) [Vanna Marie Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanna-marie-davis/) > [That's a spiritual lifestyle, being willing to admit that you don't know everything and that you were wrong about some things. It's about making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-kiedis/that-s-a-spiritual-lifestyle-being-willing-to-admit-that-you-don-t/) [Anthony Kiedis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-kiedis/) > [Loyalty and trust mean everything to me. Once that link is broken, good luck making amends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/loyalty-and-trust-mean-everything-to-me-once-that-link-is-broken-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Making amends is not only saying the words but also being willing to listen to how your behavior caused another’s pain, and then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-earle-lpc-love-is-not-enough/making-amends-is-not-only-saying-the-words-but-also-being-willing-to/) [David W. Earle LPC- Love is Not Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-earle-lpc-love-is-not-enough/) > [Making amends with some people just for the sake of it is a sign of maturity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/making-amends-with-some-people-just-for-the-sake-of-it-is-a-sign-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Karma means that all actions have consequences. Grace means that in a moment of atonement -taking responsibility, making amends, asking for forgiveness - all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/karma-means-that-all-actions-have-consequences-grace-means-that-in-a/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I think in most relationships that have problems, there's fault on both sides. And in order for it to work, there has to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-carell/i-think-in-most-relationships-that-have-problems-there-s-fault-on/) [Steve Carell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-carell/) ## 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 Amends quotes > [I am making amends and seeking forgiveness. My only hope is that some good can come out of my situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-blair/i-am-making-amends-and-seeking-forgiveness-my-only-hope-is-that-some/) [Jayson Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-blair/) > [Put that pride/stubbornness aside and reach out to someone n make amends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-that-pride-stubbornness-aside-and-reach-out-to-someone-n-make/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We make stupid mistakes when we're young; we do our best to make amends for them as we get older. We survive by learning;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-steele/we-make-stupid-mistakes-when-we-re-young-we-do-our-best-to-make/) [Allen Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-steele/) > [ Sadly, \[Pablo Escobar\] ended up throwing away the one opportunity he had. I naively thought, as a son and as many other Colombians, that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-pablo-escobar/sadly-pablo-escobar-ended-up-throwing-away-the-one-opportunity-he-had/) [Juan Pablo Escobar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-pablo-escobar/) > [Forgiveness does not mean that we have to continue to relate to those who have done us harm. In some cases the best practice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/forgiveness-does-not-mean-that-we-have-to-continue-to-relate-to-those/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [If you did something in 1975 that you deeply regret and that you now can recognize as having been profoundly irresponsible, for example, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/if-you-did-something-in-1975-that-you-deeply-regret-and-that-you-now/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Karma means that all actions have consequences. Grace means that in a moment of atonement -taking responsibility, making amends, asking for forgiveness - all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/karma-means-that-all-actions-have-consequences-grace-means-that-in-a/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [“The difference between humility and humiliation is willingness. Ultimately, it's not for them. It's for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-hart/the-difference-between-humility-and-humiliation-is-willingness/) [Rob Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-hart/) > [Like the Puritans, live in terms of the settled judgement that the joy of heaven will make amends of any losses and crosses, strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-beeke/like-the-puritans-live-in-terms-of-the-settled-judgement-that-the-joy/) [Joel Beeke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-beeke/) > [As long as you live, it is never too late to make amends. Take my advice, child. Don't waste your precious life with regrets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hesse/as-long-as-you-live-it-is-never-too-late-to-make-amends-take-my/) [Karen Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hesse/) > [Making amends with some people just for the sake of it is a sign of maturity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/making-amends-with-some-people-just-for-the-sake-of-it-is-a-sign-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-think-we-are-well-advised-to-keep-on-nodding-terms-with-the-people/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Not to know that no space of regret can make amends for one life's misused oppurtunities!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/not-to-know-that-no-space-of-regret-can-make-amends-for-one-life-s/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Let a man do what he will by a single woman, the world is encouragingly apt to think Marriage a sufficient amends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-richardson/let-a-man-do-what-he-will-by-a-single-woman-the-world-is/) [Samuel Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-richardson/) > [“The past is the past, and he can't make amends, only hope that the gain will outlast the damage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/the-past-is-the-past-and-he-can-t-make-amends-only-hope-that-the-gain/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Browse all 90 Amends quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amends/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Perhaps nothing ud be a lesson to us if it didn't come too late. 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