--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Surely, surely the only one true…" description: "\"Surely, surely the only one true knowledge of our fellow man is that which enables us to feel with him--which gives us a fine ear for the heart-pulses ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d28/george-eliot-84_circumstances_surely-surely-the-only-one-true-knowledg_2645128.png" --- # Surely, surely the only one true knowledge of our fellow… ![“Surely, surely the only one true knowledge of our fellow man is that which enables us to feel with him--which gives us a fine ear for the heart-pulses that are beating under the mere clothes of circumstance and opinion.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d28/george-eliot-84_circumstances_surely-surely-the-only-one-true-knowledg_2645128.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d28/george-eliot-84_circumstances_surely-surely-the-only-one-true-knowledg_2645128.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d28/george-eliot-84_circumstances_surely-surely-the-only-one-true-knowledg_2645128.png) > “Surely, surely the only one true knowledge of our fellow man is that which enables us to feel with him--which gives us a fine ear for the heart-pulses that are beating under the mere clothes of circumstance and opinion.” [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. True empathy arises from feeling others' emotions, revealing deeper understanding beyond appearances. **In simple terms:** Empathy requires feeling others' emotions. Key Takeaway Cultivate deep listening and empathy. Themes empathy understanding humanity Mood compassionate reflective Type philosophical self‑help When to use this quote - counseling - conflict resolution - artistic expression - social work Key Concepts psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How do you practice empathy daily? - What barriers hinder your empathy? A Different Perspective Empathy can be limited by bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clothes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clothes/) [Fellow man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fellow-man/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Sympathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sympathy/) [True knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-knowledge/) ## Related quotes > [“surely the only true knowledge of our fellow-man is that which enables us to feel with him—which gives us a fine ear for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/surely-the-only-true-knowledge-of-our-fellow-man-is-that-which/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“My heart pulses with love. I am open to its healing and joyful effects.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-leigh-mercree/my-heart-pulses-with-love-i-am-open-to-its-healing-and-joyful-effects/) [Amy Leigh Mercree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-leigh-mercree/) > [“And suddenly, I feel like crying, but not in a bad way. More like in the way you feel when someone gives you a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becky-albertalli/and-suddenly-i-feel-like-crying-but-not-in-a-bad-way-more-like-in-the/) [Becky Albertalli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becky-albertalli/) > [Examining the world in order to find consolation is very much like looking carefully over the pages of a great book in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/examining-the-world-in-order-to-find-consolation-is-very-much-like/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [O may I join the choir invisible of those immortal dead who live again in minds made better by their presence; live in pulses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/o-may-i-join-the-choir-invisible-of-those-immortal-dead-who-live/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Deeds are the pulse of Time, his beating life, And righteous or unrighteous, being done, Must throb in after-throbs till Time itself Be laid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/deeds-are-the-pulse-of-time-his-beating-life-and-righteous-or/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Art is the nearest thing to life; it is a mode of amplifying experience and extending our contact with our fellow men beyond the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/art-is-the-nearest-thing-to-life-it-is-a-mode-of-amplifying/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Fancy what a game of chess would be if all the chessmen had passions and intellects, more or less small and cunning; if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/fancy-what-a-game-of-chess-would-be-if-all-the-chessmen-had-passions/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [There is nothing I should care more to do, if it were possible, than to rouse the imagination of men and women to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-is-nothing-i-should-care-more-to-do-if-it-were-possible-than-to/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [This generation lacks true knowledge of how the past has trapped you with psychological lassos over Adam's apples.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reks/this-generation-lacks-true-knowledge-of-how-the-past-has-trapped-you/) Reks > [“Knowledge as a past fact, as something dead and done with—knowledge by the time it gets into encyclopaedias and text-books—does consist of assertion, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-g-collingwood/knowledge-as-a-past-fact-as-something-dead-and-done-with-knowledge-by/) [R. G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-g-collingwood/) > [“Any man who behaves arrogantly with what little he knows, or claims to know all, only reveals to all that he really knows nothing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/any-man-who-behaves-arrogantly-with-what-little-he-knows-or-claims-to/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [“My spirit welled up in its joy because I asked myself "why?" The dread key to all true knowledge is "why?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mika-waltari/my-spirit-welled-up-in-its-joy-because-i-asked-myself-why-the-dread/) [Mika Waltari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mika-waltari/) > [To know what you know and what you do not know, that is true knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/to-know-what-you-know-and-what-you-do-not-know-that-is-true-knowledge/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [ “Skills (learning) or lack of skills is all egoistic knowledge (ego based knowledge). Ego-free Knowledge is called (true) Knowledge \[Gnan\].” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/skills-learning-or-lack-of-skills-is-all-egoistic-knowledge-ego-based/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) ## 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 Circumstances quotes > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Although under particular circumstances, the violence method - any method - can be justified, nevertheless once you commit violence, then counterviolence will be returned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/although-under-particular-circumstances-the-violence-method-any/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Trust is about keeping commitments, but in many instances, circumstances change and organizations therefore shed commitments, things such as retiree medical benefits, pension obligations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-pfeffer/trust-is-about-keeping-commitments-but-in-many-instances/) [Jeffrey Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-pfeffer/) > [The fortunate circumstances of our lives are generally found, at last, to be of our own producing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/the-fortunate-circumstances-of-our-lives-are-generally-found-at-last/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [“The set of circumstances that justifies the use of deadly force is a situation of immediate danger of death or great bodily harm to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massad-ayoob/the-set-of-circumstances-that-justifies-the-use-of-deadly-force-is-a/) [Massad Ayoob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massad-ayoob/) > [My sister-in-law works for a group that supports orphanages in Cairo. She and her colleagues take care of children left behind by circumstances beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-elbaradei/my-sister-in-law-works-for-a-group-that-supports-orphanages-in-cairo/) [Mohamed ElBaradei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-elbaradei/) > [It's impossible to know who Donald might have been under different circumstances and with different parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-l-trump/it-s-impossible-to-know-who-donald-might-have-been-under-different/) [Mary L. Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-l-trump/) > [When we watch a play under the standard circumstances, we've lost volition and time is passing. A still play feels like an existential threat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/when-we-watch-a-play-under-the-standard-circumstances-we-ve-lost/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [Being positive helps you to keep away negative thoughts. And helps you to stand in adverse circumstances with the hope that in the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/being-positive-helps-you-to-keep-away-negative-thoughts-and-helps-you/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [It seemed to me that the human beings I met reacted pretty much the same to the same stimuli. Different idioms,yes. Circumstances and conditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/it-seemed-to-me-that-the-human-beings-i-met-reacted-pretty-much-the/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [I don't think you would have missed that putt, but in these circumstances, I would never give you the opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicklaus/i-don-t-think-you-would-have-missed-that-putt-but-in-these/) [Jack Nicklaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicklaus/) > [I used to think I could shape the circumstances around me, but now I know Jesus uses circumstances to shape me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-goff/i-used-to-think-i-could-shape-the-circumstances-around-me-but-now-i/) [Bob Goff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-goff/) > [Instead of complaining about your circumstances, get busy creating new ones. You either suffer the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-complaining-about-your-circumstances-get-busy-creating-new/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 4,560 Circumstances quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Surely, surely the only one true knowledge of our fellow man is that which enables us to feel with him--which gives us a fine ear for the heart-pulses that are beating under the mere clothes of circumstance and opinion.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Eliot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/surely-surely-the-only-one-true-knowledge-of-our-fellow-man-is-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Circumstances" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/surely-surely-the-only-one-true-knowledge-of-our-fellow-man-is-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d28/george-eliot-84_circumstances_surely-surely-the-only-one-true-knowledg_2645128.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d28/george-eliot-84_circumstances_surely-surely-the-only-one-true-knowledg_2645128.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d28/george-eliot-84_circumstances_surely-surely-the-only-one-true-knowledg_2645128.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Surely, surely the only one true knowledge of our fellow man is that which enables us to feel with…” — 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": "Surely, surely the only one true...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/surely-surely-the-only-one-true-knowledge-of-our-fellow-man-is-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/surely-surely-the-only-one-true-knowledge-of-our-fellow-man-is-that/#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 } } ] } ```