--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That by desiring what is perfectly good…" description: "\"That by desiring what is perfectly good, even when we don't quite know what it is and cannot do what we would, we are part of the divine power against ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbb/george-eliot-84_darkness_that-by-desiring-what-is-perfectly-good_1938163.jpg" --- # That by desiring what is perfectly good, even when we… ![“That by desiring what is perfectly good, even when we don't quite know what it is and cannot do what we would, we are part of the divine power against evil -- widening the skirts of light and making the struggle with darkness narrower.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbb/george-eliot-84_darkness_that-by-desiring-what-is-perfectly-good_1938163.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbb/george-eliot-84_darkness_that-by-desiring-what-is-perfectly-good_1938163.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbb/george-eliot-84_darkness_that-by-desiring-what-is-perfectly-good_1938163.jpg) > “That by desiring what is perfectly good, even when we don't quite know what it is and cannot do what we would, we are part of the divine power against evil -- widening the skirts of light and making the struggle with darkness narrower.” [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. Desiring what is truly good, even without full understanding, aligns us with a higher moral force that diminishes evil. **In simple terms:** Seeking true good connects us to a higher moral power. Key Takeaway Pursue genuine good even when uncertain. Themes morality spirituality philosophy human nature Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal growth - ethical decision-making - spiritual practice - community leadership Key Concepts divine alignment ethical aspiration light versus darkness Questions to Reflect On - What does “perfectly good” mean to you? - How can you act on incomplete moral knowledge? A Different Perspective The concept of “divine power” may be interpreted differently across cultures, limiting universal application. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Desiring Perfectly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desiring-perfectly-3072542/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) [Divine power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine-power/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evil Widening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-widening-3072541/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Middlemarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middlemarch/) [Skirts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skirts/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Struggle Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle-darkness-1674538/) ## Related quotes > [There is no failure in life. It all depends how you take things. 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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. 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Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) [Nicole Gentile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-gentile/) [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That by desiring what is perfectly good, even when we don't quite know what it is and cannot do what we would, we are part of the divine power against evil -- widening the skirts of light and making the struggle with darkness narrower.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Eliot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/that-by-desiring-what-is-perfectly-good-even-when-we-don-t-quite-know/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Darkness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/that-by-desiring-what-is-perfectly-good-even-when-we-don-t-quite-know/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbb/george-eliot-84_darkness_that-by-desiring-what-is-perfectly-good_1938163.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbb/george-eliot-84_darkness_that-by-desiring-what-is-perfectly-good_1938163.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbb/george-eliot-84_darkness_that-by-desiring-what-is-perfectly-good_1938163.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That by desiring what is perfectly good, even when we don't quite know what it is and cannot do what we…” — 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": "That by desiring what is perfectly...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/that-by-desiring-what-is-perfectly-good-even-when-we-don-t-quite-know/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/that-by-desiring-what-is-perfectly-good-even-when-we-don-t-quite-know/#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 } } ] } ```