--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The worst service, I fancy, that anyone…" description: "\"The worst service, I fancy, that anyone can do for truth, is to set silly people writing on its behalf.\" — George Eliot" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/597/george-eliot-84_behalf_the-worst-service-i-fancy-that-anyone-ca_2598328.png" --- # The worst service, I fancy, that anyone can do for truth… ![“The worst service, I fancy, that anyone can do for truth, is to set silly people writing on its behalf.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/597/george-eliot-84_behalf_the-worst-service-i-fancy-that-anyone-ca_2598328.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/597/george-eliot-84_behalf_the-worst-service-i-fancy-that-anyone-ca_2598328.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/597/george-eliot-84_behalf_the-worst-service-i-fancy-that-anyone-ca_2598328.png) > “The worst service, I fancy, that anyone can do for truth, is to set silly people writing on its behalf.” [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. The worst truth‑service is letting unqualified people write on its behalf. **In simple terms:** Unqualified writers harm truth. Key Takeaway Demand expertise for truth. Themes truth authorship integrity communication Mood critical thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - media criticism - academic publishing - public discourse Key Concepts journalism epistemology Questions to Reflect On - Who should speak for truth? - How to ensure credibility in writing? A Different Perspective May overlook the value of diverse perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Behalf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behalf/) [Can do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-do/) [Fancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fancy/) [Fancy Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fancy-truth-1922525/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/service/) [Service Fancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/service-fancy-1922523/) [Silly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silly/) [Silly people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silly-people/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-is/) [Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst/) [Worst Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst-service-1922522/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Behalf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-behalf-1922524/) ## Related quotes > [People glorify all sorts of bravery except the bravery they might show on behalf of their nearest neighbors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/people-glorify-all-sorts-of-bravery-except-the-bravery-they-might/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [To see an enemy humiliated gives a certain contentment, but this is jejune compared with the highly blent satisfaction of seeing him humiliated by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/to-see-an-enemy-humiliated-gives-a-certain-contentment-but-this-is/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [I'm childish and silly. Most people tease me because I'm a bit daft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-walter/i-m-childish-and-silly-most-people-tease-me-because-i-m-a-bit-daft/) [Harriet Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-walter/) > [You're dealing with a lot of silly people in the marketplace; it's like a great big casino and everyone else is boozing. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/you-re-dealing-with-a-lot-of-silly-people-in-the-marketplace-it-s/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [I like summer. I like warmer weather and long days. I'm one of those silly people who still enjoy lying in the sun -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-steel/i-like-summer-i-like-warmer-weather-and-long-days-i-m-one-of-those/) [Danielle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-steel/) > [If you're a footballer there will be certain silly people in the world who try to set you down. But just focus on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-wright-phillips/if-you-re-a-footballer-there-will-be-certain-silly-people-in-the/) [Shaun Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-wright-phillips/) > [“To discuss endlessly what silly people mean when they say silly things may be amusing but can hardly be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/to-discuss-endlessly-what-silly-people-mean-when-they-say-silly/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [To hate silly people is what good for me. To screw them is what I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-hate-silly-people-is-what-good-for-me-to-screw-them-is-what-i-do/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Dark? Hahaha, I'm not dark. Silly people. I just see things nobody else does, dress like I live on the streets, act like I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naquitta-faith/dark-hahaha-i-m-not-dark-silly-people-i-just-see-things-nobody-else/) [Naquitta Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naquitta-faith/) > [“Thus it is with proud silly people, who think themselves above everyone else, and are too proud to ask or take advice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grimm-brothers/thus-it-is-with-proud-silly-people-who-think-themselves-above/) [Grimm Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grimm-brothers/) > [You have grown abominably lazy, and you like gossip, and waste time on frivolous things, you are contented to be petted and admired by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/you-have-grown-abominably-lazy-and-you-like-gossip-and-waste-time-on/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Take a pitcher full of water and set it down in the water-now it has water inside and water outside. We mustn't give it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir/take-a-pitcher-full-of-water-and-set-it-down-in-the-water-now-it-has/) [Kabir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir/) > [I think lightness has to come from a very deep place if it's true lightness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-silverstone/i-think-lightness-has-to-come-from-a-very-deep-place-if-it-s-true/) [Alicia Silverstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-silverstone/) > [People in Los Angeles are more used to acting silly than other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-hakuta/people-in-los-angeles-are-more-used-to-acting-silly-than-other-people/) [Ken Hakuta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-hakuta/) > [“Don’t be silly. People never stop looking for love. Yeah, some of them don’t even stop AFTER they’ve found it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-medeiros/don-t-be-silly-people-never-stop-looking-for-love-yeah-some-of-them/) [Teresa Medeiros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-medeiros/) ## 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 Behalf quotes > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [Nonviolent tactics can move into action on our behalf men not naturally inclined to act for us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-deming/nonviolent-tactics-can-move-into-action-on-our-behalf-men-not/) [Barbara Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-deming/) > [Adults look upon a child as something empty that is to be filled through their own efforts, as something inert and helpless for which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/adults-look-upon-a-child-as-something-empty-that-is-to-be-filled/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Having children, they're not your property. They need to figure out their own views. I think my daughters have a pretty healthy self-awareness, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lennox/having-children-they-re-not-your-property-they-need-to-figure-out/) [Annie Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lennox/) > [I don't expect anybody here to cheerlead for Donald Trump. I expect us to have platforms like this, where we can fairly and effectively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellyanne-conway/i-don-t-expect-anybody-here-to-cheerlead-for-donald-trump-i-expect-us/) [Kellyanne Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellyanne-conway/) > [Antitrust law isn't about protecting competing businesses from each other, it's about protecting competition itself on behalf of the public.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/antitrust-law-isn-t-about-protecting-competing-businesses-from-each/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [We have some of the most influential Members of Congress here today, and I do hope that we can get this appropriation for these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/we-have-some-of-the-most-influential-members-of-congress-here-today/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [When we surrender to His timing, He does mighty things in and for us, according to His will and His timing. God acts on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stanley/when-we-surrender-to-his-timing-he-does-mighty-things-in-and-for-us/) [Charles Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stanley/) > [When you leave good people afraid to speak on behalf of justice, however awkwardly or insensitively, those unafraid to speak will rise to power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-morgan/when-you-leave-good-people-afraid-to-speak-on-behalf-of-justice/) [C.E. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-morgan/) > [ I couldn't ever act or think on behalf of what my father \[\[Albert Camus\]\] would have said or done. He's an artist, he considers… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-camus/i-couldn-t-ever-act-or-think-on-behalf-of-what-my-father-albert-camus/) [Catherine Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-camus/) > [Are you going to go down on your knees and beg for your life, old one?" Abbot Mortimer stared calmly into Cluny's savage eye.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-jacques/are-you-going-to-go-down-on-your-knees-and-beg-for-your-life-old-one/) [Brian Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-jacques/) > [If a fellow wants to be nobody in the business world, let him neglect sending the mailman to somebody on his behalf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/if-a-fellow-wants-to-be-nobody-in-the-business-world-let-him-neglect/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [The real test of one's belief in the doctrine of Habeas Corpus is not when one demands its application on behalf of one's friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-attlee/the-real-test-of-one-s-belief-in-the-doctrine-of-habeas-corpus-is-not/) [Clement Attlee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-attlee/) > [It is important that Miers not be confirmed unless, in her 61st year, she suddenly and unexpectedly is found to have hitherto undisclosed interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/it-is-important-that-miers-not-be-confirmed-unless-in-her-61st-year/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [I heard you're campaigning on my behalf." He walked over to me. "That wouldn't be because you'd miss me too much if I were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/i-heard-you-re-campaigning-on-my-behalf-he-walked-over-to-me-that/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) [Browse all 578 Behalf quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behalf/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The worst service, I fancy, that anyone can do for truth, is to set silly people writing on its behalf.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Eliot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-worst-service-i-fancy-that-anyone-can-do-for-truth-is-to-set/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Behalf" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-worst-service-i-fancy-that-anyone-can-do-for-truth-is-to-set/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/597/george-eliot-84_behalf_the-worst-service-i-fancy-that-anyone-ca_2598328.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/597/george-eliot-84_behalf_the-worst-service-i-fancy-that-anyone-ca_2598328.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/597/george-eliot-84_behalf_the-worst-service-i-fancy-that-anyone-ca_2598328.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The worst service, I fancy, that anyone can do for truth, is to set silly people writing on its behalf.” — 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": "The worst service, I fancy, that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-worst-service-i-fancy-that-anyone-can-do-for-truth-is-to-set/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-worst-service-i-fancy-that-anyone-can-do-for-truth-is-to-set/#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 } } ] } ```