---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are certain things we feel to be…"
description: "\"There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, and we must hunger after them\" — George Eliot"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f42/george-eliot-84_beauty_there-are-certain-things-we-feel-to-be-b_885554.png"
---

#  There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good…

![“There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, and we must hunger after them” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f42/george-eliot-84_beauty_there-are-certain-things-we-feel-to-be-b_885554.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f42/george-eliot-84_beauty_there-are-certain-things-we-feel-to-be-b_885554.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f42/george-eliot-84_beauty_there-are-certain-things-we-feel-to-be-b_885554.png)

> “There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, and we must hunger after them”

[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.

Humans instinctively seek beauty and goodness, yearning for them as essential desires.

**In simple terms:** We crave beauty and goodness.

Key Takeaway

Pursue what you find beautiful and good.

Themes

beauty goodness desire longing

Mood

hopeful reflective

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- art appreciation
- personal growth
- spiritual seeking
- relationship building

Key Concepts

aesthetic appreciation ethical aspiration

Questions to Reflect On

- What does “beauty” mean to you?
- How can you balance idealism with reality?

A Different Perspective

Such yearning can be idealized, ignoring practical constraints.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Beautiful Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful-good-272975/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Feel Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-beautiful/) [Good Hunger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-hunger-1094923/) [Hunger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunger/) [Things Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-feel/)

## Related quotes

> [I think the point of obsession with food means we're healthy as a species. When we're hungry, everything tastes good, hunger is the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-gold/i-think-the-point-of-obsession-with-food-means-we-re-healthy-as-a/)

[Jonathan Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-gold/)

> [The soul can see beautiful things, feel beautiful things, touch beautiful things, even when beautiful things aren't tangible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-soul-can-see-beautiful-things-feel-beautiful-things-touch/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I'm afraid to grow up because sometimes it seems like things will never feel this beautiful again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-afraid-to-grow-up-because-sometimes-it-seems-like-things-will/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [It seems to me we can never give up longing and wishing while we are thoroughly alive. There are certain things we feel to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/it-seems-to-me-we-can-never-give-up-longing-and-wishing-while-we-are/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [“It seems to me we can never give up longing and wishing while we are still alive. There are certain things we feel to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/it-seems-to-me-we-can-never-give-up-longing-and-wishing-while-we-are-2/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [“...when the petals fall Say it is beautiful and good, say it is well”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/when-the-petals-fall-say-it-is-beautiful-and-good-say-it-is-well/)

[May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/)

> [What is beautiful is good, and who is good will soon be beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vita-sackville-west/what-is-beautiful-is-good-and-who-is-good-will-soon-be-beautiful/)

[Vita Sackville-West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vita-sackville-west/)

> [“Life becomes easier and more beautiful when we can see the good in other people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-t-bennett/life-becomes-easier-and-more-beautiful-when-we-can-see-the-good-in/)

[Roy T. Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-t-bennett/)

> [Life is abundant, and life is beautiful. And it's a good place that we're all in, you know, on this earth, if we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/life-is-abundant-and-life-is-beautiful-and-it-s-a-good-place-that-we/)

[Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/)

> [It's tough to make a movie about movies... We're all too close to it. But 'The Bad and the Beautiful' was very good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-douglas/it-s-tough-to-make-a-movie-about-movies-we-re-all-too-close-to-it-but/)

[Kirk Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-douglas/)

> [To God all things are beautiful and good and just.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus/to-god-all-things-are-beautiful-and-good-and-just/)

[Heraclitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus/)

> [Every time you look in the mirror, remember that God created you and everything he creates is beautiful and good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/every-time-you-look-in-the-mirror-remember-that-god-created-you-and/)

[Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/)

> [Because if the manifestations that happen in the present moment are beautiful and good, their continuation in the future will be also good and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/because-if-the-manifestations-that-happen-in-the-present-moment-are/)

[Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/)

> [That which is striking and beautiful is not always good, but that which is good is always beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ninon-de-l-enclos/that-which-is-striking-and-beautiful-is-not-always-good-but-that/)

[Ninon de L'Enclos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ninon-de-l-enclos/)

> [Don't ever say you're not good enough, because if he can't see how amazing and beautiful you are, he's the one who's not good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-ever-say-you-re-not-good-enough-because-if-he-can-t-see-how-2/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## 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 Beauty quotes

> [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/)

[Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/)

> [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/)

[Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/)

> [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/)

[John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/)

> [To fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity, and still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tool/to-fathom-the-power-to-witness-the-beauty-to-bathe-in-the-fountain-to/)

[Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tool/)

> [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/)

[Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/)

> [“We've all met people who are beautiful on the outside, however, when they open their mouths to speak, they have nothing of substance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/we-ve-all-met-people-who-are-beautiful-on-the-outside-however-when/)

[Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/)

> [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/)

> [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/)

[Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/)

> [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/)

[Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/)

> [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/)

[Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/)

> [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/)

[Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/)

> [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/)

[Tumblr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tumblr/)

> [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/)

[William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/)

> [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/)

[Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/)

> [“What about you? What do you do?” I needed to ask questions, draw him out. I needed to find out all the information I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-avery-ellison/what-about-you-what-do-you-do-i-needed-to-ask-questions-draw-him-out/)

[Kate Avery Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-avery-ellison/)

[Browse all 24,662 Beauty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, and we must hunger after them",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "George Eliot"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-certain-things-we-feel-to-be-beautiful-and-good-and-we-must/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Beauty"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-certain-things-we-feel-to-be-beautiful-and-good-and-we-must/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f42/george-eliot-84_beauty_there-are-certain-things-we-feel-to-be-b_885554.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f42/george-eliot-84_beauty_there-are-certain-things-we-feel-to-be-b_885554.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f42/george-eliot-84_beauty_there-are-certain-things-we-feel-to-be-b_885554.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, and we must hunger after them” — 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": "There are certain things we feel...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-certain-things-we-feel-to-be-beautiful-and-good-and-we-must/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-certain-things-we-feel-to-be-beautiful-and-good-and-we-must/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
