--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We learn to restrain ourselves as we get…" description: "\"“We learn to restrain ourselves as we get older. We keep apart when we have quarrelled, express ourselves in well-bred phrases, and in this way preserv..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/george-eliot-84_animals_we-learn-to-restrain-ourselves-as-we-get_2264527.png" --- # We learn to restrain ourselves as we get older. We keep… ![“We learn to restrain ourselves as we get older. We keep apart when we have quarrelled, express ourselves in well-bred phrases, and in this way preserve a dignified alienation, showing much firmness on one side, and swallowing much grief on the other. We no longer approximate in our behavior to the…” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/george-eliot-84_animals_we-learn-to-restrain-ourselves-as-we-get_2264527.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/george-eliot-84_animals_we-learn-to-restrain-ourselves-as-we-get_2264527.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/george-eliot-84_animals_we-learn-to-restrain-ourselves-as-we-get_2264527.png) > ““We learn to restrain ourselves as we get older. We keep apart when we have quarrelled, express ourselves in well-bred phrases, and in this way preserve a dignified alienation, showing much firmness on one side, and swallowing much grief on the other. We no longer approximate in our behavior to the mere impulsiveness of the lower animals, but conduct ourselves in every respect like members of a highly civilized society.”” [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. Maturity brings self‑control and dignified interaction, replacing raw impulse with civilized behavior. **In simple terms:** Maturity = self‑control, dignified conduct. Key Takeaway Cultivate restraint, act with dignity. Themes maturity self‑control civilization social grace Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - workplace conflict - family gatherings - public speaking - community leadership Key Concepts psychology of aging social etiquette emotional regulation Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance dignity with honesty? - When is it appropriate to show vulnerability? A Different Perspective Rigid restraint can suppress authentic expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Civilized society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilized-society/) [Learn Restrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learn-restrain-5223409/) [Older Apart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/older-apart-5223410/) [Restrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/restrain/) [Restrain Older](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/restrain-older-5223408/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [Those who restrain desire, do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained; and the restrainer or reason usurps its place & governs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/those-who-restrain-desire-do-so-because-theirs-is-weak-enough-to-be/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [“break down every door they built to keep you out and bring all your people with you - storm”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupi-kaur/break-down-every-door-they-built-to-keep-you-out-and-bring-all-your/) [Rupi Kaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupi-kaur/) > [Music is 99% of my life. But I know I need a break. Besides, if you give people too much, they start to not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-corgan/music-is-99-of-my-life-but-i-know-i-need-a-break-besides-if-you-give/) [Billy Corgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-corgan/) > [When people are too comfortable, it is not possible to restrain them within the bounds of their duty? They may be compared to mules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cardinal-richelieu/when-people-are-too-comfortable-it-is-not-possible-to-restrain-them/) [Cardinal Richelieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cardinal-richelieu/) > [We have to be able to protect the homeland, and we have to be able to restrain evil in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-warnock/we-have-to-be-able-to-protect-the-homeland-and-we-have-to-be-able-to/) [Raphael Warnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-warnock/) > [“Dreams are ideas where the collar has been removed and the leash has been thrown away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/dreams-are-ideas-where-the-collar-has-been-removed-and-the-leash-has/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [“Lancelot tried to have a Word. His Word was valuable to him not only because he was good, but also because he was bad.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-h-white/lancelot-tried-to-have-a-word-his-word-was-valuable-to-him-not-only/) [T.H. WHite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-h-white/) > [Love doesn't hurt, people do, why restrain yourself because of someone else?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-fouche/love-doesn-t-hurt-people-do-why-restrain-yourself-because-of-someone/) [Desmond Fouche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-fouche/) > [Then, everlasting Love , restrain thy will; 'Tis god -like to have power, but not to kill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fletcher/then-everlasting-love-restrain-thy-will-tis-god-like-to-have-power/) [John Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fletcher/) > [Consider it the greatest of all virtues to restrain the tongue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cato-the-younger/consider-it-the-greatest-of-all-virtues-to-restrain-the-tongue/) [Cato the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cato-the-younger/) > [I take it as a man's duty to restrain himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/i-take-it-as-a-man-s-duty-to-restrain-himself/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [Our company was mortgaged to the hilt, and that did restrain us, and it's why we had to take in partners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-rinehart/our-company-was-mortgaged-to-the-hilt-and-that-did-restrain-us-and-it/) [Gina Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-rinehart/) > [“You got a vicious animal inside you. It wants to snap, it wants to attack, but it's harmless because some woman fitted a muzzle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomm-quackenbush/you-got-a-vicious-animal-inside-you-it-wants-to-snap-it-wants-to/) [Thomm Quackenbush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomm-quackenbush/) > [“I will teach you in time, but for now restrain me and have your way with me. I don’t want to think, I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laci-paige/i-will-teach-you-in-time-but-for-now-restrain-me-and-have-your-way/) [Laci Paige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laci-paige/) > [“I draw the line at a cell phone. If I want social media, I’ll join a book club. I will not be collared and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-reid/i-draw-the-line-at-a-cell-phone-if-i-want-social-media-i-ll-join-a/) [Penny Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-reid/) ## 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 Animals quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“All these creatures spend their time explaining, realizing happily that they agree with each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/all-these-creatures-spend-their-time-explaining-realizing-happily/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [We're not very dangerous animals; we don't have a horn like a rhino or quills like a porcupine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/we-re-not-very-dangerous-animals-we-don-t-have-a-horn-like-a-rhino-or/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) > [We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-need-in-a-special-way-to-work-twice-as-hard-to-help-people/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [“Plenty of animals had pets, but few were more devoted than the mouse, who owned a baby corn snake—“A rescue snake, she’d be quick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/plenty-of-animals-had-pets-but-few-were-more-devoted-than-the-mouse/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) [Browse all 6,813 Animals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We learn to restrain ourselves as we get older. We keep apart when we have quarrelled, express ourselves in well-bred phrases, and in this way preserve a dignified alienation, showing much firmness on one side, and swallowing much grief on the other. 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