---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We may handle even extreme opinions with…"
description: "\"“We may handle even extreme opinions with impunity while our furniture, our dinner giving, and preference for armorial bearings in our own case link us..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/george-eliot-84_impunity_we-may-handle-even-extreme-opinions-with_322176.jpg"
---

#  We may handle even extreme opinions with impunity while…

![“We may handle even extreme opinions with impunity while our furniture, our dinner giving, and preference for armorial bearings in our own case link us indissolubly with the established order.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/george-eliot-84_impunity_we-may-handle-even-extreme-opinions-with_322176.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/george-eliot-84_impunity_we-may-handle-even-extreme-opinions-with_322176.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/george-eliot-84_impunity_we-may-handle-even-extreme-opinions-with_322176.jpg)

> ““We may handle even extreme opinions with impunity while our furniture, our dinner giving, and preference for armorial bearings in our own case link us indissolubly with the established order.””

[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.

Even extreme opinions are tolerated, yet social customs bind us to the existing hierarchy.

**In simple terms:** Society tolerates extremes but maintains order.

Key Takeaway

Question the influence of tradition on freedom.

Themes

social norms hierarchy individualism

Mood

analytical critical

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- political debates
- social reform movements

Key Concepts

conformity political tolerance cultural tradition

Questions to Reflect On

- How do customs shape our political views?
- Can we truly separate opinion from tradition?

A Different Perspective

The quote may overstate tolerance of extreme views.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Impunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impunity/)

## Related quotes

> [“It had never occurred to him that he should live in any other than what he would have called an ordinary way, with green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/it-had-never-occurred-to-him-that-he-should-live-in-any-other-than/)

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

> [All empty souls tend to extreme opinion. It is only in those who have built up a rich world of memories and habits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/all-empty-souls-tend-to-extreme-opinion-it-is-only-in-those-who-have/)

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

> [All empty souls tend toward extreme opinions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/all-empty-souls-tend-toward-extreme-opinions/)

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

> [It is always easy to criticize, as Bernie Ecclestone is somebody with extreme opinions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sorrell/it-is-always-easy-to-criticize-as-bernie-ecclestone-is-somebody-with/)

[Martin Sorrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sorrell/)

> [Liberal education, which consists in the constant intercourse with the greatest minds, is a training in the highest form of modesty. ... It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/liberal-education-which-consists-in-the-constant-intercourse-with-the/)

[Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/)

> [Usually, even when a bill draws extreme opinions, there can be a process of expression and negotiation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-lam/usually-even-when-a-bill-draws-extreme-opinions-there-can-be-a/)

[Carrie Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-lam/)

> [Imagination is a licensed trespasser: it has no fear of dogs, but may climb over walls and peep in at windows with impunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/imagination-is-a-licensed-trespasser-it-has-no-fear-of-dogs-but-may/)

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

> [We frequently do good in order to enable us to do evil later with impunity exemption of punishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/we-frequently-do-good-in-order-to-enable-us-to-do-evil-later-with/)

[Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/)

> [The Liberty of the press consists in the right to publish with impunity truth with good motives for justifiable ends, though reflecting on government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/the-liberty-of-the-press-consists-in-the-right-to-publish-with/)

[Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/)

> [We have been the most prodigal of people with land, and for years we wasted it with impunity. There was so much of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-whyte/we-have-been-the-most-prodigal-of-people-with-land-and-for-years-we/)

[William H. Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-whyte/)

> [For states' rights advocates, the Constitution is like a contract that is openly violated by one party with impunity. On paper, the states remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-turley/for-states-rights-advocates-the-constitution-is-like-a-contract-that/)

[Jonathan Turley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-turley/)

> [Men frequently do good only to give themselves opportunity of doing ill with impunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/men-frequently-do-good-only-to-give-themselves-opportunity-of-doing/)

[Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/)

> [With a congressional mandate to run the deficit up as high as need be, there is no reason to raise taxes now and risk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/with-a-congressional-mandate-to-run-the-deficit-up-as-high-as-need-be/)

[Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/)

> [The north of the Central African Republic is now a war zone, with rival armed bands burning villages, kidnapping children, robbing travelers and killing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/the-north-of-the-central-african-republic-is-now-a-war-zone-with/)

[Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/)

> [“Don't let cycles of violent crimes, uncontrollable, rising cases of bloody impunity, evil puppets in a crippled judiciary, marionettes in a corrupted legislative system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelica-hopes/don-t-let-cycles-of-violent-crimes-uncontrollable-rising-cases-of/)

[Angelica Hopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelica-hopes/)

## 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 Impunity quotes

> [“Don't let cycles of violent crimes, uncontrollable, rising cases of bloody impunity, evil puppets in a crippled judiciary, marionettes in a corrupted legislative system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelica-hopes/don-t-let-cycles-of-violent-crimes-uncontrollable-rising-cases-of/)

[Angelica Hopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelica-hopes/)

> [The north of the Central African Republic is now a war zone, with rival armed bands burning villages, kidnapping children, robbing travelers and killing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/the-north-of-the-central-african-republic-is-now-a-war-zone-with/)

[Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/)

> [With a congressional mandate to run the deficit up as high as need be, there is no reason to raise taxes now and risk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/with-a-congressional-mandate-to-run-the-deficit-up-as-high-as-need-be/)

[Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/)

> [Men frequently do good only to give themselves opportunity of doing ill with impunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/men-frequently-do-good-only-to-give-themselves-opportunity-of-doing/)

[Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/)

> [For states' rights advocates, the Constitution is like a contract that is openly violated by one party with impunity. On paper, the states remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-turley/for-states-rights-advocates-the-constitution-is-like-a-contract-that/)

[Jonathan Turley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-turley/)

> [We have been the most prodigal of people with land, and for years we wasted it with impunity. There was so much of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-whyte/we-have-been-the-most-prodigal-of-people-with-land-and-for-years-we/)

[William H. Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-whyte/)

> [The Liberty of the press consists in the right to publish with impunity truth with good motives for justifiable ends, though reflecting on government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/the-liberty-of-the-press-consists-in-the-right-to-publish-with/)

[Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/)

> [We frequently do good in order to enable us to do evil later with impunity exemption of punishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/we-frequently-do-good-in-order-to-enable-us-to-do-evil-later-with/)

[Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/)

> [If you go back in time you'll find tribes that were essentially only concerned with their own tribal members. If you were a member…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/if-you-go-back-in-time-you-ll-find-tribes-that-were-essentially-only/)

[Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/)

> [In the Goldstone Report, Israeli perpetrators of possible crimes against humanity were made subject to prosecution and punishment, although the geopolitical leverage of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-a-falk/in-the-goldstone-report-israeli-perpetrators-of-possible-crimes/)

[Richard A. Falk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-a-falk/)

> [The creed of evil has been, since the beginnings of highly industrialized society, not only a precursor of barbarism but a mask of good.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/the-creed-of-evil-has-been-since-the-beginnings-of-highly/)

[Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/)

> [Workers are actually being starved on the largest military base in Baghdad, and women are being raped with impunity - and because it doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-stillman/workers-are-actually-being-starved-on-the-largest-military-base-in/)

[Sarah Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-stillman/)

> [Animals on factory farms and slaughter houses are mutilated, drugged and abused in ways that would be illegal if dogs or cats were treated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-friedrich/animals-on-factory-farms-and-slaughter-houses-are-mutilated-drugged/)

[Bruce Friedrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-friedrich/)

> [Consider, I pray, whether you are not renouncing all shame and sincerity to advance such principles. Because a comet appears in a group of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bayle/consider-i-pray-whether-you-are-not-renouncing-all-shame-and/)

[Pierre Bayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bayle/)

> [The experience of treaties being broken with impunity provide an afflicting lesson to mankind how little dependence is to be placed on treaties which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/the-experience-of-treaties-being-broken-with-impunity-provide-an/)

[Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/)

[Browse all 191 Impunity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impunity/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“We may handle even extreme opinions with impunity while our furniture, our dinner giving, and preference for armorial bearings in our own case link us indissolubly with the established order.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "George Eliot"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/we-may-handle-even-extreme-opinions-with-impunity-while-our-furniture/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Impunity"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/we-may-handle-even-extreme-opinions-with-impunity-while-our-furniture/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/george-eliot-84_impunity_we-may-handle-even-extreme-opinions-with_322176.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/george-eliot-84_impunity_we-may-handle-even-extreme-opinions-with_322176.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/george-eliot-84_impunity_we-may-handle-even-extreme-opinions-with_322176.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We may handle even extreme opinions with impunity while our furniture, our dinner giving, and preference for…” — 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": "“We may handle even extreme opinions...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/we-may-handle-even-extreme-opinions-with-impunity-while-our-furniture/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/we-may-handle-even-extreme-opinions-with-impunity-while-our-furniture/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```