--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We mortals, men and women, devour many a…" description: "\"We mortals, men and women, devour many a disappointment between breakfast and dinner-time; keep back the tears and look a little pale about the lips, a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba6/george-eliot-84_bad-thing_we-mortals-men-and-women-devour-many-a-d_2731766.jpg" --- # We mortals, men and women, devour many a disappointment… ![“We mortals, men and women, devour many a disappointment between breakfast and dinner-time; keep back the tears and look a little pale about the lips, and in answer to inquiries say, "Oh, nothing!" Pride helps; and pride is not a bad thing when it only urges us to hide our hurts— not to hurt others.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba6/george-eliot-84_bad-thing_we-mortals-men-and-women-devour-many-a-d_2731766.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba6/george-eliot-84_bad-thing_we-mortals-men-and-women-devour-many-a-d_2731766.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba6/george-eliot-84_bad-thing_we-mortals-men-and-women-devour-many-a-d_2731766.jpg) > “We mortals, men and women, devour many a disappointment between breakfast and dinner-time; keep back the tears and look a little pale about the lips, and in answer to inquiries say, "Oh, nothing!" Pride helps; and pride is not a bad thing when it only urges us to hide our hurts— not to hurt others.” [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. People hide disappointment behind pride, masking pain while appearing fine. **In simple terms:** Pride hides pain. Key Takeaway Acknowledge feelings instead of masking them. Themes pride disappointment social façade Mood reflective empathetic Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - Workplace interactions - family gatherings - personal relationships Key Concepts Emotional concealment social coping Questions to Reflect On - When have you hidden hurt behind pride? - How can you express vulnerability safely? A Different Perspective Pride can prevent seeking help. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-thing/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Helps Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helps-pride-2961251/) [Hide Hurts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hide-hurts-2961252/) [Hurt Others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurt-others/) [Men and women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) [Oh Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oh-pride-361090/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) [Pride Bad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride-bad-1031297/) [Pride Helps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride-helps-2961250/) ## Related quotes > [Pride helps us; and pride is not a bad thing when it only urges us to hide our own hurts—not to hurt others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/pride-helps-us-and-pride-is-not-a-bad-thing-when-it-only-urges-us-to/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Pride only helps us to be generous; it never makes us so, any more than vanity makes us witty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/pride-only-helps-us-to-be-generous-it-never-makes-us-so-any-more-than/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Oh, and there was pride, of course. It takes a long time before we cease to feel proud of being wanted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/oh-and-there-was-pride-of-course-it-takes-a-long-time-before-we-cease/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“Pride, oh pride—a friend from the past, a bodyguard of the present, and an enemy of the future. Books, oh books—a friend from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-o-brien/pride-oh-pride-a-friend-from-the-past-a-bodyguard-of-the-present-and/) [Mark O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-o-brien/) > [Everyone I know has attention deficit, and they say it with great pride. It's a bad time to be right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/everyone-i-know-has-attention-deficit-and-they-say-it-with-great-2/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [Pride is bad, stress is good. I don't want to feel confident. I want to feel rage. Endless, all consuming rage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-agassi/pride-is-bad-stress-is-good-i-don-t-want-to-feel-confident-i-want-to/) [Andre Agassi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-agassi/) > [Everyone I know has attention deficit, and they say it with great pride. It's a bad time to he right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/everyone-i-know-has-attention-deficit-and-they-say-it-with-great/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [Dear God if I hurt others, give me the strength to apologize.. If people hurt me. give me the strength to forgive .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/dear-god-if-i-hurt-others-give-me-the-strength-to-apologize-if-people/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [I have little space from the suffering of elephants right now. I wake up with it and go to sleep with it. The plight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-bauer-van-straten/i-have-little-space-from-the-suffering-of-elephants-right-now-i-wake/) [Kristin Bauer van Straten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-bauer-van-straten/) > [To live is to hurt others, and through others, to hurt oneself. Cruel earth! How can we manage not to touch anything? To find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/to-live-is-to-hurt-others-and-through-others-to-hurt-oneself-cruel/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I hate when people forget what they were in the past and only becasue they have lots of things now they become big headed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie/i-hate-when-people-forget-what-they-were-in-the-past-and-only-becasue/) [Rosie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie/) > [“for those that face chronic bouts of depression, getting a perspective on it is one of the greatest challenges.  For those who do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-worsham/for-those-that-face-chronic-bouts-of-depression-getting-a-perspective/) [Ronnie Worsham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-worsham/) > [It is better to cry than to b angry , cuz anger hurt others while tears flow silently threw the soul & cleanses the heart .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/addy/it-is-better-to-cry-than-to-b-angry-cuz-anger-hurt-others-while-tears/) [Addy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/addy/) > [“This is the man who thinks too much, who stands back from his life and never lives it. He is caught in a web…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-l-moore/this-is-the-man-who-thinks-too-much-who-stands-back-from-his-life-and/) [Robert L. Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-l-moore/) ## 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 Bad thing quotes > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [I've said it before, good people are forced to do bad things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-cloud/i-ve-said-it-before-good-people-are-forced-to-do-bad-things/) [Angus Cloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-cloud/) > [I think the people I talk about are generally so stupid that they don't even know I'm saying bad things about them. I've run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/i-think-the-people-i-talk-about-are-generally-so-stupid-that-they-don/) [Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/) > [One thing I always tell players is that there are three bad things: Nothing good happens after midnight, nothing good happens when you're around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-saban/one-thing-i-always-tell-players-is-that-there-are-three-bad-things/) [Nick Saban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-saban/) > [I'm not going to pretend that bad things don't happen. I just hope my daughter has enough understanding that when they do, just give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-krasinski/i-m-not-going-to-pretend-that-bad-things-don-t-happen-i-just-hope-my/) [John Krasinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-krasinski/) > [I've heard some pretty bad things in my life. I'm just one of those people I've gotten to a point where I don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-bush/i-ve-heard-some-pretty-bad-things-in-my-life-i-m-just-one-of-those/) [Sophia Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophia-bush/) > [Like everybody, you get nights where you feel completely depressed. You start thinking about all the bad things and think about the glass half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/like-everybody-you-get-nights-where-you-feel-completely-depressed-you/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [Be Thankful for all things in life. Even for the bad things. SOMETIMES the worst situations in life turn out to be the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-thankful-for-all-things-in-life-even-for-the-bad-things-sometimes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In my business, you should be very strong in mind. You have to be sure about yourself and about your work and your career,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irina-shayk/in-my-business-you-should-be-very-strong-in-mind-you-have-to-be-sure/) [Irina Shayk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irina-shayk/) > [“I don’t know why I latched onto the idea of being friends, but it sits right with my gut. I want Hartley in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-watt/i-don-t-know-why-i-latched-onto-the-idea-of-being-friends-but-it-sits/) [Erin Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-watt/) > [I'm just grateful to people who are willing to admit how bad things feel for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-furman/i-m-just-grateful-to-people-who-are-willing-to-admit-how-bad-things/) [Ezra Furman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-furman/) > [I love it when television is shot in a cinematic way and I think to aspire to that is no bad thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-rhys/i-love-it-when-television-is-shot-in-a-cinematic-way-and-i-think-to/) [Matthew Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-rhys/) > [“Dear Delphine, When you are older I want you to find Chinua Achebe. I want you to read Things Fall Apart. Don't be hardheaded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-williams-garcia/dear-delphine-when-you-are-older-i-want-you-to-find-chinua-achebe-i/) [Rita Williams-Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-williams-garcia/) > [Lobbying is not a bad thing. I'm not trying to say that we shouldn't have lobbyists or we shouldn't have lobbying to petition our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-abramoff/lobbying-is-not-a-bad-thing-i-m-not-trying-to-say-that-we-shouldn-t/) [Jack Abramoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-abramoff/) > [In life, we don't know why things happen. I believe God is not responsible for the bad things that happen to you. Sometimes I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/in-life-we-don-t-know-why-things-happen-i-believe-god-is-not/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) [Browse all 2,889 Bad thing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-thing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We mortals, men and women, devour many a disappointment between breakfast and dinner-time; keep back the tears and look a little pale about the lips, and in answer to inquiries say, \"Oh, nothing!\" Pride helps; and pride is not a bad thing when it only urges us to hide our hurts— not to hurt others.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Eliot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/we-mortals-men-and-women-devour-many-a-disappointment-between-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bad thing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/we-mortals-men-and-women-devour-many-a-disappointment-between-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba6/george-eliot-84_bad-thing_we-mortals-men-and-women-devour-many-a-d_2731766.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba6/george-eliot-84_bad-thing_we-mortals-men-and-women-devour-many-a-d_2731766.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba6/george-eliot-84_bad-thing_we-mortals-men-and-women-devour-many-a-d_2731766.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We mortals, men and women, devour many a disappointment between breakfast and dinner-time; keep back the…” — 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 mortals, men and women, devour...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/we-mortals-men-and-women-devour-many-a-disappointment-between-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/we-mortals-men-and-women-devour-many-a-disappointment-between-2/#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 } } ] } ```