---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is opportunity to the man who cant…"
description: "\"What is opportunity to the man who cant use it?\" — George Eliot"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09f/george-eliot-84_cant_what-is-opportunity-to-the-man-who-cant_660486.png"
---

#  What is opportunity to the man who cant use it?

![“What is opportunity to the man who cant use it?” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09f/george-eliot-84_cant_what-is-opportunity-to-the-man-who-cant_660486.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09f/george-eliot-84_cant_what-is-opportunity-to-the-man-who-cant_660486.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09f/george-eliot-84_cant_what-is-opportunity-to-the-man-who-cant_660486.png)

> “What is opportunity to the man who cant use it?”

[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.

Opportunity is meaningless to those unable to use it.

**In simple terms:** Opportunity useless without ability.

Key Takeaway

Develop skills to seize chances.

Themes

opportunity ability potential

Mood

inspirational reflective

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- career advancement
- education
- personal growth
- resource allocation

Key Concepts

human development economics

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we empower the incapable?
- What role does society play?

A Different Perspective

Not everyone can develop ability; systemic barriers exist.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nonentity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonentity/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/)

## Related quotes

> [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/)

> [But what is opportunity to the man who can't use it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-what-is-opportunity-to-the-man-who-can-t-use-it/)

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

> [What is opportunity to a man who can't use it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/what-is-opportunity-to-a-man-who-can-t-use-it/)

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

> [Hitler had an unprecedented opportunity, such as no man will ever again be offered so easily, to create something entirely new. However, besides the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-thyssen/hitler-had-an-unprecedented-opportunity-such-as-no-man-will-ever/)

Fritz Thyssen

> [Women sometimes forgive a man who forces the opportunity, but never a man who misses ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-maurice-de-talleyrand/women-sometimes-forgive-a-man-who-forces-the-opportunity-but-never-a/)

[Charles Maurice de Talleyrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-maurice-de-talleyrand/)

> [“There is abundance of opportunity for the man who will go with the tide, instead of trying to swim against it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everte-farnell/there-is-abundance-of-opportunity-for-the-man-who-will-go-with-the/)

Everte Farnell

> [So, then, to every man his chance - to every man, regardless of his birth, his shining, golden opportunity - to every man the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/so-then-to-every-man-his-chance-to-every-man-regardless-of-his-birth/)

[Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/)

> [“...I am such a nonentity by the standards of our culture that People magazine not only will never feature a piece about me but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/i-am-such-a-nonentity-by-the-standards-of-our-culture-that-people/)

[Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/)

> [Right now it is a terrible thing to be a rugged individualist; but we don't know what else to be except a feeble nonentity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-paterson/right-now-it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-be-a-rugged-individualist-but-we/)

[Isabel Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-paterson/)

> [“What does it profit man if he allows a nonentity to make him look irrelevant just because he wants to indirectly have him become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayode-ojo/what-does-it-profit-man-if-he-allows-a-nonentity-to-make-him-look/)

[Bayode Ojo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayode-ojo/)

> [I had always been considered such a nonentity where human relations were concerned that the idea that I might have an influence, even a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-auchincloss/i-had-always-been-considered-such-a-nonentity-where-human-relations/)

[Louis Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-auchincloss/)

> [First you have to know who you are. That is the most important thing, as if you don't know who you are you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-apfel/first-you-have-to-know-who-you-are-that-is-the-most-important-thing/)

[Iris Apfel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-apfel/)

> [There are only two kinds of people in the modern world who know what they are after. One, quite frankly, is the Communist. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-fisher/there-are-only-two-kinds-of-people-in-the-modern-world-who-know-what/)

[Geoffrey Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-fisher/)

> [Such is life, my fellow-mummers-just like a poor player that bluffs and feints his hour upon the stage, and then cheapens down to mere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-furphy/such-is-life-my-fellow-mummers-just-like-a-poor-player-that-bluffs/)

Joseph Furphy

> [What am I in most people's eyes? A nonentity or an eccentric and disagreeable man... I should want my work to show what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/what-am-i-in-most-people-s-eyes-a-nonentity-or-an-eccentric-and/)

[Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/)

## 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 Cant quotes

> [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/)

[Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/)

> [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/)

[Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/)

> [Be comfortable; be you. Whats most important is to understand what suits your body type and personality. Stick to that, and you cant go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonakshi-sinha/be-comfortable-be-you-whats-most-important-is-to-understand-what/)

[Sonakshi Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonakshi-sinha/)

> [I would go to different production houses everyday for auditions and they would reject me saying you cant talk, smile, dance, or act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-tamboli/i-would-go-to-different-production-houses-everyday-for-auditions-and/)

[Nikki Tamboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-tamboli/)

> [Those with a gift for action, for their part, often express contempt for those whose gifts are more reflective. Men of action like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/those-with-a-gift-for-action-for-their-part-often-express-contempt/)

[Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/)

> [We can all agree that government cant solve the obesity crisis alone. Its an ongoing issue that will require a collaborative effort across private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-samuelsson/we-can-all-agree-that-government-cant-solve-the-obesity-crisis-alone/)

[Marcus Samuelsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-samuelsson/)

> [There is nothing of permanent value (putting aside a few human affections) nothing that satisfies quiet reflection--except the sense of having worked according to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/there-is-nothing-of-permanent-value-putting-aside-a-few-human/)

[Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/)

> [When your house is on fire, you cant be bothered with the neighbors. Or, as we say in Chess, if your King is under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/when-your-house-is-on-fire-you-cant-be-bothered-with-the-neighbors-or/)

[Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/)

> [The first sentence cant be written until the final sentence is written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-first-sentence-cant-be-written-until-the-final-sentence-is-written/)

[Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/)

> [There are people I would like to work with. Its a bit harder, because I live out in the sticks anyway, and plus being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wyatt/there-are-people-i-would-like-to-work-with-its-a-bit-harder-because-i/)

[Robert Wyatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wyatt/)

> [One thing that I think never goes out of style is just purity. Niceness and purity. And the Muppets have never lost that. Kermit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-segel/one-thing-that-i-think-never-goes-out-of-style-is-just-purity/)

[Jason Segel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-segel/)

> [ “My dear friend, clear your mind of cant \[excessive thought\]. You may talk as other people do: you may say to a man, "Sir,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/my-dear-friend-clear-your-mind-of-cant-excessive-thought-you-may-talk/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [Life is full of censorship. I cant spit in your eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hepburn/life-is-full-of-censorship-i-cant-spit-in-your-eye/)

[Katharine Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hepburn/)

> [To me, there is nothing more soothing than the song of a mosquito that can't get through the mesh to bite you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-smartt-bell/to-me-there-is-nothing-more-soothing-than-the-song-of-a-mosquito-that/)

[Madison Smartt Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-smartt-bell/)

> [The App Store has democratized the creation of content. As a 12-year-old kid, I was able to put my application on the store. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-d-aloisio/the-app-store-has-democratized-the-creation-of-content-as-a-12-year/)

[Nick D'Aloisio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-d-aloisio/)

Browse all 390 Cant quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "What is opportunity to the man who cant use it?",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "George Eliot"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/what-is-opportunity-to-the-man-who-cant-use-it/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Cant"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/what-is-opportunity-to-the-man-who-cant-use-it/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09f/george-eliot-84_cant_what-is-opportunity-to-the-man-who-cant_660486.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09f/george-eliot-84_cant_what-is-opportunity-to-the-man-who-cant_660486.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09f/george-eliot-84_cant_what-is-opportunity-to-the-man-who-cant_660486.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“What is opportunity to the man who cant use it?” — 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": "What is opportunity to the man...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/what-is-opportunity-to-the-man-who-cant-use-it/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/what-is-opportunity-to-the-man-who-cant-use-it/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
