--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What mortal is there of us, who would…" description: "\"What mortal is there of us, who would find his satisfaction enhanced by an opportunity of comparing the picture he presents to himself of his doings, w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/george-eliot-84_air_what-mortal-is-there-of-us-who-would-fin_725503.png" --- # What mortal is there of us, who would find his… ![“What mortal is there of us, who would find his satisfaction enhanced by an opportunity of comparing the picture he presents to himself of his doings, with the picture they make on the mental retina of his neighbours? We are poor plants buoyed up by the air-vessels of our own conceit.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/george-eliot-84_air_what-mortal-is-there-of-us-who-would-fin_725503.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/george-eliot-84_air_what-mortal-is-there-of-us-who-would-fin_725503.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/george-eliot-84_air_what-mortal-is-there-of-us-who-would-fin_725503.png) > “What mortal is there of us, who would find his satisfaction enhanced by an opportunity of comparing the picture he presents to himself of his doings, with the picture they make on the mental retina of his neighbours? We are poor plants buoyed up by the air-vessels of our own conceit.” [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. Comparing oneself to others’ expectations creates self‑imposed pressure, revealing how ego inflates personal judgment. **In simple terms:** Judging yourself by others’ standards makes you feel inadequate. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑compassion, detach from external validation. Themes selfcomparison ego social perception Mood thoughtful introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - work performance - social media use - academic competition - family dynamics Key Concepts philosophical self‑esteem psychology of status Questions to Reflect On - What does your inner critic say about your worth? - Can you find value beyond others’ opinions? A Different Perspective Self‑comparison can sometimes inspire improvement, not just distress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Air](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/air/) [Compare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compare/) [Comparing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comparing/) [Conceit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceit/) [Doings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doings/) [Doings Picture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doings-picture-5693297/) [Mental Retina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-retina-5693299/) [Mortal Satisfaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortal-satisfaction-5693293/) [Mortals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortals/) [Neighbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbour/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor/) [Satisfaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfaction/) [Vessel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vessel/) [Vessels Conceit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vessels-conceit-5693295/) ## Related quotes > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. 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That is all the doing you have to worry about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-frances-de-chantal/hold-your-eyes-on-god-and-leave-the-doing-to-him-that-is-all-the/) [Jane Frances de Chantal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-frances-de-chantal/) ## 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. 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