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Beautiful Quote by Mary Ann Evans

“A better-constituted boy would certainly have profited under my intelligent tutors, with their scientific apparatus; and would, doubtless, have found the phenomena of electricity and magnetism as fascinating as I was, every Thursday, assured they were. As it was, I could have paired off, for…” quote by Mary Ann Evans
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““A better-constituted boy would certainly have profited under my intelligent tutors, with their scientific apparatus; and would, doubtless, have found the phenomena of electricity and magnetism as fascinating as I was, every Thursday, assured they were. As it was, I could have paired off, for ignorance of whatever was taught me, with the worst Latin scholar that was ever turned out of a classical academy. I read Plutarch, and Shakespeare, and Don Quixote by the sly, and supplied myself in that way with wandering thoughts, while my tutor was assuring me that "an improved man, as distinguished from an ignorant one, was a man who knew the reason why water ran downhill." I had no desire to be this improved man; I was glad of the running water; I could watch it and listen to it gurgling among the pebbles and bathing the bright green water-plants, by the hour together. I did not want to know why it ran; I had perfect confidence that there were good reasons for what was so very beautiful. ("The Lifted Veil")””

Mary Ann Evans

About This Quote

Source Book: The Lifted Veil by George Eliot, 1859

The narrator rejects formal scientific education, preferring the simple, sensory beauty of nature over abstract explanations.

In simple terms: He values feeling over reason.

Key Takeaway

Embrace direct experience.

Themes

nature education beauty

Mood

contemplative nostalgic

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

  • walking by a stream
  • observing wildlife
  • contemplating art
  • rejecting rote learning

Key Concepts

sensory perception philosophy of science

Questions to Reflect On

  • Do you prioritize feeling over analysis?
  • What does “beauty” mean to you?
A Different Perspective

His disdain for “improved” knowledge may limit deeper understanding.

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