But most of us are apt to settle within ourselves that the man who blocks our way is odious, and not to mind causing him a little of the disgust which his personality excites in ourselves. – George Eliot
When we get to wishing a great deal for ourselves, whatever we get soon turns into mere limitation and exclusion. – George Eliot
There is no private life which has not been determined by a wider public life. – George Eliot
There are some cases in which the sense of injury breeds — not the will to inflict injuries and climb over them as a ladder, but — a hatred of all injury. – George Eliot
He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves, and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper. This amicable conflict with difficulty helps us to an intimate acquaintance with our object, and compels us to consider it in all its relations. It will not suffer us to be superficial. – Edmund Burke