George Eliot

What makes life dreary is the want of a motive.

We hand folks over to God’s mercy, and show none ourselves.

Quarrel? Nonsense; we have not quarreled. If one is not to get into a rage sometimes, what is the good of being friends?

What do we live for, if not to make life less difficult for each other?

Keep true, never be ashamed of doing right; decide on what you think is right and stick to it.

Wear a smile and have friends; wear a scowl and have wrinkles. What do we live for if not to make the world less difficult for each other?

Far too many executives have become more concerned with the four P’s – pay, perks, power and prestige – rather than making profits for shareholders.

Coal is a portable climate. It carries the heat of the tropics to Labrador and the polar circle; and it is the means of transporting itself whithersoever it is wanted. Watt and Stephenson whispered in the ear of mankind their secret, that a half-ounce of coal will draw two tons a mile, and coal carries coal, by rail and by boat, to make Canada as warm as Calcutta, and with its comfort brings its industrial power.

They are decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent.

Anger makes dull men witty – but it keeps them poor.

None of the affections have been noted to fascinate and bewitch but envy.

We lie in the lap of immense intelligence.

It is nobler to be good, and it is nobler to teach others to be good – and less trouble!

Covetousness is the greatest of monsters, as well as the root of all evil.

America is another name for opportunity.

Never do anything by halves if you want to get away with it. Be outrageous. Go the whole hog. Make sure everything you do is so completely crazy it’s unbelievable.

Forget and forgive. This is not difficult when properly understood. It means forget inconvenient duties, then forgive yourself for forgetting. By rigid practice and stern determination, it comes easy.

No poems can please for long or live that are written by water-drinkers.

The soul of God is poured into the world through the thoughts of men.

Doing as others told me, I was blind. Coming when others called me, I was lost. Then I left everyone, myself as well. Then I found myself, myself as well.

We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness.