It is surely better to pardon too much, than to condemn too much.

The floods of nonsense printed in the form of critical opinions seem to me a chief curse of the times, a chief obstacle to true culture.

I think cheerfulness is a fortune in itself.

There is a great deal of unmapped country within us which would have to be taken into account in an explanation of our gusts and storms.

If the past is not to bind us, where can duty lie? We should have no law but the inclination of the moment.

To be candid, in Middlemarch phraseology, meant, to use an early opportunity of letting your friends know that you did not take a cheerful view of their capacity, their conduct, or their position; and a robust candor never waited to be asked for its opinion.

It seems to me we can never give up longing and wishing while we are thoroughly alive. There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, and we must hunger after them.