George Eliot to John Chapman (30 October 1854), quoted in The George Eliot Letters: 1852–1858, ed. Gordon Sherman Haigh (1954), p. 180
“

I hope you have contradicted the story of my writing to Miss Martineau. I cannot understand how it originated except in some communication of yours to Miss M. which you intended to be serviceable to me. You must have made this communication in a moment of hallucination as to Miss M's character. Amongst her good qualities we certainly cannot reckon zeal for other people's reputation. She is sure to caricature any information for the amusement of the next person to whom she turns her ear-trumpet.

— George Eliot

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "I hope you have contradicted the story of my writing to Miss Martineau. I cannot understand how it originated except in some communication of yours to Miss M. which you intended to be serviceable to me. You must have made this communication in a moment of hallucination as to Miss M's character. Amongst her good qualities we certainly cannot reckon zeal for other people's reputation. She is sure to caricature any information for the amusement of the next person to whom she turns her ear-trumpet." in the context of "George Eliot to John Chapman (30 October 1854), quoted in The George Eliot Letters: 1852–1858, ed. Gordon Sherman Haigh (1954), p. 180" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Harriet Martineau" (Quotes about Harriet Martineau) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Harriet Martineau

About Harriet Martineau

Harriet Martineau (June 12, 1802 – June 27, 1876) was an English writer and philosopher, known in her day as a journalist, political economist, abolitionist and life-long feminist.