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.
George Eliot
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In George Eliot's novel Middlemarch, the term "to be candid" reflects a straightforward approach to expressing one’s opinion, often without waiting for an invitation. It illustrates a cultural norm where honesty is valued, even when it might not be well received. This unfiltered candor often serves as a means for individuals to voice their critical assessments about their friends' abilities, behaviors, or life circumstances.

The idea presented implies that true candor entails not only honesty but also a lack of regard for the potential discomfort it may cause. There is an expectation that this forthrightness cultivates genuine relationships, but it also brings the risk of alienation. Eliot's commentary on candor examines the complexity of human interactions and the balance between honesty and tact.

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Middlemarch
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George Eliot
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Other quotes in Middlemarch

The cubic feet of oxygen yearly swallowed by a full-grown man – what a shudder they might have created in some Middlemarch circles! 'Oxygen! nobody knows what that may be – is it any wonder the cholera has got to Dantzic?
George Eliot Middlemarch
The cubic feet of oxygen yearly swallowed by a full-grown man – what a shudder they might have created in some Middlemarch circles! 'Oxygen! nobody knows what that may be – is it any wonder the cholera has got to Dantzic?
Language gives a fuller image, which is all the better for beings vague. After all, the true seeing is within
George Eliot Middlemarch
Language gives a fuller image, which is all the better for beings vague. After all, the true seeing is within
{Every nerve and muscle in Rosamond was adjusted to the consciousness that she was being looked at. She was by nature an actress of parts that entered into her physique: she even acted her own character, and so well, that she did not know it to be precisely her own.}
George Eliot Middlemarch
{Every nerve and muscle in Rosamond was adjusted to the consciousness that she was being looked at. She was by nature an actress of parts that entered into her physique: she even acted her own character, and so well, that she did not know it to be precisely her own.}
for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.
George Eliot Middlemarch
for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.
it is a comfortable disposition leading us to expect that the wisdom of providence or the folly of our friends, the mysteries of luck or the still greater mystery of our high individual value in the universe, will bring about agreeable issues, such as are consistent with our good taste in costume, and our general preference for the best style of thing.
George Eliot Middlemarch
it is a comfortable disposition leading us to expect that the wisdom of providence or the folly of our friends, the mysteries of luck or the still greater mystery of our high individual value in the universe, will bring about agreeable issues, such as are consistent with our good taste in costume, and our general preference for the best style of thing.
There was nothing financial, still less sordid, in her previsions: she cared about what were considered refinements, and not about the money that was to pay for them.
George Eliot Middlemarch
There was nothing financial, still less sordid, in her previsions: she cared about what were considered refinements, and not about the money that was to pay for them.
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Other quotes in correction

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.
George Eliot Middlemarch
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.
To admonish is better than to reproach for admonition is mild and friendly, but reproach is harsh and insulting; and admonition corrects those who are doing wrong, but reproach only convicts them.
Epictetus Enchiridion and Selections from the Discourses
To admonish is better than to reproach for admonition is mild and friendly, but reproach is harsh and insulting; and admonition corrects those who are doing wrong, but reproach only convicts them.
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