Verse heading up the start of Chapter 11 (at page 111)
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Truth is the precious harvest of the earth.
But once, when harvest waved upon a land,
The noisome cankerworm and caterpillar,
Locusts, and all the swarming foul-born broods,
Fastened upon it with swift, greedy jaws,
And turned the harvest into pestilence,
Until men said, What profits it to sow?
— George Eliot
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Truth is the precious harvest of the earth.
But once, when harvest waved upon a land,
The noisome cankerworm and caterpillar,
Locusts, and all the swarming foul-born broods,
Fastened upon it with swift, greedy jaws,
And turned the harvest into pestilence,
Until men said, What profits it to sow?" in the context of "Verse heading up the start of Chapter 11 (at page 111)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "George Eliot" (Quotes, Felix Holt, the Radical (1866))
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About George Eliot
George Eliot (born Mary Ann Evans; 22 November 1819 β 22 December 1880) was an English novelist and poet. Despite the strong social customs of her times against such arrangements, she lived unmarried with fellow writer George Henry Lewesββ for over 20 years.
About George Eliot
George Eliot (born Mary Ann Evans; 22 November 1819 β 22 December 1880) was an English novelist and poet. Despite the strong social customs of her times against such arrangements, she lived unmarried with fellow writer George Henry Lewesββ for over 20 years.
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