10 Most Powerful Charles Dickens Quotes (With Social Justice Lessons for 2026)
Last updated: January 2026
10 Most Powerful Charles Dickens Quotes (With Social Justice Lessons for 2026)
Charles Dickens’s words – from novels like A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist – exposed Victorian inequality and still challenge us. Here are the ten that hit hardest today, with direct links to the original texts.
1. “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”
Doctor Marigold, 1865
Project Gutenberg – Doctor Marigold
Lesson: Small acts of kindness in a divided world.
2. “Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.”
Our Mutual Friend, 1865
Project Gutenberg – Our Mutual Friend
Lesson: Empathy in an age of burnout.
3. “There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast.”
The Pickwick Papers, 1837
Project Gutenberg – The Pickwick Papers
Lesson: Hope amid global challenges.
4. “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done.”
A Tale of Two Cities, 1859
Project Gutenberg – A Tale of Two Cities
Lesson: Sacrifice for the greater good.
5. “The men who learn endurance, are they who call the whole world, brother.”
Barnaby Rudge, 1841
Project Gutenberg – Barnaby Rudge
Lesson: Resilience builds global connection.
6. “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.”
David Copperfield, 1850
Project Gutenberg – David Copperfield
Lesson: Personal finance basics in an inflationary world.
7. “Reflect upon your present blessings—of which every man has many—not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”
Sketches by Boz, 1836
Project Gutenberg – Sketches by Boz
Lesson: Gratitude in uncertain times.
8. “Charity begins at home, and justice begins next door.”
Martin Chuzzlewit, 1844
Project Gutenberg – Martin Chuzzlewit
Lesson: Personal responsibility before societal change.
9. “A loving heart is the truest wisdom.”
David Copperfield, 1850
Project Gutenberg – David Copperfield
Lesson: Emotional intelligence over pure intellect.
10. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
A Tale of Two Cities, 1859
Project Gutenberg – A Tale of Two Cities
Lesson: The duality of progress and crisis.
Why a Charles Dickens Bust Is the Perfect Daily Inspiration Reminder
These words hit harder when the man who wrote them is watching you work. Our 23.6 cm Charles Dickens bust is inspired by Jeremiah Gurney’s 1867–1868 photograph, available in Antique Bronze or Stone White.
Source
All quotes from public-domain Project Gutenberg editions of Dickens’s works.
