Question

Two sisters have come to live with their uncle, Mr. Brooke.

from Middlemarch
It was hardly a year since they had come to live at Tipton Grange
with their uncle, a man nearly sixty, of acquiescent temper,
miscellaneous opinions, and uncertain votes. He had traveled in his
This sentence is from the passage.
"For the most glutinously indefinite minds enclose some hard grains
of habit."
What does the phrase hard grains of habit refer to in this passage?
younger years, and was held in this part of the county to have contracted
a too-rambling habit of mind. Mr. Brooke's conclusions were as difficult
to predict as the weather; it was only safe to say that he would act with
benevolent intentions and that he would spend as little money as
possible in carrying them out. For the most glutinously indefinite minds
enclose some hard grains of habit.
(from Middlemarch by George Eliot)
1. Mr. Brooke is a man of "miscellaneous opinions."
2. Mr. Brooke "had traveled in his younger years."
3. Mr. Brooke is "as difficult to predict as the weather."
4. Mr. Brooke "would spend as little money as possible."

Answer 1

[AI-generated answer — Bot GPT 3.5]

The phrase "hard grains of habit" refers to the fact that even very indecisive or inconsistent minds still have some ingrained habits or patterns of behavior that are difficult to change. In this context, it suggests that despite Mr. Brooke's unpredictable nature and varied opinions, there are certain consistent behaviors or actions that he is likely to stick to.