"No compliment can be eloquent, except as an expression of indifference"

This quote by George Eliot recommends that compliments are not significant unless they are given without any ulterior intention. Simply put, compliments should be given without any expectation of something in return. The concept is that if somebody is offering a compliment with the objective of getting something in return, then the compliment is not authentic. It is simply a tool to control the other person. For that reason, a compliment needs to be offered with no expectation of something in return in order to be genuinely significant. This quote encourages us to be sincere and authentic in our compliments and to not use them as a method to control others. It is a suggestion that compliments should be provided of genuine appreciation and gratitude, not out of a desire to get something in return.