George MacDonald Quotes (1824-1905)

Author, Poet

About George MacDonald

George MacDonald (December 10, 1824 – September 18, 1905) was a Scottish author and Christian universalist minister most famous for his poetry, fairy tales and fantasy novels.

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β€œAfflictions are but the shadow of His wings.”
β€œAll is loss that comes between us and Christ.”
George MacDonald
β€œA true friend is forever a friend.”
β€œTo receive honestly is the best thanks for a good thing.”
β€œYou would not think any duty small,
If you yourself were great.”
β€œThe man that feareth, Lord, to doubt,
In that fear doubteth thee.”
β€œEndurance must conquer, where force could not reach.”
George MacDonald
β€œTo be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved.”
β€œBenefits conferred awaken love in some minds, as surely as benefits received in others.”
β€œA condition which of declension would indicate a devil, may of growth indicate a saint.”
β€œ...the regions where there is only life, and therefore all that is not music is silence.”
George MacDonald
β€œDivision has done more to hide Christ from the view of men than all the infidelity that has ever been spoken.”
George MacDonald
β€œWe must do the thing we must
Before the thing we may;
We are unfit for any trust
Till we can and do obey.”
George MacDonald
β€œWe are often unable to tell people what they need to know because they want to know something else.”
β€œAge is not all decay; it is the ripening,
the swelling, of the fresh life within, that withers and bursts the husks.”
β€œCome, come to Him who made thy heart; Come weary and oppressed; To come to Jesus is thy part; His part, to give thee rest.”
β€œWhy are all reflections lovelier than what we call the reality? β€” not so grand or so strong, it may be, but always lovelier?”
George MacDonald
β€œWhat distressed me most β€” more even than my own folly β€” was the perplexing question, How can beauty and ugliness dwell so near?”
George MacDonald
β€œThat which is in a man, not that which lies beyond his vision is the main factor in what is about to befall him: the operation upon him is the event.”
George MacDonald
β€œWhat we call evil, is the only and best shape, which, for the person and his condition at the time, could be assumed by the best good.”
β€œWhere did you come from baby dear?
Out of the everywhere into the here....
Where did you get your eyes so blue?
Out of the skies as I came through.”
β€œFor that great Love speaks in the most wretched and dirty hearts; only the tone of its voice depends on the echoes of the place in which it sounds.”
β€œAlas! how easily things go wrong!
A sigh too deep or a kiss too long,
And then comes a mist and a weeping rain,
And life is never the same again.”
β€œThat is always the way with you men; you believe nothing the first time; and it is foolish enough to let mere repetition convince you of what you consider in itself unbelievable.”
George MacDonald
β€œThere is no cheating in nature and the simple unsought feelings of the soul. There must be a truth involved in it, though we may but in part lay hold of the meaning.”
George MacDonald

George MacDonald Quotes by Topic

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George MacDonald on Fairy tale 5 quotes

β€œA fairytale is not an allegory. There may be allegory in it, but it is not an allegory. He must be an artist indeed who can, in any mode, produce a strict allegory that is not a weariness to the spirit.”
George MacDonald
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George MacDonald on Aesthetics 5 quotes

β€œA genuine work of art must mean many things; the truer its art, the more things it will mean. If my drawing, on the other hand, is so far from being a work of art that it needs THIS IS A HORSE written under it, what can it matter that neither you nor your child should know what it means? It is there not so much to convey a meaning as to wake a meaning. If it do not even wake an interest, throw it aside. A meaning may be there, but it is not for you. If, again, you do not know a horse when you see it, the name written under it will not serve you much.”
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George MacDonald on Hiding 4 quotes

β€œThe tale is there, not to hide, but to show.”
George MacDonald
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George MacDonald on Love 4 quotes

β€œTo be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved.”
George MacDonald
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George MacDonald on Flowers 4 quotes

β€œAnemone, so well Named of the wind, to which thou art all free.”
George MacDonald
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George MacDonald on Life 3 quotes

β€œLife and religion are one, or neither is any thing.”
George MacDonald
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George MacDonald on Obedience 2 quotes

β€œObedience is the key to every door.”
George MacDonald
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George MacDonald on Infant 2 quotes

β€œWhere did you come from, baby dear? Out of the Everywhere into here.”
George MacDonald
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George MacDonald on Truth 2 quotes

β€œBut there is no veil like lightβ€”no adamantine armor against hurt like the truth.”
George MacDonald
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George MacDonald on Prayer 2 quotes

β€œAh, what is it we send up thither, where our thoughts are either a dissonance or a sweetness and a grace?”
George MacDonald
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George MacDonald on Ageing 2 quotes

β€œAge is not all decay; it is the ripening, the swelling of the fresh life within, that withers and bursts the husk.”
George MacDonald
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George MacDonald on Home 2 quotes

β€œThen I said in my heart, "Come home with me, beloved β€” there is but one home for us all. When we find β€” in proportion as each of us finds that home, shall we be gardens of delight to each other β€” little chambers of rest β€” galleries of pictures β€” wells of water."”
George MacDonald
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What George MacDonald Said About Others

Discover personal opinions George MacDonald shared regarding contemporaries.

George MacDonald on Jesus

β€œGod never gave man a thing to do concerning which it were irreverent to ponder how the Son of God would have done it.”
George MacDonald

About George MacDonald

George MacDonald (December 10, 1824 – September 18, 1905) was a Scottish author and Christian universalist minister most famous for his poetry, fairy tales and fantasy novels.