George MacDonald Quotes

d. 1905 Scotland

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.

Scotland
Novelists
Poets

Also known as: George Macdonald, MacDonald, George

Random George MacDonald quote

90 quotes

A condition which of declension would indicate a devil, may of growth indicate a saint.

Unspoken Sermons, First Series (1867)

Friends, if we be honest with ourselves, we shall be honest with each other.

The direst foe of courage is the fear itself, not the object of it; and the man who can overcome his own terror is a hero and more.

That 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.

Lilith (1895)

Beauty and sadness always go together.
Nature thought beauty too rich to go forth
Upon the earth without a meet alloy.

Within and Without (1855)

There is no stretch in unbelief. Even the unbelief of what is false is no source of might. It is the truth shining from behind that gives the strength to disbelieve.

The Marquis of Lossie (1877)

After a few days, Willie got tired of [the water-wheel] — and no blame to him, for it was no earthly use beyond amusement, and that which can only amuse can never amuse long.

I firmly believe people have hitherto been a great deal too much taken up about doctrine and far too little about practice. The word doctrine, as used in the Bible, means teaching of duty, not theory.

Age is not all decay; it is the ripening,
the swelling, of the fresh life within, that withers and bursts the husks.

The Marquis of Lossie (1877)

The man that feareth, Lord, to doubt,
In that fear doubteth thee.

The Disciple and Other Poems (1867)

You would not think any duty small,
If you yourself were great.

The Disciple and Other Poems (1867)

Better to have the poet's heart than brain,
Feeling than song.

To judge religion we must have it—not stare at it from the bottom of a seeming interminable ladder

Benefits conferred awaken love in some minds, as surely as benefits received in others.

Phantastes (1858)

Obedience is the key to every door.

The Marquis of Lossie (1877)

A man may well himself discover truth in what he wrote; for he was dealing all the time with things that came from thoughts beyond his own.

The Fantastic Imagination (1893)

There 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.

Phantastes (1858)

The best thing you can do for your fellow, next to rousing his conscience, is — not to give him things to think about, but to wake things up that are in him; or say, to make him think things for himself.

The Fantastic Imagination (1893)

And so all growth that is not towards God
Is growing to decay.

Endurance must conquer, where force could not reach.

Phantastes (1858)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: George MacDonald (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.