George MacDonald quotes

George MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister, known for his pioneering works in fantasy literature. His novels and fairy tales had a profound influence on famous writers such as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. He is regarded as one of the founding figures of modern fantasy fiction. Here are 163 of his quotes:

To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved. (George MacDonald)
Age is not all decay; it is the ripening, the swelling, of the fresh life within, that withers and bursts the husk. View quote
George MacDonald
If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give. View quote
George MacDonald
Afflictions are but the shadows of God's wings. View quote
George MacDonald
Few delights can equal the presence of one whom we trust utterly. View quote
George MacDonald
Man finds it hard to get what he wants, because he does not want the best; God finds it hard to give, because He would give the best, and man will not take it. View quote
George MacDonald
A beast does not know that he is a beast, and the nearer a man gets to being a beast, the less he knows it. View quote
George MacDonald
Division has done more to hide Christ from the view of all men than all the infidelity that has ever been spoken. View quote
George MacDonald
Doing the will of God leaves me no time for disputing about His plans. View quote
George MacDonald
People must believe what they can, and those who believe more must not be hard upon those who believe less. I doubt if you would have believed it all yourself if you hadn't seen some of it. View quote
George MacDonald
We are and remain such creeping Christians, because we look at ourselves and not at Christ; because we gaze at the marks of our own soiled feet, and the trail of our own defiled garments.... Each, putting his foot in the footprint of the Master, and so defacing it, turns to examine how far his neighbor's footprint corresponds with that which he still calls the Master's, although it is but his own. (George MacDonald)
Diamond, however, had not been out so late before in all his life, and things looked so strange about him! - just as if he had got into Fairyland, of which he knew quite as much as anybody; for his mother had no money to buy books to set him wrong on the subject. View quote
George MacDonald
The principle part of faith is patience. View quote
George MacDonald
Attitudes are more important than facts. View quote
George MacDonald
It may be an infinitely less evil to murder a man than to refuse to forgive him. The former may be the act of a moment of passion: the latter is the heart's choice. View quote
George MacDonald
Endurance must conquer, where force could not reach. View quote
George MacDonald
Come, come to Him who made thy heart; Come weary and oppressed; To come to Jesus is thy part; His part, to give thee rest. View quote
George MacDonald
To receive honestly is the best thanks for a good thing. View quote
George MacDonald
We must do the thing we must Before the thing we may; We are unfit for any trust Till we can and do obey. View quote
George MacDonald
A condition which of declension would indicate a devil, may of growth indicate a saint. View quote
George MacDonald
All is loss that comes between us and Christ. (George MacDonald)
You would not think any duty small, If you yourself were great. View quote
George MacDonald
Alas, how easily things go wrong! A sigh too much, a kiss too long And there follows a mist and a weeping rain And life is never the same again. View quote
George MacDonald
A true friend is forever a friend. View quote
George MacDonald
For 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. View quote
George MacDonald

George MacDonald

George MacDonald - Image
Occupation: Scottish Author
Born: December 10, 1824
Died: September 18, 1905
Quotes count: 163
Wikipedia: George MacDonald

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