Quotes by George MacDonald

Age is not all decay; it is the ripening, the swelling, of the fresh life within, that withers and bursts the husk.
– George MacDonald
Anything large enough for a wish to light upon, is large enough to hang a prayer upon.
– George MacDonald
Attitudes are more important than facts.
– George MacDonald
Beauty and sadness always go together.Nature thought beauty too rich to go forthUpon the earth without a meet alloy.
– George MacDonald
Few delights can equal the presence of one whom we trust utterly.
– George MacDonald
Forgiveness is the giving, and so the receiving, of life.
– George MacDonald
Friends, if we be honest with ourselves, we shall be honest with each other.
– George MacDonald
How strange this fear of death is! We are never frightened at a sunset.
– 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.
– George MacDonald
It is not in the nature of politics that the best men should be elected. The best men do not want to govern their fellowmen.
– George MacDonald
It is not the cares of today, but the cares of tomorrow, that weigh a man down.
– 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.
– George MacDonald
The more I work with the body, keeping my assumptions in a temporary state of reservation, the more I appreciate and sympathize with a given disease. The body no longer appears as a sick or irrational demon, but as a process with its own inner logic and wisdom.
– George MacDonald
The principal part of faith is patience.
– George MacDonald
To have what we want is riches; but to be able to do without is power.
– George MacDonald
To keep a lamp burning we have to keep putting oil in it.
– George MacDonald
We die daily. Happy those who daily come to life as well.
– George MacDonald
When we are out of sympathy with the young, then I think our work in this world is over.
– George MacDonald
You can't live on amusement. It is the froth on water - an inch deep and then the mud.
– George MacDonald
Work is not always required. There is such a thing as sacred idleness.
– George MacDonald
To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved.
– George MacDonald
The principle part of faith is patience.
– George MacDonald
The best preparation for the future is the present well seen to, and the last duty done.
– George MacDonald
It is our best work that God wants, not the dregs of our exhaustion. I think he must prefer quality to quantity.
– George MacDonald