Inspirational Quotes by George MacDonald
“No man can rid him of himself and live, for that involves an impossibility. But he can rid himself of that haunting shadow of his own self, which he has pampered and fed upon shadowy lies, until it is bloated and black with pride and folly. When that demon-king of shades is once cast out, and the man's house is possessed of God instead, then first he finds his true substantial self, which is the servant- nay, the child- of God. To rid you of yourself you must offer it again to Him who made it. Be empty so that He may fill you.”
― George MacDonald ,
from The Last Castle
“Good luck “You will be the better for it,” he returned. “I believe I’ve allus been the better for any trouble as ever I had to go through with. I couldn’t quite say the same for every bit of good luck I had; leastways, I consider trouble the best luck a man can have.” Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood, ch. 33”
“Hate will sharpen observation, affording opportunity for many a shrewd guess, and the construction of clever and false theories, but will leave the observer blind to the whole.”
― George MacDonald ,
from The Last Castle
“[35] Caelum non animum mutant The man who is not content where he is, would never have been content somewhere else, though he might have complained less. Donal Grant, ch. 31”
“Duty cannot bring his men to hand-to-hand conflict with the same power as Queen Love.”
― George MacDonald ,
from The Last Castle
“It is not the high summer alone that is God’s. The winter also is His. And into His winter He came to visit us. And all man’s winters are His – the winter of our poverty, the winter of our sorrow, the winter of our unhappiness – even “the winter of our discontent.” Adela Cathcart, vol. 1, ch. 2”
“The good man never wrote or read a sermon, but talked to his people as one who would meet what was in them with what was in him.”
“Doorkeepers He was not merely of the salt of the earth, but of the leaven of the kingdom, contributing more to the true life of the world than many a thousand far more widely known and honoured. Such as this man are the chief springs of thought, feeling, inquiry, action, in their neighbourhood; they radiate help and breathe comfort; they reprove, they counsel, they sympathize; in a word, they are doorkeepers of the house of God. Constantly upon its threshold, and every moment pushing the door to peep in, they let out radiance enough to keep the hearts of men believing in the light. They make an atmosphere about them in which spiritual things can thrive, and out of their school often come men who do greater things, better they cannot do, than they. Malcolm, ch.”
“Hurry Who knows what harm may be done to a man by hurrying a spiritual process in him?”
“Am I mystical again, reader? Then I hope you are too, or will be before you have done with this same beautiful mystical life of ours.”
“Where is the good of planning upon an if? To trust is to get ready, uncle says. Trust is better than foresight.”
“Suffering While the cup of blessing may and often does run over, I doubt if the cup of suffering is ever more than filled to the brim.”
“It was a troubled night, the last they spent in the castle. Not many slept. But the lord of it had long understood that what could cease to be his never had been his, and slept like a child.”
“Ay, sir. To be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand.”
“By obedience, I intend no kind of obedience to man, or submission to authority claimed by man or community of men. I mean obedience to the will of the Father, however revealed in our conscience.”
“The more originating, living, visible truth, embracing all truths in all relations, is Jesus Christ. He is true: He is the live Truth.”
“Nor will God force any door to enter in. He may send a tempest about the house; the wind of His admonishment may burst doors and windows, yea, shake the house to its foundations; but not then, not so, will He enter. The door must be opened by the willing hand, ere the foot of Love will cross the threshold.”
“Then had her envious heart rest, at least such rest as a heart full of envy and malice ever can have.”
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George MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister.
Known particularly for his poignant fairy tales and fantasy novels, George MacDonald inspired many authors, such as W. H. Auden, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, E. Nesbit and Madeleine L'Engle. G. K. Chesterton cited The Princess and the Goblin as a book that had "made a difference to my whole existence."
Even Mark Twain, who initially disliked MacDonald, became friends with him, and there is some evidence that Twain was influenced by MacDonald.
MacDonald grew up influenced by his Congregational Church, with an atmosphere of Calvinism. But MacDonald never felt comfortable with some aspects of Calvinist doctrine; indeed, legend has it that when the doctrine of predestination was first explained to him, he burst into tears (although assured that he was one of the elect). Later novels, such as Robert Falconer and Lilith, show a distaste for the idea that God's electing love is limited to some and denied to others.