george-macdonald Quotes About people

“You've got to save your own soul first, and then the souls of your neighbors if they will let you; and for that reason you must cultivate, not a spirit of criticism, but the talents that attract people to the hearing of the Word.”

People Ifs Firsts Soul Reason Spirit Influence Talent Criticism Hearing Neighbor

Book:The Marquis of Lossie

Source: The Marquis of Lossie

“Two people may be at the same spot in manners and behaviour, and yet one may be getting better, and the other worse, which is the greatest of differences that could possibly exist between them.”

People May Two Differences Spots Manners Get Better Behaviour

Book:The Princess and Curdie

Source: The Princess and Curdie

“Common people, whether lords or shop-keepers, are slow to understand that possession, whether in the shape of birth or lands or money or intellect, is a small affair in the difference between men.”

People Men Differences Common Lord Land Birth Shapes Affair Possession Intellect Shops Keepers

Book:The Complete Novels of George Macdonald (Illustrated): The Princess and the Goblin, The Princess and Curdie, Phantastes, At the Back of the North Wind, Lilith, David Elginbrod, Malcolm, Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood, Wilfrid Cumbermede and many more

Source: The Complete Novels of George Macdonald (Illustrated): The Princess and the Goblin, The Princess and Curdie, Phantastes, At the Back of the North Wind, Lilith, David Elginbrod, Malcolm, Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood, Wilfrid Cumbermede and many more

“How many people would like to be good, if only they might be good without taking trouble about it! They do not like goodness well enough to hunger and thirst after it, or to sell all that they have that they may buy it; they will not batter at the gate of the kingdom of heaven; but they look with pleasure on this or that aerial castle of righteousness, and think it would be rather nice to live in it.”

Source: The Complete Novels of George Macdonald (Illustrated): The Princess and the Goblin, The Princess and Curdie, Phantastes, At the Back of the North Wind, Lilith, David Elginbrod, Malcolm, Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood, Wilfrid Cumbermede and many more

“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.”

People Men Want Should Political Politics Liberty Power Election Greed Corruption Libertarian Novelists Candidates Libertarianism Governing Elected Officials I Hate Politics

Author:George MacDonald

“It is when people do wrong things wilfully that they are the more likely to do them again.”

People Wrong Things

Book:MacDonalds’ Fairy-Tale Treasure Chest

Source: MacDonalds’ Fairy-Tale Treasure Chest

“...it is so silly of people to fancy that old age means crookedness and witheredness and feebleness and sticks and spectacles and rheumatism and forgetfulness! It is so silly! Old age has nothing whatever to do with all that. The right old age means strength and beauty and mirth and courage and clear eyes and strong painless limbs.”

People Mean Eye Age Strong Clear Sticks Silly Old Age Fancy Limbs Forgetfulness Mirth Spectacles Painless Strength And Beauty Clear Eyes

Book:MacDonalds’ Fairy-Tale Treasure Chest

Source: MacDonalds’ Fairy-Tale Treasure Chest

“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.”

People Ifs Believe Hard Doubt

Book:MacDonalds’ Fairy-Tale Treasure Chest

Source: MacDonalds’ Fairy-Tale Treasure Chest

“We are all very anxious to be understood, and it is very hard not to be. But there is one thing much more necessary.' What is that, grandmother?' To understand other people.' Yes, grandmother. I must be fair - for if I'm not fair to other people, I'm not worth being understood myself. I see.”

People Ifs Hard One Thing Understood Fairs Grandmother Anxious Not Fair

Book:George MacDonald: The Complete Fantasy Collection - 8 Novels & 30+ Short Stories and Fairy Tales (Illustrated): The Princess and the Goblin, Lilith, Phantastes, The Princess and Curdie, At the Back of the North Wind, Portent, The Lost Princess, Adela Cathcart, Dealings with the Fairies and many more

Source: George MacDonald: The Complete Fantasy Collection - 8 Novels & 30+ Short Stories and Fairy Tales (Illustrated): The Princess and the Goblin, Lilith, Phantastes, The Princess and Curdie, At the Back of the North Wind, Portent, The Lost Princess, Adela Cathcart, Dealings with the Fairies and many more

“What God may hereafter require of you, you must not give yourself the least trouble about. Everything He gives you to do, you must do as well as ever you can, and that is the best possible preparation for what He may want you to do next. If people would but do what they have to do, they would always find themselves ready for what came next.”

People Ifs Want Giving Wells May Next Trouble Ready Preparation Hereafter

Book:Cheerful Words

Source: Cheerful Words

“Suppose you didn't know him, would that make any difference?' 'No,' said Willie, after thinking a little. 'Other people would know him if I didn't.' 'Yes, and if nobody knew him, God would know him, and anybody God has thought worth making, it's an honor to do anything for.”

People Ifs Thinking Knows Littles Said Differences Honor

Book:The Complete Works of George MacDonald: Novels, Short Stories, Poetry, Theological Writings & Essays (Illustrated): The Princess and the Goblin, Phantastes, At the Back of the North Wind, Lilith, England’s Antiphon, David Elginbrod, Malcolm, The Light Princess, The Golden Key and many more

Source: The Complete Works of George MacDonald: Novels, Short Stories, Poetry, Theological Writings & Essays (Illustrated): The Princess and the Goblin, Phantastes, At the Back of the North Wind, Lilith, England’s Antiphon, David Elginbrod, Malcolm, The Light Princess, The Golden Key and many more

“We are often unable to tell people what they need to know, because they want to know something else, and would therefore only misunderstand what we said.”

People Knows Want Needs Said

Book:Delphi Complete Works of George MacDonald (Illustrated)

Source: Delphi Complete Works of George MacDonald (Illustrated)

“The truly wise talk little about religion and are not given to taking sides on doctrinal issues. When they hear people advocating or opposing the claims of this or that party in the church, they turn away with a smile such as men yield to the talk of children. They have no time, they would say, for that kind of thing. They have enough to do in trying to faithfully practice what is beyond dispute.”

People Men Trying Kind Children Littles Enough Religion Turns Given Sides Church Party Practice Issues Wise Claims Yield Disputes Opposing Advocating

Author:George MacDonald

“To try too hard to make people good is one way to make them worse. The only way to make them good is to be good, remembering well the beam and the mote.”

People Way Trying Wells Hard Remember Be Good One Way Beam

Book:The Complete Novels of George Macdonald (Illustrated): The Princess and the Goblin, The Princess and Curdie, Phantastes, At the Back of the North Wind, Lilith, David Elginbrod, Malcolm, Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood, Wilfrid Cumbermede and many more

Source: The Complete Novels of George Macdonald (Illustrated): The Princess and the Goblin, The Princess and Curdie, Phantastes, At the Back of the North Wind, Lilith, David Elginbrod, Malcolm, Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood, Wilfrid Cumbermede and many more

“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.”

People Believe Mean Littles Christian Used Deals Practice Taken Too Much Teaching Duty Theory Behavior Doctrine

Book:An expression of character: the letters of George MacDonald

Source: An expression of character: the letters of George MacDonald

“People must not choose their neighbors; they must take the neighbors that God sends them. The neighbor is just the person who is next to you at the moment, the person with whom any business has brought you into contact.”

People Persons Moments Next Community Neighbor Contact

Author:George MacDonald

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