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Madeleine L'Engle

Madeleine L'Engle Quotes

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Famous Madeleine L'Engle Quotes

“It isn't always the middle-aged who refuse to listen, who will not even try to understand another point of view. One boy would not get it through his head that for all adults God is not an old man in a white beard sitting on a cloud. As far as this boy was concerned, this old gentleman was the adult's god, and therefore he did not believe in God.”

MenTryingBelieveWhiteViewsBoysMiddleSittingAdultsConcernedCloudsRefusePoint Of ViewGentlemanOld ManBelieve In GodBeardMiddle Aged
Book:The Crosswicks Journals: A Circle of Quiet, The Summer of the Great-Grandmother, The Irrational Season, and Two-Part Invention
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“What I believe is so magnificent, so glorious, that it is beyond finite comprehension. To believe that the universe was created by a purposeful, benign Creator is one thing. To believe that this Creator took on human vesture, accepted death and mortality, was tempted, betrayed, broken, and all for love of us, defies reason. It is so wild that it terrifies some Christians who try to dogmatize their fear by lashing out at other Christians, because tidy Christianity with all answers given is easier than one which reaches out to the wild wonder of God's love, a love we don't even have to earn.”

TryingBelieveHumansReasonChristianUniverseGivenI BelieveAnswersWonderChristianityOne ThingBrokenEasierCreatorAcceptedGloriousMortalityReach OutMagnificentFiniteBetrayedTemptedComprehensionGod's LoveBenignTidyLashing Out
Author:Madeleine L'Engle
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“It might be a good idea if, like the White Queen, we practiced believing six impossible things every morning before breakfast, for we are called on to believe what to many people is impossible. Instead of rejoicing in this glorious "impossible" which gives meaning and dignity to our lives, we try to domesticate God, to make his might actions comprehensible to our finite minds.”

PeopleIfsGivingTryingMindBelieveIdeasMightActionWhiteMorningOur LivesImpossibleSixDignityQueensGloriousBreakfastGood IdeasRejoiceEvery MorningFiniteImpossible Things
Book:Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art
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“In your language you have a form of poetry called the sonnet…There are fourteen lines, I believe, all in iambic pentameter. That’s a very strict rhythm or meter…And each line has to end with a rigid pattern. And if the poet does not do it exactly this way, it is not a sonnet…But within this strict form the poet has complete freedom to say whatever he wants…You’re given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself. What you say is completely up to you.”

IfsWayWantWritingBelieveDoeEndsFormLanguageGivenI BelieveLinesPoetPatternsRhythmStrictUp To YouSonnetFourteenMeterComplete Freedom
Author:Madeleine L'Engle
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“In the final exam in the Chaucer course we were asked why he used certain verbal devices, certain adjectives, why he had certain characters behave in certain ways. And I wrote, 'I don't think Chaucer had any idea why he did any of these things. That isn't the way people write.' I believe this as strongly now as I did then. Most of what is best in writing isn't done deliberately.”

PeopleThinkingWayWritingBelieveIdeasDoneCharacterUsedCertainCoursesI BelieveFinalsBehaveDevicesExamAdjectivesChaucerFinal Exams
Book:A Circle of Quiet
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