Quotessence
Home / Authors / Madeleine L'Engle
Madeleine L'Engle

Madeleine L'Engle Quotes

Writer

Filter quotes by topic

AllIfsChildrenWritingArtKnowsThinkingWayPeopleHumansArtistLightBelieveBookGivingUniverseNeedsStoriesStarsMatterWant

Famous Madeleine L'Engle Quotes

“The more limited our language is, the more limited we are; the more limited the literature we give to our children, the more limited their capacity to respond, and therefore, in their turn, to create. The more our vocabulary is controlled, the less we will be able to think for ourselves. We do think in words, and the fewer words we know, the more restricted our thoughts. As our vocabulary expands, so does our power to think.”

ThinkingLiteratureLanguageLearningVocabulary
Book:Madeleine L'Engle Herself: Reflections on a Writing Life
Create image

“The uncommon man has done the impossible and there has been that much more light in the world because of it. Children respond to heroes by thinking creatively and sometimes in breaking beyond the bounds of the impossible in their turn, and so becoming heroes themselves.”

ThinkingMenWorldChildrenHas BeensSometimesDoneLightTurnsImpossibleBecomingHeroBoundsUncommonCommon Man
Book:The Crosswicks Journals: A Circle of Quiet, The Summer of the Great-Grandmother, The Irrational Season, and Two-Part Invention
Create image

“Love of music, of sunsets and sea; a liking for the same kind of people; political opinions that are not radically divergent; a similar stance as we look at the stars and think of the marvelous strangeness of the universe - these are what build a marriage. And it is never to be taken for granted.”

PeopleThinkingLooksKindPoliticalUniverseStarsOpinionTakenSeaGrantedSunsetMarvelousMusic LoveStanceDivergentStrangenessTaken For GrantedPolitical Opinions
Book:Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage
Create image

“If we commit ourselves to one person for life, this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather, it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession but participation.”

PeopleIfsThinkingLovePersonsAgeMovingRelationshipRiskDemandCommitmentPossessionCommitPermanentRejectionParticipationWedding CeremonyCommitment In BusinessCommitted RelationshipLove And Commitment
Book:The Irrational Season
Create image

“In a very real sense not one of us is qualified, but it seems that God continually chooses the most unqualified to do his work, to bear his glory. If we are qualified, we tend to think that we have done the job ourselves. If we are forced to accept our evident lack of qualification, then there's no danger that we will confuse God's work with our own, or God's glory with our own.”

IfsThinkingRealDoneSeemsJobsAcceptingDangerHumilityBearsGloryEvidentQualifiedQualificationsUnqualified
Book:Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art
Create image

“I think your mythology would call them fallen angels. War and hate are their business, and one of their chief weapons is un-Naming - making people not know who they are. If someone knows who he is, really knows, then he doesn't need to hate. That's why we still need Namers, because there are places throughout the universe like your planet Earth. When everyone is really and truly Named, then the Echthroi will be vanquished.”

PeopleIfsThinkingKnowsNeedsStillsWarEarthHateUniversePlanetsWeaponsAngelMythologyChiefsFallenPlanet EarthFallen Angels
Author:Madeleine L'Engle
Create image

“I've got a sweater." Ben pulled off his coat and held it out for her. "Here." "Thanks, Ben. It's lovely and warm." Then she said, "Ben, I-- I can tell you how I feel about-- about everything. I think you're the best friend I've ever had. I-- I'd lie down and die for you if you wanted me to." "Honey," Ben said. "When I get you to lie down for me it won't be to die.”

IfsThinkingFeelsSaidI CanWantedLyingDiesDown AndWarmLovelyThanksHoneyCoatsSweatersYou Re The Best
Author:Madeleine L'Engle
Create image

“It's a very American trait, this wanting people to think well of us. It's a young want, and I am ashamed of it in myself. I am not always a good daughter, even though my lacks are in areas different from her complaints. Haven't I learned yet that the desire to be perfect is always disastrous and, at the least, loses me in the mire of false guilt?”

PeopleThinkingWantWellsDifferentYoungDesireLosesPerfectHavensDaughterAreasGuiltAshamedTraitsComplaints
Book:The Summer of the Great-Grandmother
Create image

“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
Create image

“Calvin said, "Do you know that this is the first time I've seen you without your glasses?" "I'm blind as a bat without them. I'm near-sighted, like father." "Well, you know what, you've got dream-boat eyes," Calvin said. "Listen, you go right on wearing your glasses. I don't think I want anybody else to see what gorgeous eyes you have.”

ThinkingKnowsWantFirstsWellsSaidDreamEyeFatherFirst TimeBlindGlassesBoatDo You KnowBatsGorgeous
Book:A Wrinkle in Time
Create image