George Macdonald. 1824-1905. John Bartlett, comp. 1919. Familiar Quotations, 10th ed.

John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.

George Macdonald. (1824–1905)

Alas! how easily things go wrong!
A sigh too deep or a kiss too long,
And then comes a mist and a weeping rain,
And life is never the same again.

Phantastes.

Where did you come from baby dear?
Out of the everywhere into the here.

Baby. (Song in At the Back of the North Wind).

Where did you get your eyes so blue?
Out of the skies as I came through.

Baby. (Song in At the Back of the North Wind).

    We must do the thing we must
  Before the thing we may;
We are unfit for any trust
  Till we can and do obey.

Willie’s Question.

You would not think any duty small,
If you yourself were great.

Willie’s Question.

The man that feareth, Lord, to doubt,
In that fear doubteth thee.

The Disciple.

Age is not all decay; it is the ripening, the swelling, of the fresh life within, that withers and bursts the husks.

The Marquess of Lossie.

A true friend is forever a friend.

The Marquess of Lossie.