“Nothing lawless can show the least reason why it should exist, or could at best have more than an appearance of life.”

— George MacDonald, The Fantastic Imagination, 1893

About George MacDonald

1824 – 1905

Scottish author and minister, known for fantasy novels and for the novel 'The Marquis of Lossie'.

“To receive honestly is the best thanks for a good thing.”

“A true friend is forever a friend.”

“To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved.”

“The young have exalted notions, because they have not been humbled by life or learned its necessary limitations.”

“You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you.”

“The consciousness of life is higher than life, the knowledge of the laws of happiness is higher than happiness.”

“Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.”

“Life consists in the alternate process of learning and unlearning; but it is often wiser to unlearn than to learn.”

“I could give you no advice but this: to go into yourself and to explore the depths where your life wells forth.”