“That which is in a man, not that which lies beyond his vision is the main factor in what is about to befall him: the operation upon him is the event.”

— George MacDonald, Lilith (1895), Chapter 16

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.”

“Where we find a difficulty we may always expect that a discovery awaits us. Where there is cover we hope for game.”

“A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority.”

“He who would not be frustrate of his hope to write well hereafter in laudable things ought himself to be a true poem.”

“Yet I argue not against Heaven's hand or will, nor bate one jot of heart or hope; but still bear up and steer right onward.”

“I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us that the less we use our power, the greater it will be.”

“Happy the man whose wish and care a few paternal acres bound, content to breathe his native air in his own ground.”