Thought for the Week
You may not know George MacDonald, but you know the writers he inspired. Without him, there would likely be no Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, or A Wrinkle in Time. Considered the father of modern fantasy, George personally mentored his fellow minister Rev. Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll), encouraging him to publish his wonderfully eccentric doodlings as Alice in Wonderland.
When C.S. Lewis, who considered MacDonald his “master,” first began reading MacDonald’s Phantastes, he says, “I knew I had crossed a great frontier.” G.K. Chesterton described MacDonald’s The Princess and the Goblin as having “made a difference in my whole existence.” John Ruskin, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Madeleine L’Engle, Walt Whitman, W.H. Auden, Mark Twain, Oswald Chambers, J.R.R. Tolkien and many others have cited him as an influence on both their writings and their personal lives.
The compassionate Scottish author, poet, philosopher and minister was born on December 10, 1824 and died early in the 20th century. He left behind a rich and varied collection of novels, poems, teachings and sermons.
A few of my favorite MacDonald quotes:
“Philosophy is really homesickness.”
“Man finds it hard to get what he wants, because he does not want the best; God finds it hard to give, because He would give the best, and man will not take it.”
“Doing the will of God leaves me no time for disputing about His plans.”
“You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage, but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it himself.”
“I would rather be what God chose to make me than the most glorious creature that I could think of; for to have been thought about, born in God’s thought, and then made by God, is the dearest, grandest and most precious thing in all thinking.”
Profound. And homesickness is really a longing for heaven, to be with Him forever.
Oh, good one! Am forwarding your quote on getting what we want to my readers with grateful mention 🙏
I loved his fairy tale The Light Princess. Happy birthday, George!
An excellent tribute to a remarkable treasure. Well-chosen quotes. It is difficult to be who God created us to be because we are stuck between considering ourselves unworthy and fear that what He wants for us is too commonplace, difficult, and mundane. We cannot fathom the richness of His mercies, His creativity, and His love.
I agree, and well said, Ed!
I love the quotes. I also love the Narnia books and the limited amount I know/remember about “Lord of the Rings” and “Wrinkle in Time.” For me, good fantasy is really homesickness. 😉
Ah, a truly Lewisian (and MacDonaldian) perspective, Annie!
These are wonderful quotes by George MacDonald. They are new to me. In fact, George McDonald is new to me as I’m not fantasy savvy. I especially like this quote: “Doing the will of God leaves me no time for disputing about His plans.” 🙂
When I read that C.S. Lewis was so enamored with Phantastes, I decided to purchase the book. I got a real deal on a fully illustrated hard cover copy. I loved it as much as I love the Chronicles of Narnia. At one point I couldn’t find my copy so I ordered another, only to find the first one. So I gave the extra one as a gift. I don’t know if she ever read it or not.
I have also read The Princess and the Goblin. I may have another of his books too. I have read The Lord of the Rings through 3 times, and watched the trilogy (regular and extended version) more times than I can count, and The Hobbit more times than I can remember. Wrinkle in Time is great too. I also enjoyed Lewis’ Space Trilogy. I have read most of what Lewis wrote, as well as other Tolkien books. There would definitely be a huge hole in my reading enjoyment without George MacDonald. Thanks for posting this, Mitch.
I notice he shared my mother’s birth date, though she wasn’t born until about 6 years after he died. I also noticed that he was influenced by Goethe.
You’re THE textbook example, Diane, of a reader whose reading and life would have been diminished had Mr. MacDonald not been born!
Nice to know I’m a textbook example for something! 🙂
Love it – the quotes in particular. The one that stands out for me this most is this one : “Doing the will of God leaves me no time for disputing about His plans.”
Because, interestingly enough, it seems to have been a theme in the last couple of weeks – when I’m reading, when I’m talking to someone, when I’m watching a podcast (yes, watching… I have to have something to focus on, ha ha!).
Thank you for adding to the reminder list 😉 and confirmation that He sure does speak to us 😉
My privilege–and good to hear from you, Meg.
Gonna have to find his writings.