Alas, how easily things go wrong! A sigh too much, a kiss too long And there follows a mist and a weeping rain And life is never the same again
George MacdonaldRead
Beauty and sadness always go together. Nature thought beauty too rich to go forth Upon the earth without a meet alloy.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Beauty and sadness are intertwined, as nature balances richness with sorrow.
This quote by George MacDonald suggests that beauty is often accompanied by a sense of sadness, indicating that the most beautiful aspects of life are enhanced by their impermanence or the challenges that come with them. MacDonald implies that nature intentionally creates a balance, allowing beauty to exist alongside elements that evoke deeper emotions, thus enriching the human experience.
Themes
BeautySadnessNatureBalanceEmotion
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the complexity of life, one might use this quote to illustrate how beauty often comes with challenges.
More from George Macdonald
All quotes βIt is not in the nature of politics that the best men should be elected. The best men do not want to govern their fellowmen.
George MacdonaldRead
He may delay because it would not be safe to give us at once what we ask: we are not ready for it. To give ere we could truly receive, would be to destroy the very heart and hope of prayer, to cease to be our Father. The delay itself may work to bring us nearer to our help, to increase the desire, perfect the prayer, and ripen the receptive condition.
George MacdonaldRead
When I can no more stir my soul to move, and life is but the ashes of a fire; when I can but remember that my heart once used to live and love, long and aspire- O, be thou then the first, the one thou art; be thou the calling, before all answering love, and in me wake hope, fear, boundless desire.
George MacdonaldRead
But words are vain; reject them allβ They utter but a feeble part: Hear thou the depths from which they call, The voiceless longing of my heart.
George MacdonaldRead
Few delights can equal the presence of one whom we trust utterly.
George MacdonaldRead
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The wrongs done to trees, wrongs of every sort, are done in the darkness of ignorance and unbelief, for when the light comes, the heart of the people is always right.
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