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
What distressed me most - more even than my own folly - was the perplexing question - How can beauty and ugliness dwell so near? Even with her altered complexion and face of dislike; disenchanted of the belief that clung around her; known for a living, walking sepulcher, faithless, deluding, traitorous; I felt, notwithstanding all this, that she was beautiful. Upon this I pondered with undiminished perplexity.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the paradox of experiencing beauty amidst unpleasantness.
In this quote, George Macdonald grapples with the complex nature of beauty and ugliness, expressing a deep perplexity about how they can coexist within a single individual. Despite recognizing flaws and negative emotions associated with a person, he is still struck by an undeniable beauty that transcends those aspects, prompting contemplation on the contradictory nature of human perception and emotion.
Themes
BeautyUglinessPerceptionEmotionParadox
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on aesthetics, one could use this quote to illustrate the complexity of beauty in art.
More from George Macdonald
All quotes →It 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 all— 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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