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 a good thing, for instance, it was that one princess should sleep for a hundred years! Was she not saved from all the plague of young men who were not worthy of her? And did not she come awake exactly at the right moment when the right prince kissed her? For my part, I cannot help wishing a good many girls would sleep till just the same fate overtook them. It would be happier for them, and more agreeable to their friends.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that waiting for the right partner can be more beneficial than rushing into relationships with unworthy suitors.
George Macdonald's quote reflects a sentiment about the importance of timing and discernment in relationships. The princess's deep slumber can be interpreted as a metaphor for patience, allowing her to avoid unsatisfactory encounters and ultimately awaken to a meaningful relationship with a deserving partner. This notion highlights the value of waiting for the right moment and underscores the idea that not all relationships are worth engaging in.
Themes
LovePatienceRelationshipsTimingSelf-Worth
In practice
Example use cases
Sharing this quote during a discussion on healthy relationships and the importance of waiting for the right partner.
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.
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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.
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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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