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
To try too hard to make people good is one way to make them worse. The only way to make them good is to be good, remembering well the beam and the mote.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Trying too hard to change others can lead to negative outcomes; instead, focus on being good yourself.
This quote by George Macdonald emphasizes the importance of self-improvement over attempting to force goodness upon others. It suggests that genuine goodness is cultivated from within, and by exemplifying good behavior ourselves, we can inspire others rather than by criticizing or coercing them into being better.
Themes
GoodnessSelf-ImprovementInfluenceWisdomBehavior
In practice
Example use cases
A motivational speech about personal responsibility and leading by example.
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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