Quotes by Madeleine L'Engle

Maybe the job of the artist is to see through all of this strangeness to what really is, and that takes a lot of courage and a strong faith in the validity of the artistic vision even if there is not a conscious faith in God.

I am slowly coming to understand with all my heart as well as my head that love is not a feeling. It is a person.

The great thing about getting older is that you dont lose all the other ages youve been.

Thinking Im a moron gives people something to feel smug about, Charles Wallace said. Why should I disillusion them?

Nothing loved is ever lost or perished.

Lords of space and Lords of time,Lords of blessing, Lords of grace,Who is in the warmer clime?Who will follow Madocs rhyme?Blue will alter time and space.

We look not at the things which are what you would call seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal. But the things that are not seen are eternal.

I would, quite often, like to be grownup, wise, and sophisticated. But these gifts are not mine.

The foolish of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of god is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that may not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called, but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath choses the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. And bade things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are.

In the final exam in the Chaucer course we were asked why he used certain verbal devices, certain adjectives, why he had certain characters behave in certain ways. And I wrote, I dont think Chaucer had any idea why he did any of these things. That isnt the way people write.I believe this as strongly now as I did then. Most of what is best in writing isnt done deliberately.

Grandfather looked away from me and out to sea, and when he spoke, it was as though he spoke to himself. “The obligations of normal human kindness – chesed, as the Hebrew has it – that we all owe. But there’s a kind of vanity in thinking you can nurse the world. There’s a kind of vanity in goodness.”I could hardly believe my ears. “But aren’t we supposed to be good?”“I’m not sure.” Grandfather’s voice was heavy. “I do know that we’re not good, and there’s a lot of truth to the saying that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Calvin said, Do you know that this is the first time Ive seen you without your glasses?Im blind as a bat without them. Im near-sighted, like father.Well, you know what, youve got dream-boat eyes, Calvin said. Listen, you go right on wearing your glasses. I dont think I want anybody else to see what gorgeous eyes you have.

Of course. I am well aware that the streets of New York are not safe, but then there is no longer any place in the world which is safe. One cannot live in perpetual fear, one has to be as prudent as possible, and get on with life. - A Severed Wasp

Being alive hurts. I have found it best not to rush for the aspirin bottle. - A Severed Wasp

My dear, Im seldom sure of anything. Life at best is a precarious business...

All will be redeemed in Gods fullness of time, all, not just the small portion of the population who have been given the grace to know and accept Christ. All the strayed and stolen sheep. All the little lost ones.

Were not peculiar.Oh, yes, you are. Dont you realize that in my world my parents are peculiar because theyd never been divorced? Basically because it would have been too much trouble. But you live in a world where not only are your parents not divorced, they appear to love each other

One night after dinner a group of us were talking about the supernatural, and one of our dinner guests said that when the electric light was invented, people began to lose the dimension of the supernatural. In the days before we could touch a switch and flood every section of the room with light, there were always shadows in the corner, shadows which moved with candlelight, with firelight; and these shadows were an outward and visible sign that things are not always what they seem; there are things which are not visible to the mortal human being; there are things beyond our ken.

Dont try to comprehend with your mind. Your minds are very limited. Use your intuition.

Your intuition and your intellect should be working together… making love. That’s how it works best.