63 Quotes by Margaret George

Boredom is that awful state of inaction when the very medicine – that is, activity – which could solve it, is seen as odious.

It is almost impossible to describe happiness, because at the time it feels entirely natural, as if all the rest of your life has been the aberration; only in retrospect does it swim into focus as the rare and precious thing it is. When it is present, it seems to be eternal, abiding forever, and there is no need to examine it or clutch it. Later, when it has evaporated, you stare in dismay at your empty palm, where only a little of the perfume lingers to prove that once it was there, and now is flown.

I thought of the “Roman way” of impaling oneself on a sword. Certainly poison seemed more civilized. And I thought the Romans were a little too eager to commit suicide. It did not take much of a setback before they were reaching for their swords, or opening their veins.

To love someone is to catch your breath whenever he walks in the room.

I was ever the realist, sometimes to my sorrow. But seldom to my regret.

Every inch of land there is so contested,” I observed, more to myself than to him. “How many lives have been lost fighting over Jerusalem? Yet it is not special in terms of architecture, or location, or works of art.

When we are ready, the gods send what we need.

The soft strings of the lute rippled with memories, and the maid’s lilting voice made Mary sigh as she closed her eyes. She fell asleep filled with sadness, but without regret.

Omens. If I were beginning again, starting out in life, I would ignore all omens, neither heeding them nor trying to disable them. If we chose to pass them by, then perhaps they would lose their power, as old gods and goddesses, no longer worshiped, fade away and lose their grip on us.