quote · Legacy record
And do not fear to hope. Can poet's brain More than the Father's heart rich good invent? Each time we smell the autumn's dying scent, We know the primrose time will come again; Not more we hope, nor less would soothe our pain. Be bounteous in our faith, for not misspent Is confidence unto the Father lent: Thy need is sown and rooted for his rain, His thoughts are as thine own; nor are his ways Other than thine, but by their loftier sense Of beauty infinite and love intense. Work on! One day, beyond all thought of praise A sunny joy will crown thee with its rays; Nor other than thy need, thy recompense.
And do not fear to hope. Can poet's brain More than the Father's heart rich good invent? Each time we smell the autumn's dying scent, We know the primrose time will come again; Not more we hope, nor less would soothe our pain. Be bounteous in our faith, for not misspent Is confidence unto the Father lent: Thy need is sown and rooted for his rain, His thoughts are as thine own; nor are his ways Other than thine, but by their loftier sense Of beauty infinite and love intense. Work on! One day, beyond all thought of praise A sunny joy will crown thee with its rays; Nor other than thy need, thy recompense.
Approximate author period: c. 1864 AD · industrial
Meaning not yet available
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Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- George Macdonald
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Approximate author period: c. 1864 AD · industrial
Approximate author-period evidence for George MacDonald: life dates 1824 to 1905. Wikidata Q368519, inspected 2026-10-08. Not a quotation composition date or independent verification of attribution. Source: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q368519 (accessed 2026-10-08).
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- The Optimist’s Good Morning (1911) (1911 AD)
Complete signed selection 181; printed byline: George MacDonald; Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1911; printed copyright 1907
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.