What I like most about good books are the nuggets of philosophy found scattered throughout their pages – nuggets that cause me to think or re-consider my own attitudes.

Though expressed by fictional characters, such nuggets also offer insight into the personal philosophies of the writer. 

The simply named *The Bird in the Tree by Elizabeth Goudge is full of such nuggets, most often thought or said by Lucilla, the Eliot family matriarch.

Following are some of the pearls of wisdom I gathered while reading this first book of Goudge’s Eliot Family Chronicles. The trilogy also includes The Herb of Grace and The Heart of the Family. Continue reading →