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Quotes

The fear of the Lord is true wisdom, and he who hath it not can in no way penetrate the true secrets of magic.

—Abraham the Jew, c. 1400

God is alive. Magic is afoot.

—Leonard Cohen, 1966

The subconscious is ceaselessly murmuring, and it is by listening to these murmurs that one hears the truth.

—Gaston Bachelard, 1960

Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business.

—Tom Robbins, 1976

Egypt was the mother of magicians.

—Clement of Alexandria, c. 200

Any serious attempt to do anything worthwhile is ritualistic.

—Derek Walcott, 1986

There are times when reality becomes too complex for oral communication. But legend gives it a form by which it pervades the whole world.

—Jean-Luc Godard, 1965

The Mughal’s nature is such that they demand miracles, but if a miracle were to be performed by some upright follower of our religion, they would say that it had been brought about by magic and sorcery. They would strike him down with spears or would stone him to death.

—Fr. Antonio Monserrate, 1590

The fact is certain because it is impossible.

—Tertullian, c. 200

In the society of men, the truth resides now less in what things are than in what they are not. Our social realities are so ugly if seen in the light of exiled truth, and beauty is almost no longer possible if it is not a lie.

—R.D. Laing, 1967

The more enlightened our houses are, the more their walls ooze ghosts.

—Italo Calvino, 1967

Nothing worth knowing can be understood with the mind.

—Woody Allen, 1979

The most beautiful emotion we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of all true art and science.

—Albert Einstein, 1930