Portrait of William Somerset Maugham (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Magician by W. Somerset Maugham
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Free download available at Project Gutenberg
An astonishing gothic story written by Somerset Maugham.
Location 122:
Dr Porhöet knew that a diversity of interests, though it adds charm to a man´s personality, tends to weaken him.
Location 140:
One of my cherished ideas is that it is impossible to love without imagination.
Location 277:
She had learnt long ago that common sense, intelligence, good-nature, and strength of character were unimportant in comparison with a pretty face.
Location 384:
I shall not have lived in vain if I teach you in time to realize the rapier of irony is more effective an instrument than the bludgeon of insolence.
Location 480:
Yet magic is no more than the art of employing consciously invisible means to produce visible effects. Will, love, and imagination are magic powers that everyone possesses; and whoever knows how to develop them to their fullest extent is a magician. Magic has but one dogma, namely, that the seen is the measure of the unseen.
Location 504:
You should be aware that science, dealing only with the general, leaves out of consideration the individual cases that contradict the enormous majority.
Location 741:
Man can know nothing, for his senses are his only means of knowledge, and they can give no certainty. There is only one subject upon which the individual can speak with authority, and that is his own mind, but even here he is surrounded with darkness.
Location 1002:
We should look for knowledge where we may expect tp find it, and why should a man be despised who goes in search of it?
Location 1053:
Fools and sots aim at happiness, but men aim only at power. The magus, the sorcerer, the alchemist, are seized with fascination of the unknown; and they desire a greatness that is inaccessible to mankind.
5* The Razor’s Edge
5* Of Human Bondage
4* The Painted Veil
4* The Narrow Corner
4* The Moon And Sixpence
3* Liza of Lambeth
3* Ashenden
3* The Magician
TR Cakes and Ale
TR The Circle – A Comedy in Three Acts
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