"'Can a magician kill a man by magic?” Lord Wellington asked Strange. Strange frowned. He seemed to dislike the question. “I suppose a magician might,” he admitted, “but a gentleman never would.'"
— Susanna Clarke (Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell)

"It may be laid down as a general rule that if a man begins to sing, no one will take any notice of his song except his fellow human beings. This is true even if his song is surpassingly beautiful. Other men may be in raptures at his skill, but the rest of creation is, by and large, unmoved. Perhaps a cat or a dog may look at him; his horse, if it is an exceptionally intelligent beast, may pause in cropping the grass, but that is the extent of it. But when the fairy sang, the whole world listened to him. Stephen felt clouds pause in their passing; he felt sleeping hills shift and murmur; he felt cold mists dance. He understood for the first time that the world is not dumb at all, but merely waiting for someone to speak to it in a language it understands. In the fairy's song the earth recognized the names by which it called itself."
— Susanna Clarke

"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by frost."
— J.R.R. Tolkien (The Fellowship of the Ring)

"The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say"
— J.R.R. Tolkien

"In sorrow we must go, but not in despair. Behold! we are not bound for ever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory. "
— J.R.R. Tolkien

"The world is indeed full of peril and in it there are many dark places.
But still there is much that is fair. And though in all lands, love is now
mingled with grief, it still grows, perhaps, the greater."
— J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings)

"War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend."
— J.R.R. Tolkien (The Two Towers)

"We have come from God, and inevitably the myths woven by us, though they contain error, will also reflect a splintered fragment of the true light, the eternal truth that is with God. Indeed only by myth-making, only by becoming 'sub-creator' and inventing stories, can Man aspire to the state of perfection that he knew before the Fall. Our myths may be misguided, but they steer however shakily towards the true harbour, while materialistic 'progress' leads only to a yawning abyss and the Iron Crown of the power of evil."
— J.R.R. Tolkien

"'Tell me a story then...keep me occupied.'
'A story? ...What makes you think I can tell a story?'
'Insight,' said the king, 'Go on.'"
— Megan Whalen Turner (The King of Attolia)

"'I know I would be in the story somewhere,' Eugenides interjected.
'Oh no,' said Phresine, 'This was a humble servant.'
'Ouch.'
'Though very courageous.'
'Not me,' whispered Eugenides to his pillow."
— Megan Whalen Turner (The King of Attolia)

"We read to know that we are not alone."
— C.S. Lewis

"If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world."
— C.S. Lewis

"A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word "darkness" on the walls of his cell."
— C.S. Lewis

"No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally – and often far more – worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond."
— C.S. Lewis

"The time has come," the walrus said, "to talk of many things: Of shoes and ships - and sealing wax - of cabbages and kings"
— Lewis Carroll

""But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.

"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."

"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.

"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
— Lewis Carroll (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass)

"`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe."
— Lewis Carroll (Jabberwocky and Other Poems)

"Journey’s end

In western lands beneath the Sun
The flowers may rise in Spring,
The trees may bud, the waters run,
The merry finches sing.
Or there maybe 'tis cloudless night,
And swaying branches bear
The Elven-stars as jewels white
Amid their branching hair.

Though here at journey's end I lie
In darkness buried deep,
Beyond all towers strong and high,
Beyond all mountains steep,
Above all shadows rides the Sun
And Stars for ever dwell:
I will not say the Day is done,
Nor bid the Stars farewell.J."
— J.R.R. Tolkien

"Have you ever felt that there was something going on in life that not everyone was aware of?"
— Regina Doman (The Shadow Of The Bear)

"Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten."
— G.K. Chesterton

"I am not absentminded. It is the presence of mind that makes me unaware of everything else."
— G.K. Chesterton

"'I am not good at deception,' said Tuesday gloomily, flushing.
'Right, my boy, right,' said the President with a ponderous heartiness, 'You aren't good at anything.'"
— G.K. Chesterton (The Man Who Was Thursday)

"'I have wondered,' said the Marquis, taking a great bite out of a slice of bread and jam, 'whether it wouldn't be better for me to do it with a knife. Most of the best things have been brought off with a knife. And it would be a new emotion to get a knife into a French President and wriggle it around.'"
— G.K. Chesterton (The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare)

"I believe your own accent is inimitable, though I shall practice it in my bath."
— G.K. Chesterton

"...If you'd take your head home and boil it for a turnip it might be useful. I can't say. But it might."
— G.K. Chesterton (The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare)

"'I shall approach. Before taking off his hat, I shall take off my own. I shall say, "The Marquis de Saint Eustache, I believe." He will say, "The celebrated Mr. Syme, I presume." He will say in the most exquisite French, "How are you?" I shall reply in the most exquisite Cockney, "Oh, just the Syme."'
'Oh shut it...what are you really going to do?'
'But it was a lovely catechism! ...Do let me read it to you. It has only forty-three questions and answers, some of the Marquis's answers are wonderfully witty. I like to be just to my enemy.'
'But what's the good of it all?' asked Dr. Bull in exasperation.
'It leads up to the challenge...when the Marquis as given the forty-ninth reply, which runs--'
'Has it...occurred to you...that the Marquis may not say all the forty-three things you have put down for him?'
'How true that is! ...Sir, you have a intellect beyond the common.'"
— G.K. Chesterton (The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare)

"'It seems to me,' said the other, 'That you are simply seeking a pretext to insult the Marquis.'
'By George!' said Syme facing round and looking at him, 'What a clever chap you are!'"
— G.K. Chesterton

"Wicked people never have time for reading. It's one of the reasons for their wickedness."
— Lemony Snicket

"I will love you as the iceberg loves the ship, and the passengers love the lifeboat and the lifeboat loves the teeth of the sperm whale, and the sperm whale loves the flavor of naval uniforms."
— Lemony Snicket (The Beatrice Letters)

"It is always cruel to laugh at people, of course, although sometimes if they are wearing an ugly hat it is hard to control yourself."
— Lemony Snicket

"Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them."
— Lemony Snicket (Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid)

"This is a very grave matter, punishable by...well, I do not exactly know what, but something rather severe, I should imagine."
— Susanna Clarke

"If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales."
— Albert Einstein

"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift."
— Albert Einstein

"The discovery of this strange society was a curiously refreshing thing; to realize that there were ten new trades in the world was like looking at the first ship or the first plough. It made a man feel what he should feel, that he was still in the childhood of the world. That I should have come at last upon so singular a body was, I may say without vanity, not altogether singular, for I have a mania for belonging to as many societies as possible: I may be said to collect clubs, and I have accumulated a vast and fantastic variety of specimens ever since, in my audacious youth, I collected the Athenaeum. At some future day, perhaps, I may tell tales of some of the other bodies to which I have belonged. I will recount the doing's of the Dead Man's Shoes Society (that superficially immoral, but darkly justifiable communion); I will explain the curious origin of the Cat and Christian, the name of which has been so shamefully misinterpreted; and the world shall know at last why the Institute of Typewriters coalesced with the Red Tulip League. Of the Ten Teacups, of course I dare not say a word."
— G.K. Chesterton (The Club of Queer Trades)

"Look at the eyebrows. They mean that infernal pride which made Satan so proud that he sneered even at heaven when he was one of the first angels in it. Look at his moustaches, they are so grown as to insult humanity. In the name of the sacred heavens look at his hair. In the name of God and the stars, look at his hat."
— G.K. Chesterton (The Club of Queer Trades)

"Suppose, my dear Chadd, suppose it is we who are the idiots because we are not afraid of devils in the dark?"
— G.K. Chesterton (The Club of Queer Trades)

"We must have several word-signs," said Syme seriously -- "words that we are likely to want, fine shades of meaning. My favourite word is 'coeval.' What's yours?"
"Do stop playing the goat," said the Professor plaintively. "You don't know how serious this is."
"'Lush,' too, " said Syme, shaking his head sagaciously, "we must have ' lush' -- word applied to grass, don't you know?"
"Do you imagine," asked the Professor furiously, "that we are going to talk to Dr. Bull about grass?"
"There are several ways in which the subject could be approached," said Syme reflectively, "and the word introduced without appearing forced. We might say, ' Dr. Bull, as a revolutionist, you remember that a tyrant once advised us to eat grass; and indeed many of us, looking on the fresh lush grass of summer--"'
"Do you understand," said the other, "that this is a tragedy?"
"Perfectly," replied Syme; "always be comic in a tragedy. What the deuce else can you do? I wish this language of yours had a wider scope. I suppose we could not extend it from the fingers to the toes? That would involve pulling off our boots and socks during the conversation, which however unobtrusively performed -- "
"Syme," said his friend with a stern simplicity, "go to bed!"
— G.K. Chesterton (The Man Who Was Thursday)

"Sunday is a fixed star," he said.
"You shall see him a falling star," said Syme, and put on his hat.
The decision of his gesture drew the Professor vaguely to his feet.
"Have you any idea," he asked, with a sort of benevolent bewilderment, "exactly where you are going?"
"Yes," replied Syme shortly, "I am going to prevent this bomb being thrown in Paris."
"Have you any conception how?" inquired the other.
"No," said Syme with equal decision."
— G.K. Chesterton (The Man Who Was Thursday)

"Hours fly. Flowers die."
— Bess Streeter Aldrich

"He screamed.
'Mmm?' inquired the gentleman.
'I...I would never presume to interrupt you, sir. But the ground appears to be swallowing me up.'
'It is a bog,' said the gentleman, helpfully.
'It is certainly a most terrifying substance.'"
— Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

"After two hours it stopped raining and in the same moment the spell broke, which Peroquet and the Admiral and Captain Jumeau knew by a curious twist of their senses, as if they had tasted a string quartet, or been, for a moment, deafened by the sight of colour blue."
— Susanna Clarke

"The old King is dead. The new King approaches! And at his approach the world sheds its sorrow. The sings of the old King dissolve like morning mist! The world assumes the character of the new. His virtues fill up the wood and world!"
— Susanna Clarke (Jonathan Strange i pan Norrell - część 3)

"Strange stared thoughtfully at her for several seconds, so that Arabella mistakenly supposed he must be considering what she had just said. But when he spoke it was only to say in a tone of gentle reproof, "My love, you are standing on my papers." He took her arm and moved her gently aside."
— Susanna Clarke (Jonathan Strange i pan Norrell - część 2)

"The land is all too shallow
It is painted on the sky
And trembles like the wind-shook rain
When the Raven King passed by"
— Susanna Clarke (Jonathan Strange i pan Norrell - część 3)

"It was a full moon and, shining on all the snow, it made everything almost as bright as day -- only the shadows were rather confusing."
— C.S. Lewis (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)

"All names will soon be restored to their proper owners."
— C.S. Lewis (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)

"Peter did not feel very brave; indeed, he felt he was going to be sick. But that made no difference to what he had to do."
— C.S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia)

"Well, sir, if things are real, they’re there all the time."
"Are they?" said the Professor; and Peter did not quite know what to say."
— C.S. Lewis (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)

""This is my password," said the King as he drew his sword. "The light is dawning, the lie broken. Now guard thee, miscreant, for I am Tirian of Narnia." "
— C.S. Lewis