Ch. 4
Source: Something, perhaps, we must believe in, and as Orlando, we have said, had no belief in the usual divinities she bestowed her credulity upon great men — yet with a distinction. Admirals, soldiers, statesmen, moved her not at all. But the very thought of a great writer stirred her to such a pitch of belief that she almost believed him to be invisible. Her instinct was a sound one. One can only believe entirely, perhaps, in what one cannot see.
Source: The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge
A lecture at Königsberg (1775), as quoted in A New Dictionary of Quotations on Historical Principles from Ancient and Modern Sources (1946) by H. L. Mencken, p. 955
Context: The wish to talk to God is absurd. We cannot talk to one we cannot comprehend — and we cannot comprehend God; we can only believe in Him. The uses of prayer are thus only subjective.
“One can only blaspheme if one believes.”
"Concerning the Unpredictable", p. 472
Forewords and Afterwords (1973)
I Believe in Prayer - - How Prayer helps me The Dial Press 1955
Prose
“If there isn't light when no one sees
Than how can I know what you might believe?…”
"The Sign of the Southern Cross" on Mob Rules (1981)
Lyrics
“Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see.”
"The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether" (1845)
“You can only see what you believe—nothing else is possible.”
Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life (2002)
“Selected Aphorisms from the Athenaeum (1798)”, Dialogue on Poetry and Literary Aphorisms, Ernst Behler and Roman Struc, trans. (Pennsylvania University Press:1968) #54
Athenäum (1798 - 1800)
