Jacula Prudentum (1651)
“There is no God, but don’t tell that to my servant, lest he murder me at night.”
Voltaire (1694–1778) French writer, historian, and philosopher
False quote, misattributed to Voltaire by Yuval Noah Hariri in his book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Misattributed
Adriana Trigiani (1970) American film director
Source: Viola in Reel Life
“Therefore another prologue must tell he is not a lion”
William Shakespeare A Midsummer Night's Dream
Source: A Midsummer Night's Dream
“There's always another secret.”
Brandon Sanderson (1975) American fantasy writer
Kelsier, at various points during the novel
Source: Mistborn: The Final Empire (2006)
“A picture is a secret about a secret, the more it tells you the less you know.”
Diane Arbus (1923–1971) American photographer and author
Source: Estrin, James, Diane Arbus, 1923-1971, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/obituaries/overlooked-diane-arbus.html, 6 November 2018, The New York Times, 8 March 2018]
Diane Arbus: Revelations. New York: Random House, 2003. ISBN 0-375-50620-9.
Ault, Alicia, A Window into the World of Diane Arbus: Photographs from the portfolio, "A box of 10," reveal photographer's secrets, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/window-world-diane-arbus-180968861/, 13 November 2018, Smithsonian, 24 April 2018
“Photography is all about secrets. The secrets we all have and will never tell.”
Kim Edwards book The Memory Keeper's Daughter
Source: The Memory Keeper's Daughter
Ursula K. Le Guin (1929–2018) American writer
“In our minds, lad. In our minds. The traitor, the self; the self that cries I want to live; let the world burn so long as I can live! The little traitor soul in us, in the dark, like the worm in the apple.”
Source: Earthsea Books, The Farthest Shore (1972), Chapter 9, "Orm Embar" (Arren and Ged)
Alan Moore (1953) English writer primarily known for his work in comic books
De Abaitua interview (1998)
Context: The shaman is not a priest, the shaman has no secret knowledge, he is equivalent to the hunter. He has a specific skill that is subjugated to the needs of the group. He is prepared to take drugs, go loopy, visit the underworld, bring back knowledge and tell everybody. He’s not keeping a secret knowledge. Originally priests were instructors, they passed out the mysteries and revelations to the masses. Increasingly, they say ‘you don’t need to have a religious experience, we are having that for you. That’s what we are here for.” Eventually, they start saying ‘you don’t need to have a religious experience, and neither do we. We’ve got this book about some people who – a thousand years ago – had a religious experience. And if you come in on Sunday, we’ll read you a bit of that and you’ll be sorted, don’t you worry.” Effectively a portcullis has slammed down between the individual and their godhead. ‘You can’t approach your godhead except through us now. We are the only path. Our church is the only path.’ But that is every human being’s birthright, to have ingress to their godhead.
