“Pliny declares, as I hear, that he does not believe in the gods, but he believes in dreams; and perhaps he is right.”

— Henryk Sienkiewicz , book Quo Vadis

Petronius, as depicted in the novel, speaking to Marcus Vinicius, in Ch. 1
Quo Vadis (1895)
Context: Pliny declares, as I hear, that he does not believe in the gods, but he believes in dreams; and perhaps he is right. My jests do not prevent me from thinking at times that in truth there is only one deity, eternal, creative, all-powerful, Venus Genetrix. She brings souls together; she unites bodies and things. Eros called the world out of chaos. Whether he did well is another question; but, since he did so, we should recognize his might, though we are free not to bless it.

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Henryk Sienkiewicz 38

Polish journalist, Nobel Prize-winning novelist, and philan… 1846–1916

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Examples of self-translation (c. 2004), Quotes - Zitate - Citations - Citazioni

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Consecrated women and men are ‘witnesses to the beauty of God’ https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2021-03/cardinal-de-aviz-25-anniversary-vita-consecrata-exhortation.html (25 March 2021)

“God is eagerly waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as he always has. But he can't if you don't pray, and he can't if you don't dream. In short, he can't if you don't believe.”

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“Man is a free agent; but he is not free if he does not believe it”

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.
History of My Life (trans. Trask 1967), 1997 reprint, Preface, p. 26
Referenced

“The man of the Midi does not lie, he deceives himself. He does not always speak the truth but he believes he speaks it.”

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L'homme du Midi ne ment pas, il se trompe. Il ne dit pas toujours la vérité, mais il croit la dire.
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“I hope to God that He
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I cannot quite believe in God;
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“Pliny declares, as I hear, that he does not believe in the gods, but he believes in dreams; and perhaps he is right.”

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Henryk Sienkiewicz 38

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