“If the hunters think we do all things by chants and spells, they may believe so — it does not hurt them.”

—  Stephen Vincent Benét , book By the Waters of Babylon

By the Waters of Babylon (1937)
Context: If the hunters think we do all things by chants and spells, they may believe so — it does not hurt them. I was taught how to read in the old books and how to make the old writings — that was hard and took a long time. My knowledge made me happy — it was like a fire in my heart. Most of all, I liked to hear of the Old Days and the stories of the gods.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "If the hunters think we do all things by chants and spells, they may believe so — it does not hurt them." by Stephen Vincent Benét?
Stephen Vincent Benét photo
Stephen Vincent Benét 102
poet, short story writer, novelist 1898–1943

Related quotes

Suman Pokhrel photo

“Even If they (children) fall during their play,
the nature, having come
under the spell of their creative sports,
doesn’t know when they again start to play so full of jest.
Believing that they fall unknowingly
the ground, mostly, does not even hurt them.”

Suman Pokhrel (1967) Nepali poet, lyricist, playwright, translator and artist

<span class="plainlinks"> Children http://www.occupypoetry.net/children_1/</span>
From Poetry

F. Scott Fitzgerald photo

“Life is so damned hard, so damned hard… It just hurts people and hurts people, until finally it hurts them so that they can't be hurt ever any more. That's the last and worst thing it does.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald book The Beautiful and Damned

Source: The Beautiful and Damned

“Let's never try to get even with our enemies, because if we do we will hurt ourselves far more than we hurt them. Let's do as General Eisenhower does: let's never waste a minute thinking about people we don't like.”

Dale Carnegie book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living

Source: How to Stop Worrying and Start Living (1948), p. 101.

Alice Walker photo

“We do not believe in heaven or hell…; we do not believe in eternal damnation. We believe only in the unavoidable horror of hurting others and of likewise being hurt.”

Alice Walker (1944) American author and activist

Source: By The Light Of My Father's Smile

Marguerite Duras photo

“When it's in a book I don't think it'll hurt any more… exist any more. One of the things writing does is wipe things out. Replace them.”

Marguerite Duras book The Lover

Source: The Lover

Bruce Springsteen photo

“We all come up a little short and we go down hard.
These days I spend my time skipping through the dark.
Through the empires of dust, I chant your name.
I am the hunter of invisible game.”

Bruce Springsteen (1949) American singer and songwriter

"Hunter of Invisible Game"
Song lyrics, High Hopes (2014)

“When you are writing laws you are testing words to find their utmost power. Like spells, they have to make things happen in the real world, and like spells, they only work if people believe in them.”

Hilary Mantel book Wolf Hall

Source: Wolf Hall

Howard Dean photo

“I think the problem with the country is that we operate on a sickness model, not a wellness model… Basically, we treat people who become ill. What we don't do is do a very good job in keeping them healthy in the first place… We lose all the educational benefits, all the things we could be doing, all the things we ought to be doing, in terms of food safety… because the emphasis is on sickness. But I really don't think there's a conspiracy to make people sick so we can heal them. That I don't agree with.”

Howard Dean (1948) American political activist

Source: Real Time with Bill Maher, October 15, 2004

Rick Riordan photo

“Brother,” Artemis chided. “You do not help my Hunters. You do not look at, talk to, or flirt with my Hunters. And you do not call them sweetheart.”

Rick Riordan book The Titan's Curse

Source: The Titan's Curse

Mitch Albom photo

“Holding anger is a poison… It eats you from inside… We think that by hating someone we hurt them… But hatred is a curved blade… and the harm we do to others… we also do to ourselves.”

Mitch Albom book The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Variant: Holding anger is a poison. It eats you from inside. We think that hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade. And the harm we do, we do to ourselves.
Source: The Five People You Meet in Heaven (2003)

Related topics