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Quote by John Fowles

“It may have something to do with intelligence, but I am certain it has nothing to do with knowledge - I mean that there are people who have an instinctive yet perfect moral judgment, who can perform the most complex ethical calculations as Indian peasants can sometimes perform astounding mathematical feats in a matter of seconds. Lily was such a person. And I craved her approval.”

Book:The Magus

Work

The Magus

In this novel, a young man embarks on a transformative journey that challenges his understanding of the world and his own identity. The narrative delves into the complexities of human existence, philosophy, and the pursuit of knowledge. more

Author

John Fowles

John Fowles was an English novelist known for his unique narrative techniques and profound psychological insights. His works often explore themes of human nature, morality, and existentialism, with 'The French Lieutenant's Woman' and 'The Magus' being his most famous works. more

“Impersonality is only reached by the practice of a form of attention which is rare in itself and impossible except in solitude; and not only physical but mental solitude. This is never achieved by a man who thinks of himself as a member of a collectivity, as part of something which says ‘We’. Men as parts of a collectivity are debarred from even the lower forms of the impersonal. A group of human beings cannot even add two and two. Working out a sum takes place in a mind temporarily oblivious of the existence of any other minds. Although the personal and the impersonal are opposed, there is a way from the one to the other. But there is no way from the collective to the impersonal. A collectivity must dissolve into separate persons before the impersonal can be reached. This is the only sense in which the person has more of the sacred than the collectivity. The collectivity is not only alien to the sacred, but it deludes us with a false imitation of it.”

Impersonal

Book:Letter to a Priest

Source: Letter to a Priest

“What people keep secret is the most common, the most ordinary, the most prevalent thing, the same thing everybody has: the body and its needs, its maladies, its manias - constipation, for instance, or menstruation. We ashamedly conceal these intimate matters not because they are so personal but because, on the contrary, they are so lamentably impersonal.”

Secrets Personal Impersonal

Book:Identity

Source: Identity

“Perfection is impersonal. Our personality is the part of us which belongs to error and sin. The whole effort of the mystic has always been to become such that there is no part left in his soul to say ‘I’. But the part of the soul which says ‘We’ is infinitely more dangerous still.”

Impersonal

Book:Letter to a Priest

Source: Letter to a Priest