...the tale of the world...

"Sara Kendell once read somewhere that the tale of the world is like a tree." -Charles de Lint; Moonheart

...the music that lovers hear.

"I envy the music that lovers hear." -Charles de Lint; Moonlight Vines

What I do know...

"What I do know is that we've all got our hidden currents, no matter how wide and friendly the river seems. Start casting deep enough and who knows what you'll dredge up." -Charles de Lint; Someplace to Be Flying

Just because something seems impossible...

"Just because something seems impossible that doesn't mean it's not real." -Charles de Lint; Someplace to Be Flying

Time's something you made up...

" 'Time's something you made up--same as property.' 'What are you saying?' 'What are you hearing?' " -Charles de Lint; Someplace to Be Flying

Because stories are like mirrors...

"Because stories are like mirrors... When they've gone dark and the glass is obscured, it's maybe for a reason. Polish them and you might not want to accept the person looking back at you as yourself. We carry these stories inside us--mirrors we can look into, or show other people." -Charles de Lint; Someplace to Be Flying

Does it need a purpose...

"Does it need a purpose? ... Maybe it's just enough to know that there's something marvelous still in the world, that all the mystery hasn't been drained out of it by those who like to take a thing apart to understand it, then stand back all surprised because it doesn't work anymore." -Charles de Lint; The Little Country

some things can't be explained...

"... some things can't be explained, some shouldn't be, and some lose their heart when they are." -Charles de Lint; Greenmantle

It's much easier to catch...

"It's much easier to catch a glimpse of there from here, then the other way around, though poets and bards and the like--they can see from there to here. It's part of their art." -Charles de Lint; Greenmantle

And even Christianity's not the same...

"And even Christianity's not the same now, as it was back then. When it was growing, it took a bit of this, a bit of that, and made one thing out of it all until it began to split apart again--only from the inside out. Those gospels of theirs--if you look hard enough through them, you can find a passage to forbid anything you want, and another to condone the same thing." -Charles de Lint; Greenmantle

Men have wonderful minds...

"Men have wonderful minds--they can imagine. They can do something wonderful that no beastie can. When some of this magic comes loose and drifts into our world, men's minds give it its shape." -Charles de Lint; Greenmantle

This... is the mystery...

"This... is the mystery... We catch peeks of it, little whiffs of its scent, a breath of its air, a whisper of its sound, and it sets our hearts a-tremble." -Charles de Lint; Greenmantle

But he knew now...

"But he knew now that those who questioned, those who took it all apart trying to find out what it was and what made it tick... they lost out in the end. The magic would always elude them. The mystery would only deepen. Because if it lost its secret, it just wouldn't be the mystery anymore. It would rob the experience of its potency. All you'd have left would be dry dust and the voices of men discussing what it was all about. The quiet, the music, the magic would be gone." -Charles de Lint; Greenmantle