We had yet to learn that the Devil created youth so that we could make our mistakes, and that God established maturity and old age so that we could pay for them.
Carlos Ruiz ZafonRead
After a while it occurred to me that between the covers of each of those books lay a boundless universe waiting to be discovered while beyond those walls, in the outside world, people allowed life to pass by in afternoons of football and radio soaps, content to do little more than gaze at their navels.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the vast knowledge and experiences found in books, contrasting it with a passive approach to life.
Carlos Ruiz Zafón reflects on the contrast between the enriching universe contained in books and the mundane existence of those who do not seek knowledge or adventure beyond their immediate surroundings. He suggests that while books offer boundless opportunities for discovery and growth, many people are content to live complacently, missing out on the treasures that literature and exploration of the world can provide.
Themes
BooksKnowledgeDiscoveryLifePassion
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of reading for students.
More from Carlos Ruiz Zafon
All quotes →The haunting of history is ever present in Barcelona. I see cities as organisms, as living creatures. To me, Madrid is a man and Barcelona is a woman. And it's a woman who's extremely vain.
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I think today will be the day. Today our luck will change,' I proclaimed on the wings of the first coffee of the day, pure optimism in a liquid state.
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We spend a good part of our lives dreaming, especially when we're awake.
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Destiny is usually just around the corner. Like a thief, a hooker, or a lottery vendor: its three most common personifications. But what destiny does not do is home visits. You have to go for it.
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Destiny doesn't do home visits... you have to go for it yourself.
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Similar quotes
Problems may be solved in the study which have baffled all those who have sought a solution by the aid of their senses. To carry the art, however, to its highest pitch, it is necessary that the reasoner should be able to use all the facts which have come to his knowledge; and this in itself implies, as you will readily see, a possession of all knowledge, which, even in these days of free education and encyclopaedias, is a somewhat rare accomplishment.
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Excellence is a better teacher than mediocrity. The lessons of the ordinary are everywhere. Truly profound and original insights are to be found only in studying the exemplary.
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Early in my school career, I turned out to be an incorrigible disciplinary problem. I could understand what the teacher was saying as fast as she could say it, I found time hanging heavy, so I would occasionally talk to my neighbor. That was my great crime, I talked in school.
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In America, the professor talks to the mechanic. They are in the same category.
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