And it didn't stop being magic just because you found out how it was done ... (WFM)
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'They think all writing is magic. Words worry them. See their swords? They glow blue in the presence of lawyers.' (WFM)
‘This isn’t magic, is it?’
‘I don’t think so,’ said Johhny. ‘It’s probably just very, very, very strange science.’ ‘Oh, good,’ said Yo-Less. ‘Er …. What’s the difference?’ (JB) … ‘to call his understanding of magic theory abysmal is to leave no suitable word to describe his grasp of its practice.’ (S)
THERE ARE PLACES WHERE EVEN MAGIC MAY NOT GO. (S)
… senior wizards tended to look upon actual magic as a bit beneath them. They tended to prefer administration, which was safer and nearly as much fun, and also big dinners. (S)
… writing labels was always the hard part of magic, as far as she was concerned. (ER)
Unseen University had never admitted women, muttering something about problems with the plumbing, but the real reason was an unspoken dread that if women were allowed to mess around with magic they would probably be embarrassingly good at it … (LF)
'As a wizard I must tell you that words have power'.
'As a politician I must tell you I already know'. (UA) The Rite of AshkEnte, quite simply, summons and binds Death. Students of the occult will be aware that it can be performed with a simple incantation, three small bits of wood and 4cc of mouse blood, but no wizard worth his pointy hat would dream of doing anything so unimpressive; they knew in their hearts that if a spell didn’t involve big yellow candles, lots of rare incense, circles drawn on the floor with eight different colours of chalk and a few cauldrons around the place then it simply wasn’t worth contemplating. (M)
A stuffed alligator is absolutely standard equipment in any properly-run magical establishment. This one looked as though it hadn’t enjoyed it much. (M)
Of course, all magic changed the world in some way, wizards thought there was no other use for it – they didn’t truck with the idea of leaving the world as it was and changing the people... (ER)
'Men’s minds work different from ours, see. Their magic’s all numbers and angles and edges and what the stars are doing, as if that really mattered. It’s all power. It’s all-’ Granny paused, and dredged up her favourite word to describe all she despised in wizardry, ‘-jommetry.' (ER)
Magic! So that’s what it felt like! No wonder wizards didn’t have much truck with sex! (LF)
the magic of wizards, the magic of witches did not usually involve the application of much raw power. The difference is between hammers and levers. Witches generally tried to find the small point where a little changes made a lot of result. To make an avalanche you can either shake the mountain, or maybe you can just find exactly the right place to drop a snowflake. (SLF)
There are thousands of good reasons why magic doesn’t rule the world. They’re called witches and wizards, Magrat reflected ... (WS)
It had taken many years under the tutelage of Granny Weatherwax for Magrat to learn that the common kitchen breadknife was better than the most ornate of magical knives. It could do all that the magical knife could do, plus you could also use it to cut bread. (WA)
Nanny rather liked the theatrical world. It was its own kind of magic. That was why Esme disliked it, she reckoned. It was the magic of illusions and misdirection and foolery, and that was fine by Nanny Ogg, because you couldn’t be married three times without a little fooling. (Ma)
Nothing created by Holy Wood magic was real for long. But you could make it real for long enough. (MP)
Granny subsided into unaccustomed, trouble silence, and tried to listen to the prologue. The theatre worried her. It
had a magic of its own, one that didn’t belong to her, one that wasn’t in her to control. It changed the world, and said things were otherwise than they were. And it was worse than that. It was magic that didn’t belong to magical people. It was commanded by ordinary people, who didn’t know the rules. They altered the world because it sounded better. (WS) 'You always used to say I was wanton, when we was younger,’ said Nanny.
Granny hesitated, caught momentarily off balance. Then she waved a hand irritably. ‘You was, of course,’ she said dismissively. ‘But you never used magic for it, did you?’ ‘Din’t have to,’ said Nanny happily. ‘An off-the-shoulder dress did the trick most of the time.’ ‘Right off the shoulder and onto the grass, as I recall,’ said Granny. (WA) 'What’s the good of having mastery over cosmic balance and knowing the secrets of fate if you can’t blow something
up?' (RM) 'What’s magic, eh? Just wavin’ a stick an’ sayin’ a few wee magical words. An’ what’s so clever aboot that, eh? But lookin’ at things, really lookin’ at ‘em, and then workin’ ‘em oout, now, that’s a real skill.' (WFM)
'You can’t make things right by magic. You can only stop making them wrong.' (WA)
'Necromancy is a Fine Art?’ said Moist.
‘None finer, young man. Get things just a tiny bit wrong and the spirits of the vengeful dead may enter your head via your ears and blow your brains out down your nose.' (MM) |
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The world has lost Sir Terry, and it's so much the poorer for that. Vale Sir Terry. Categories
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