“I? This is the very root of all evil.”

“I? This is the very root of all evil.”

“A motto of many politicians, public servants and money bags: Ask not 'What can I do for you?' but 'What can I do you for?”

“Real patience is not the same as waiting impatiently for something for a long time. Patience is having patience with patience.”

“I? This is the very root of all evil.”

“There's nowhere else to escape to ... Except in a wooden box, that is.”

“An angry man will find himself in an angry world, and a swindler will find himself in a world of thieves whom he dare not trust. Like attracts and mirrors like.”

“There are universal laws at work, even here. The Law of Attraction; the Law of Correspondence; and the Law of Karma. That is: like attracts like; as within, so without; and what goes around comes around.”

“Maybe like the never-ending stories within stories of the One Thousand and One Nights, life is dream within dream all the way through?”

“Why does there appear to be so little magic in the world these days? It is because people have stopped believing in it or lose touch with it as they grow up. It is because we have become so sophisticated and lost our ancient and natural roots. It is because religion, science and education have taught us that magic does not exist. That even supposing it does exist – which to many is far too big an 'if' – then it couldn't possibly work. Their self-fulfilling sophistry complete, they then turn round and say 'There you are you see, there is no magic in the world, just as we said.' And we and the world are all the poorer as a result of this. I mean, what are we left with? Santa, the Easter Bunny, Harry Potter and the Tooth Fairy.”

“All those old myths and legends and fairytales didn't just appear out of nowhere for no good reason, you know. They came about because there really is such a thing as magic or that it once flourished in the world. Or at least there is something extraordinary that people commonly refer to, or dismiss, as magic.”

“Sorcery rules the world. Of course, most don't call it sorcery; indeed, many would be horrified by such a notion.”