Quotes from Mircea Eliade

Metallurgy as such, in Central and South America, is probably Asiatic in origin. Most recent researches tend to relate it to the South Chinese Culture of the Chou epoch (middle and late eight to fourth centuries B.C.) That would make it more or less of Danubian origin, for it was Danubian metallurgy, which in the ninth to eighth centuries B.C. arrived via the Caucasus in China.

Când vrei s? spui repede un lucru esenÈ›ial, nu numai c? îl spui dramatic, dar îl spui oarecum ridicol

Dac? miracolul este ceva irecognoscibil, adic? un fapt dup? toate aparenÈ›ele ordinar – atunci toate faptele ordinare cap?t? o maxim? importan??, c?ci în oricare din ele poate fi o intervenÈ›ie iraÈ›ional?, divin?. Întâmplarea poate ajunge atunci c?l?uza existenÈ›ei noastre.

There are at least four Sumerian narratives that explain the origin of man. They are so different that we must assume a plurality of traditions. One myth relates that the first human beings sprouted from the ground like the plants. According to another version, man was fashioned from clay by certain divine artisans; then the goddess Nammu modeled a heart for him, and En-ki gave him life.

The cosmic order is continually troubled, first of all by the Great Serpent, which threatens to reduce the world to chaos, and then by men's crimes, faults, and errors, which must be expiated and purged by the help of various rites.

Sensul vie?ii nu e fericirea, ci realiz?rile eroice.

The Bedouins of Sinai are convinced that the man who is successful in making a sword of meteoric iron becomes invulnerable in battle and assured of overcoming all his opponents.

Cu cât suntem mai personali, mai identificaÈ›i cu intenÈ›iile noastre, cu cât fapta noastr? coincide mai perfect cu gândul nostru – cu atât suntem mai ridicoli

Infernul e sus, a?a cum ?ti?i. Raiul e ?i mai sus, dar el nu m? intereseaz?.

Et s'il y a eu des jouvencelles pour s'éprendre d'étoiles, pourquoi ne pourrais-tu pas, toi aussi, t'éprendre de moi?...

For, adds Barba, those who think that metals were created at the beginning of of the world are grossly mistaken: metals 'grow' in mines.

This idea finds its echo today in the conception that nothing can be created without the sacrifice of something very important, usually one's own being. Every vocation implies the supreme sacrifice of the self.

As we shall see later, according to certain traditions, metals are also supposed to have issued from the flesh or blood of some immolated primordial, semi-divine being.

Asculta atunci cu toat? fiin?a ei, asculta pesemne zvonuri din noapte, pe care eu nu le puteam prinde...

Then with his first step he goes to (the hell of) evil thoughts, with his second to (the hell of) evil words, and with his third to (the hell of) evil deeds.

The pharaoh is the incarnation of maat, a term translated by "truth" but whose general meaning is "good order" and hence "right," "justice.

Every homeland constitutes a sacred geography. For those who have left it, the city of their childhood and adolescence always becomes a mythical city.

In exile, the road home lies through language, through dreams.

Creation is the only answer one can give to fate, to the 'terror of history.

Arrived in heaven, the pharaoh is received in triumph by the Sun God, and messengers are sent to the four quarters of the world to announce his victory over death. In heaven, the king continues his earthly existence: seated on the throne, he receives the homage of his subjects and still judges and gives orders.

Se va spune, o generaÅ£ie, atâta timp cât nu se încheie, e o fluid? continuitate, palpitând de via?? ÅŸi deci de contradicÅ£ii. A încerca s? o surprinzi în linii, a o izola, a o fixa în caractere - e cel puÅ£in neÅŸtiinÅ£ific. Sufletul unei generaÅ£ii e greu de reconstituit chiar cu ajutorul timpului, al istoriei.

El comportamiento religioso de los hombres contribuye a mantener la santidad del mundo.

Tr?ie?te el, ca om, ca fiin?? total? - ?i nu se las? tr?it de ?esuturile lui, de glandele lui, de automatismele lui, ca noi to?i, ce?tilal?i...

El hombre de las sociedades arcaicas tiene tendencia a vivir lo más posible en lo sagrado o en la intimidad de los objetos consagrados.