Quotes from Jan Potocki

Words strike the air and the mind, they act on the senses and on the soul.

It is not science which leads to unbelief but rather ignorance. The ignorant man thinks he understands something provided that he sees it every day. The natural philosopher walks amid enigmas, always striving to understand and always half-understanding. He learns to believe what he does not understand, and that is a step on the road to faith.

Thought assists memory in enabling it to order the material it has assembled. So that in a systematically ordered memory every idea is individually followed by all conclusions it entails.

I study theology in the works of creation and find in it new reasons for adoring the creator.

La palabra golpea el aire y el espíritu, y obra sobre los sentidos y sobre el alma.

He is the brother-in-law of the sister-in-law of the father-in-law of my mother-in-law, and therefore is the closest relative we have; so nothing is done in our family without his advice.

Die Mysterien, sagte Cheremon, haben alle miteinander noch eine Zeremonie gemeinsam: Ein Gott stirbt, wird begraben, wird mehrere Tage lang beweint; dann erfährt der Gott seine Auferstehung, und jedermann ist glücklich. Manche sagen, dies sei ein Sinnbild für Unter- und Aufgang der Sonne, aber im allgemeinen meint man damit die in die Erde gesenkten Getreidekörner.