Myths are lies; but I believe in the power of myths the…

““Myths are lies; but I believe in the power of myths the way I believe in rocks.””

S.M. Stirling

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Myths are falsehoods, yet they hold power comparable to natural objects like rocks, shaping belief and culture.

In simple terms: Myths lie but are powerful.

Key Takeaway

Recognize mythic influence.

Themes

belief culture storytelling

Mood

reflective analytical

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

education
political discourse
personal identity
media analysis

Key Concepts

mythology symbolic power psychology

Questions to Reflect On

How do myths shape your worldview?
When can myths become harmful?

A Different Perspective

Myths can be misused to manipulate.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet

More by S.M. Stirling

Love isn't like money--the more you give away the more you get back, and the more you have to give.

S.M. Stirling

The Mackenzie had never met folk so poor in story and song and legends, and it moved him to a pity that pricked at…

S.M. Stirling

You can learn by listening, or by getting whacked between the eyes with a two-by-four. I always found listening easier.

S.M. Stirling

“Clan custom and law held that it was the public declaration of intent and then living together that made a handfasting; the ceremonies simply…

S.M. Stirling

“″He chose to come onto your land uninvited with a weapon in his hand,″ he said. ″When a man does that, he consents to…

S.M. Stirling

“It doesn't stop being magic because you can you explain it, Father.”

S.M. Stirling

“Who dares, wins,” he muttered to himself. “Or gets royally banged about if things go south.”

S.M. Stirling

“Being ignorant is truly bliss compared to being misinformed, especially if you’re aware of the depths of your own ignorance. As Mother says, it…

S.M. Stirling

“Be your own judge. But commit no trespass, remembering that where another's liberty begins your own inevitably meets its boundary.”

S.M. Stirling

“Sure it is that They have many faces. All the shapes the Divine shows us are true; and none are all the Truth.”

S.M. Stirling

“I like you, Mike. I just wanted to know about you.” He grinned and finished building the fire. “OK, point taken, and I like…

S.M. Stirling

“But then they were males, and therefore idiots about some things.”

S.M. Stirling

“ I was father to the land. I saved my people. I was... King. "By... earth," he said, more a movement of the lips…

S.M. Stirling

Many are the marvels of God's Creation, but none so marvelous as man. Or so cunning, for good and ill.

S.M. Stirling

A libertarian is someone who can believe that the police are no more than a gang of thugs without realizing that in the absence…

S.M. Stirling

Explore all 59 S.M. Stirling quotes

More Myth quotes

Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…

Andy Muschietti

I have always been fascinated by the supernatural elements in stories, whether fairy tales, myths, film or literature.

Trudi Canavan

Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…

David Brin

'Sex and The City' was made to correct the myth that if you were single at a certain age, you were a leper. Its…

Michael Patrick King

If it is written and read with serious attention, a novel, like a myth or any great work of art, can become an initiation…

Karen Armstrong

“Believe reality is what you were taught was myth.”

Nicholas A. McGirr

The fall [of your soul] from perfection into duality...was naturally followed by the discovery of the duality of good and evil...This is the Biblical…

Joseph Campbell

“I argue that the Jesus of the Gospels is essentially a myth. The Gospels are largely fiction. They were created around the turn of…

Alvar Ellegård

Those who claim absolutism is merely a myth are right that it has been misused simply as a byword for political centralisation.

Peter Wilson

I think the older you get, you start to break down the myth and you get to the dirt of it - and if…

Jena Malone

“And we cannot keep our balance. Myth gives way to Reason. Revelation to Orthodoxy. We must dance or go mad.”

Tom Cheetham

Canada is a myth people made up to entertain children, like the Tooth Fairy. There’s no such place.

Christopher Moore

In each studio there is a human being dressed in the full regalia of his myth fearing to expore a vulnerable opening, spreading not…

Anais Nin

The greatest reward of this constant interrogation, confrontation with the brutality of my country, is that it has freed me from hosts and myths.

Ta-Nehisi Coates

Contrary to a common myth, while there are general guidelines, there is no exact 'right' way to run ... I am amazed by the…

Grete Waitz

Browse all 2,141 Myth quotes

Myths are lies; but I believe in the power of myths the…

About This Quote

Related quotes

More by S.M. Stirling

More Myth quotes