--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Marietta, I do not believe in ghosts…" description: "\"“Marietta, I do not believe in ghosts, astrology, palmistry, graphology, John Cage, love or God. I do believe in the moment, in the pleasures of the fl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/gore-vidal-466_believe_marietta-i-do-not-believe-in-ghosts-astr_715953.jpg" --- # Marietta, I do not believe in ghosts, astrology… ![“Marietta, I do not believe in ghosts, astrology, palmistry, graphology, John Cage, love or God. I do believe in the moment, in the pleasures of the flesh, of conversation, of art-at least for the few so minded. I believe . . .” quote by Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/gore-vidal-466_believe_marietta-i-do-not-believe-in-ghosts-astr_715953.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/gore-vidal-466_believe_marietta-i-do-not-believe-in-ghosts-astr_715953.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/gore-vidal-466_believe_marietta-i-do-not-believe-in-ghosts-astr_715953.jpg) > ““Marietta, I do not believe in ghosts, astrology, palmistry, graphology, John Cage, love or God. I do believe in the moment, in the pleasures of the flesh, of conversation, of art-at least for the few so minded. I believe . . .”” [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He dismisses supernatural and intellectual fads, valuing immediate sensory and artistic experiences. **In simple terms:** He prefers real moments over abstract beliefs. Key Takeaway Focus on present pleasures. Themes sensory experience art hedonism Mood reflective hedonistic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - dating - art appreciation - culinary experiences - conversation - mindfulness Key Concepts existentialism materialism Questions to Reflect On - What does “the moment” mean to you? - How do you balance pleasure with purpose? A Different Perspective May overlook deeper meaning beyond the present. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art Minded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-minded-5637005/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Believe Moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-moment-525944/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/john-cage/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Marietta Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marietta-believe-5637004/) [Minded Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minded-believe-2090725/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“She considered herself too smart to believe in things she had no evidence for, and that behaved in ways that violated every principle she’d…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/she-considered-herself-too-smart-to-believe-in-things-she-had-no/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [Be strong minded, and always believe that the impossible is possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selena/be-strong-minded-and-always-believe-that-the-impossible-is-possible/) [Selena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selena/) > [I would thank God, but I don't believe in it... It's like a movie that was way too popular. It's a story that's been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-vedder/i-would-thank-god-but-i-don-t-believe-in-it-it-s-like-a-movie-that/) [Eddie Vedder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-vedder/) > [“Every person, I have come to believe, has a moment or a place in life when all four points of the compass converge, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-geye/every-person-i-have-come-to-believe-has-a-moment-or-a-place-in-life/) [Peter Geye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-geye/) > [I believe that the moment is near when by a procedure of active paranoiac thought, it will be possible to systematize confusion and contribute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/i-believe-that-the-moment-is-near-when-by-a-procedure-of-active/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [“I meant it when I said I didn’t believe in love at first sight. It takes time to really, truly fall for someone. Yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-gray/i-meant-it-when-i-said-i-didn-t-believe-in-love-at-first-sight-it/) [Claudia Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-gray/) > [I believe in the moment of things and fate and things happening for a reason, so I write things down and I trust it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-goulding/i-believe-in-the-moment-of-things-and-fate-and-things-happening-for-a/) [Ellie Goulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-goulding/) > [“I'd like to believe every moment I have spent, all the time I have spent with the people I love most lives on forever”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laxmi-hichkad/i-d-like-to-believe-every-moment-i-have-spent-all-the-time-i-have/) [Laxmi Hichkad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laxmi-hichkad/) > [Most humans are never fully present in the now, because unconsciously they believe that the next moment must be more important than this one.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/most-humans-are-never-fully-present-in-the-now-because-unconsciously/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [You don't choose what you believe moment to moment, but choices you have made do shape what you come to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/you-don-t-choose-what-you-believe-moment-to-moment-but-choices-you/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [Make her feel beautiful and special; she'll believe it for the moment. Make her feel worthless; she'll believe it for eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/make-her-feel-beautiful-and-special-she-ll-believe-it-for-the-moment/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [“For a moment I want to believe him. For a moment I want to sit on the floor and cry out the ocean lodged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/for-a-moment-i-want-to-believe-him-for-a-moment-i-want-to-sit-on-the/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [Each project that you do is something you believe in for that moment in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianne-reeves/each-project-that-you-do-is-something-you-believe-in-for-that-moment/) [Dianne Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianne-reeves/) > [When you're out in the desert, you can't believe the amount of stars. Are you busy as a bee? Do not even have time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-vedder/when-you-re-out-in-the-desert-you-can-t-believe-the-amount-of-stars/) [Eddie Vedder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-vedder/) > [We had to learn that in London and in Rio that we just weren't enough at that point. Did we believe it in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-larson/we-had-to-learn-that-in-london-and-in-rio-that-we-just-weren-t-enough/) [Jordan Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-larson/) ## More by Gore Vidal > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Many people in the United States happen to believe that United States policy is wrong in Vietnam and the Vietcong are correct in wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/many-people-in-the-united-states-happen-to-believe-that-united-states/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“It is curious how little interested we are in the sexual desires of those who do not attract us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-little-interested-we-are-in-the-sexual-desires-of/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/style-is-knowing-who-you-are-what-you-want-to-say-and-not-giving-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The oligarchs think that the people are both dangerous and stupid. Their point is moot. But we do know that the oligarchs are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-oligarchs-think-that-the-people-are-both-dangerous-and-stupid/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [It is curious how often one prefers his enemies to his friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his-enemies-to-his-friends/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Rome ... at its most decadent, had never thought of hiring an actor to go through the motions of being an emperor while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/rome-at-its-most-decadent-had-never-thought-of-hiring-an-actor-to-go/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/history-is-nothing-but-gossip-about-the-past-with-the-hope-that-it/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Sex is a continuum. You go through different phases along life's way... and if you don't, you've been sort of cheated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/sex-is-a-continuum-you-go-through-different-phases-along-life-s-way/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [All I want is that Americans still be able to read the alphabet in a hundred years. I am not very ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/all-i-want-is-that-americans-still-be-able-to-read-the-alphabet-in-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [I do not admire 'the people,' as such. No one really does. Their folk wisdom is usually false, their instincts predatory. Even their sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/i-do-not-admire-the-people-as-such-no-one-really-does-their-folk/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“One of the problems of a society as tightly controlled as ours is that we get so little information about what those of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/one-of-the-problems-of-a-society-as-tightly-controlled-as-ours-is/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) [Explore all 539 Gore Vidal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/that-s-why-i-don-t-generally-talk-about-endorsements-because-i-don-t/) [Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) [Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Marietta, I do not believe in ghosts, astrology, palmistry, graphology, John Cage, love or God. I do believe in the moment, in the pleasures of the flesh, of conversation, of art-at least for the few so minded. 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