Little time Quote by Lord Dunsany
““Nobody can tell you about that sword all that there is to be told of it; for those that know of those paths of Space on which its metals once floated, till Earth caught them one by one as she sailed past on her orbit, have little time to waste on such things as magic and so cannot tell you how the sword was made, and those who know whence poetry is, and the need that man has for song, or know any one of the fifty branches of magic, have little time to waste on such things as science, and so cannot tell you whence its ingredients came. Enough that it was once beyond our Earth and was now here amongst our mundane stones; that it was once but as those stones, and now had something in it such as soft music has; let those that can define it.””
About This Quote
Source Story: The Sword of Space, 1912
The quote suggests that profound mysteries—whether magical or scientific—are beyond ordinary explanation, and that only those deeply immersed in their respective realms can truly grasp them.
In simple terms: Mysteries are hard to explain without deep knowledge.
Key Takeaway
Accept that some things remain unknowable.
Themes
mystery
knowledge
limits of understanding
Mood
wonderful
reflective
Type
philosophical
literary
poetic
When to use this quote
- academic research
- creative writing
- philosophical debate
- science communication
Key Concepts
epistemology
cosmology
artistic metaphor
Questions to Reflect On
- What does it mean to truly know something?
- How do we convey experiences beyond ordinary language?
A Different Perspective
Even experts may lack the language to describe the unknown.
