July 11, 2024, 5:45 a.m.
In the enchanting world of the Shadowhunters, few characters are as unforgettable and flamboyant as Magnus Bane. The enigmatic High Warlock of Brooklyn, with his centuries of wisdom and endless flair for drama, has captured the hearts of readers and viewers alike. Known for his wit, charm, and a fashion sense that knows no bounds, Magnus has delivered some of the most memorable lines in Cassandra Clare's beloved series. Dive into our carefully curated collection of the top 41 Magnus Bane quotes, and relive the magic, the humor, and the wisdom that make this character a true fan favorite. Whether you're a die-hard Shadowhunter enthusiast or a newcomer to the series, these quotes are sure to leave you spellbound.
1. “We came to see Jace. Is he alright?""I don't know," Magnus said. "Does he normally just lie on the floor like that without moving?” - Cassandra Clare
2. “We're not dating," Alec said again."Oh?" Magnus said. "So you're just that friendly with everybody, is that it?” - Cassandra Clare
3. “This time Magnus answered it, his voice booming through the tiny entryway. "WHO DARES DISTURB MY REST?"Jace looked almost nervous. "Jace Wayland. Remember? I'm from the Clave.""Oh, yes." Magnus seemed to have perked up. "Are you the one with the blue eyes?""He means Alec," Clary said helpfully."No. My eyes are usually described as golden," Jace told the intercom. "And luminous.""Oh, you're that one." Magnus sounded disappointed. If Clary hadn't been so upset, she would have laughed. "I suppose you'd better come up.” - Cassandra Clare
4. “Alec flushed. "I think it's more important for you to go than me. You're Valentine's son, I'm sure you're the one the Queen really wants to see. Besides, you're charming."Jace glared at him."Maybe not at the moment," Alec amended. "But you're usually charming. And faeries are very susceptible to charm.""Plus, if you stay here, I've got the whole first season of Gilligan's Island on DVD," Magnus said."No one could turn that down," said Jace. He still wouldn't look at Clary.” - Cassandra Clare
5. “Now this is really going to impress Valentine.""I don't know," Clary said. "Other crack teams get bat boomerangs and wall-crawling powers; we get the Aquatruck.""If you don't like it, Nephilim," came Magnus's voice, faintly, from the truck cab, "you're welcome to see if you can walk on the water.” - Cassandra Clare
6. “That’s your truck parked up by the factory isn’t it?” Magnus pointed. “It’s awfully butch for a bookseller.” - Cassandra Clare
7. “Magnus, standing by the door, snapped his fingers impatiently. "Move it along, teenagers. The only person who gets to canoodle in my bedroom is my magnificent self.""Canoodle?" repeated Clary, never having heard the word before."Magnificent?" repeated Jace, who was just being nasty. Magnus growled. The growl sounded like "Get out.” - Cassandra Clare
8. “A pair of werewolves occupied another booth. They were eating raw shanks of lamb and arguing about who would win in a fight: Dumbledore from Harry Potter books or Magnus Bane."Dumbledore would totally win," said the first one. "He has the badass Killing Curse."The second lycanthrope made a trenchant point. "But Dumbledore isn't real.""I don't think Magnus Bane is real either," scoffed the first. "Have you ever met him?""This is so weird," said Clary, slinking down in her seat. "Are you listening to them?" "No. It's rude to eavesdrop," said Jace.” - Cassandra Clare
9. “She smiled. Her skin looked whiter than he recalled, and dark spidery veins were beginning to show beneath its surface. Her hair was still the color of spun silver and her eyes were still green as a cat’s. She was still beautiful. Looking at her, he was in London again. He saw the gaslight and smelled the smoke and dirt and horses, the metallic tang of fog, the flowers in Kew Gardens. He saw a boy with black hair and blue eyes like Alec’s, heard violin music like the sound of silver water. He saw a girl with long brown hair and a serious face. In a world where everything went away from him eventually, she was one of the few remaining constants.And then there was Camille.” - Cassandra Clare
10. “He is a Shadowhunter,” said Jocelyn. “His loyalty will be to Clave and Covenant.”“He’s my friend,” said Magnus coldly. “His loyalty is to me.” - Cassandra Clare
11. “You could dress it up with a sequined headband,” Magnus suggested, offering his boyfriend something blue and sparkly. “Just a thought.” “Resist the urge, Alec.” Simon was sitting on the edge of a low wall with Maia beside him, though she appeared to be deep in conversation with Aline. “You’ll look like Olivia Newton-John in Xanadu.” “There are worse things,” Magnus observed.” - Cassandra Clare
12. “Come in. And try not to murder any of my guests." Jace edged into the doorway, sizing up Magnus with his eyes. "Even if one of them spills a drink on my new shoes?""Even then.” - Cassandra Clare
13. “I was alive when the Dead Sea was just a lake that was feeling a little poorly.” - Cassandra Clare
14. “He’s very pretty. For a human.”“He’s very broken,” said Magnus. “Like a lovely vase that someone has smashed. Only luck and skill can put it back together the way it was before.” - Cassandra Clare
15. “But the name Magnus Bane made him think of a towering sort of figure, with huge shoulders and formal purple warlock’s robes, calling down fire and lightning. Not Magnus himself, who was more of a cross between a panther and a demented elf.” - Cassandra Clare
16. “But Magnus, he thought. You never told me. Never warned me it would be like this, that I would wake up one day and realize that I was going somewhere you couldn't follow. That we are essentially not the same. There's no "till death do us apart" for those who never die.” - Cassandra Clare
17. “I just don't see why the past has to matter.” - Cassandra Clare
18. “Alec isn’t happy,” said Magnus, as if she hadn’t spoken.“Of course he isn’t,” Isabelle snapped. “Jace—”“Jace,” said Magnus, and his hands made fists at his sides. Isabelle stared at him. She had always thought that he didn’t mind Jace; liked him, even, once the question of Alec’s affections had been settled. Out loud, she said:“I thought you were friends.”“It’s not that,” said Magnus. “There are some people — people the universe seems to have singled out for special destinies. Special favors and special torments. God knows we’re all drawn toward what’s beautiful and broken; I have been, but some people cannot be fixed. Or if they can be, it’s only by love and sacrifice so great it destroys the giver.”Isabelle shook her head slowly. “You’ve lost me. Jace is our brother, but for Alec — he’s Jace’s parabatai too —”“I know about parabatai,” said Magnus, his voice rising in pitch. “I’ve known parabatai so close they were almost the same person; do you know what happens, when one of them dies, to the one that’s left—”“Stop it!” Isabelle clapped her hands over her ears, then lowered them slowly. “How dare you, Magnus Bane,” she said.“How dare you make this worse than it is —”“Isabelle.” Magnus’ hands loosened; he looked a little wide-eyed, as if his outburst had startled even him. “I am sorry. I forget, sometimes . . . that with all your self-control and strength, you possess the same vulnerability that Alec does.”“There is nothing weak about Alec,” said Isabelle.“No,” said Magnus. “To love as you choose, that takes strength. The thing is, I wanted you here for him. There are things I can’t do for him, can’t give him . . .” For a moment Magnus looked oddly vulnerable. “You have known Jace as long as he has. You can give him understanding I can’t. And he loves you.”“Of course he loves me. I’m his sister.”“Blood isn’t love,” said Magnus, and his voice was bitter. “Just ask Clary.” - Cassandra Clare
19. “Niches set back in the walls contained polished marble statues of entwined bodies. Will looked away from them hastily, and then back. It wasn't as if Magnus seemed to be paying attention to what Will was doing, and he'd honestly never imagined two people could get themselves into a position like that, much less make it look artistic.” - Cassandra Clare
20. “What he needs now is to love and have that love returned.” - Cassandra Clare
21. “Gracious, that's a lot of bosom you're showing," Magnus went on blithely, gesturing toward Tessa with the burning tip of his cigar. "Tout le monde sur le balcon, as they say in French," he added, miming a vast terrace jutting out from his chest. "Especially apt, as we are now, in fact, on a balcony.” - Cassandra Clare
22. “I know about parabatai,” said Magnus, an angry, dark undercurrent to his voice. “I’ve known parabatai so close they were almost the same person; do you know what happens, when one of them dies, to the one that’s left —?” - Cassandra Clare
23. “Jordan doesn't really care about the blood," Simon said now. "His whole thing is about me being comfortable with what I am. Get in touch with your inner vampire, blah, blah."Clary slid in next to him onto the bed and hugged a pillow. "Is your inner vampire different from your...outer vampire?""Definitely. He wants me to wear midriff-baring shirts and a fedora. I'm fighting it."Clary smiled faintly. "So your inner vampire is Magnus?” - Cassandra Clare
24. “Simon rolled his eyes. “It’s a good thing we know the person who’s dating Magnus Bane,” he said. “Otherwise, I get the feeling we’d all just lie around all the time wondering what the hell to do next. Or trying to raise the money to hire him by selling lemonade or something.”Alec looked merely irritated by this comment. “The only way you could raise enough money to hire Magnus by selling lemonade is if you put meth in it.” - Cassandra Clare
25. “Speaking of hope, did you see that shot Alec got off with his bow? That's my boyfriend.” - Cassandra Clare
26. “Instead of replying, Alec reached down and took Magnus's hands. Magnus let Alec pull him to his feet, a questioning look in his eyes. Before he could say anything, Alec drew him closer and kissed him. Magnus made a soft, pleased sound, and gripped the back of Alec's shirt, rucking it up, his fingers cool on Alec's spine. Alec leaned into him, pinning Magnus between the table and his own body. Not that Magnus seemed to mind.'Come on,' Alec said against Magnus's ear. 'It's late. Let's go to bed.” - Cassandra Clare
27. “I think of myself as a freewheeling bisexual,' - Magnus Bane” - Cassandra Clare
28. “Wear that scarf," he said, pointing to a blue cashmere scarf hanging on a peg. "It matches your eyes."Alec looked at it. Suddenly he was filled with hate - for the scarf, for Magnus, and most of all for himself. "Don't tell me," he said. "The scarf's a hundred years old, and it was given to you by Queen Victoria right before she died, for special services to the Crown or something."Magnus sat up. "What's gotten into you?"Alec stared at him. "Am I the newest thing in this apartment?""I think that honor goes to Chairman Meow. He's only two.""I said newest, not youngest," Alec snapped.” - Cassandra Clare
29. “It was hidden inside another book. One Valentine was unlikely to ever open." Magnus smiled crookedly. "Simple Recipes for Housewives. No one can say your mother didn't have a sense of humor.” - Cassandra Clare
30. “Magnus's eyes went back to Alec. They were gold-green, as unreadable as the eyes of the cat he held on his lap. "Not my favorite topic, Smedley.""Simon", said Simon. "If I'm going to die for you all, the least you could do is remember my name.” - Cassandra Clare
31. “Alec slid his hand from Jace's arm to his shoulder. Magnus cleared his throat. Alec dropped his hand. Simon grinned into his undrunk coffee.” - Cassandra Clare
32. “Alec took a deep breath and let it out. Well, he’d come this far; he might as well go on. The bare lightbulb hanging overhead cast sweeping shadows as he reached forward and pressed the buzzer.A moment later a voice echoed through the stairwell. “WHO CALLS UPON THE HIGH WARLOCK?”“Er,” Alec said. “It’s me. I mean, Alec. Alec Lightwood.”There was a sort of silence, as if even the hallway itself were surprised. Then a ping, and the second door opened, letting him out onto the stairwell. He headed up the rickety stairs into the darkness, which smelled like pizza and dust. The second floor landing was bright, the door at the far end open. Magnus Bane was leaning in the entryway.” - Cassandra Clare
33. “Alex- Alec, if I had given you the impression I had accepted the idea of your death, I can only apologize. I tried to, I thought I had- and yet still I pictured having you for fifty, sixty more years. I thought I might be ready to let you go. But it's you, and I realize now that I won't be any more ready to lose you than I am right now. Which is not at all.” - Cassandra Clare
34. “Raziel’s sixty feet tall?” “Actually, he’s only fifty-nine feet tall, but he likes to exaggerate,” said Magnus.Isabelle clicked her tongue in annoyance. “Valentine raised an angel in his cellar. Idon’t see why you need all this space—”“Because Valentine is just WAY MORE AWESOME than me,” - Cassandra Clare
35. “Bright star,” Magnus said, and his eyes were thoughtful, as if he were remembering something, or someone. “Those of you who are mortal, you burn so fiercely. And you fiercer than most, Will. I will not ever forget you.” - Cassandra Clare
36. “I don't suppose it would help if I told you that is the way life is. The good suffer, the evil flourish, and all that is mortal passes away.” - Cassandra Clare
37. “Eventually I fell asleep in the Rabies and Lycanthropy section. Woolsey bites on occasion, and I'm concerned.' - Magnus Bane” - Cassandra Clare
38. “A massive fir, it rose to nearly touch the ceiling at the far end of the ballroom. When Will asked Charlotte how on earth it had gotten in there, she had only waved her hands and said something about Magnus.” - Cassandra Clare
39. “Even more blood welled up and spilled down his arm, splattering onto the ground.“Camille’s carpet,” Magnus protested.“It’s blood,” said Will. “She ought to be thrilled.” - Cassandra Clare
40. “Magnus, you were trying to flirt with your own plate.""I'm a very open-minded sort of fellow!” - Cassandra Clare
41. “Have a little faith in my magic fingers” - Cassandra Clare