“But fate, as Merlin always taught us, is inexorable. Life is a jest of the Gods, Merlin liked to claim, and there is no justice. You must learn to laugh, he once told me, or else you'll just weep yourself to death.”
“If you could really see that tree over there," Merlin said, "you would be so astounded that you'd fall over.""Really? But why?" asked Arthur. "It's just a tree.""No," Merlin said, "It's just a tree in your mind. To another mind it is an expression of infinite spirit and beauty. In God's mind it is a dear child, sweeter than anything you can imagine.”
“All he had, in fact, was Merlin's shining promise.”
“Merlin's pants!”
“I hate her." Merlin laughed, tossing the stick down. "Not so. You have forgotten how to love. That's a different sorrow.”
“Don't you realize," Merlin said to his pupil, "that the history of the universe has brought us here to this second?”