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In alchemical treatises, the formula L'Oeuvre au Noir … designates what is said to be the most difficult phase of the alchemist's process, the separation and dissolution of substance.

— Marguerite Yourcenar The Abyss (1968)

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More quotes by Marguerite Yourcenar

The world is big … May it please the One who perchance is to expand the human heart to life’s full measure.

The Abyss (1968)

A touch of madness is, I think, almost always necessary for constructing a destiny.

Few bipeds, from Adam's time down, have been worthy of the name of man.

The Abyss (1968)

Human beings betray their worst failings when they marvel to find that a world ruler is neither foolishly indolent, presumptuous, nor cruel.

Memoirs of Hadrian (1951)

The written word has taught me to listen to the human voice, much as the great unchanging statues have taught me to appreciate bodily motions.

Memoirs of Hadrian (1951)

All Marguerite Yourcenar quotes →

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Marguerite Yourcenar (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.