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How Thought is imp'otent to divine the secret which the gods defend,
The Why of birth and life and death, that Isis-veil no hand may rend.

— Richard Francis Burton The Kasîdah of Hâjî Abdû El-Yezdî (1870)

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More quotes by Richard Francis Burton

Reason is Life's sole arbiter, the magic Laby'rinth's single clue:
Worlds lie above, beyond its ken; what crosses it can ne'er be true.

The Kasîdah of Hâjî Abdû El-Yezdî (1870)

Travellers like poets are mostly an angry race.

Of the gladest moments in human life, methinks is the departure upon a distant journey to unknown lands.

Conquer thyself, till thou hast done this, thou art but a slave; for it is almost as well to be subjected to another's appetite as to thine own.

Support a compatriot against a native, however the former may blunder or plunder.

Exploration of the Highlands of Brazil (1869)

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