Wisdom From Earthsea

I’ve finally started reading Ursula Le Guin’s famous Earthsea series. Not sure famous is the right word, she started writing in the 60s but I hadn’t heard of Earthsea till three years ago when my dad and I rented the made for TV movie. It was enjoyable, a bit predictable but it fit the mood we were in. Last year my good friend Maki watch an amazing movie based on the series' third book. Since then I’ve seen her name or the books mentioned in different settings.

So far the movie is pretty close to the book, but the book is of course far better. It’s not for those who don’t like wizards, or magic, or fantasy or fiction in general. But I like it. This morning I came across this quote, stopped and read it a second time, then read it again. Such truth in the words and not just for young mages…

You thought, as a boy, that a mage is one who can do anything. So I thought, once. So did we all. And the truth is that as a man's real power grows and his knowledge widens, ever the way he can follow grows narrower: untill at last he chooses nothing, but does only and wholly what he must do...."
-Master Summoner
from Ursula Le Guin's
A Wizard of Earthsea

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hi, I just saw your post.We have been on holidays. We saw your parents and sister in Winnipeg.I read the Earthsea trilogy a number of years ago and thought it was great.Then she came out with a forth book"Tehanu".How can you have a trilogy with 4 books? I haven't seen the t.v. movie.