Wizards

I'm editing a nonfiction book about wizards. I've never been particularly into wizards, but now I have the opportunity to learn everything there is to know about these magical figures. I'm reading about Circe and Gandalf and Merlin, and I must admit, they're pretty fascinating. The book I'm editing includes a partial quote by Merlin from T.H. White's The Once and Future King, and I Googled it to get the full quote. Here it is:

"The best thing for being sad," replied Merlin, beginning to puff and blow, "is to learn something. That's the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then—to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a lot of things there are to learn."

Pretty great, right? And now, at Merlin's behest, I return to learning about wizards.