Chapter 8 (p. 133)
“
But too many people had come to him and Jaldis over the years, asking for magic to fix their lives. He knew of no spell which could not be twisted out of its purpose by fate, no potion which would for better or for worse change a human soul’s inner essence. No sigil he’d made had ever altered the words that rose automatically to a person’s lips when they weren’t thinking.
Yet people kept acting as if someday the laws of magic would spontaneously change and spells would do all these things.
— Barbara Hambly
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "But too many people had come to him and Jaldis over the years, asking for magic to fix their lives. He knew of no spell which could not be twisted out of its purpose by fate, no potion which would for better or for worse change a human soul’s inner essence. No sigil he’d made had ever altered the words that rose automatically to a person’s lips when they weren’t thinking.
Yet people kept acting as if someday the laws of magic would spontaneously change and spells would do all these things." in the context of "Chapter 8 (p. 133)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Barbara Hambly" (Quotes, The Rainbow Abyss (1991): All page numbers are from the mass market paperback first American edition published by Del Rey,
Italics as in the book. Ellipses represent elision of short passages of description. )
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Barbara Hambly
Barbara Hambly (born August 28, 1951) is an American novelist and screenwriter within the genres of fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and historical fiction.
About Barbara Hambly
Barbara Hambly (born August 28, 1951) is an American novelist and screenwriter within the genres of fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and historical fiction.
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