“Oh, dear, no,” said the old man. “It would be no good charging you that sort of price for a love potion, for example. Young people who need a love potion very seldom have five thousand dollars. Otherwise they would not need a love potion.”" - Meaning and context.">
The Chaser (p. 373)
“

“I hope all your mixtures are not as expensive,” said Alan apprehensively.
“Oh, dear, no,” said the old man. “It would be no good charging you that sort of price for a love potion, for example. Young people who need a love potion very seldom have five thousand dollars. Otherwise they would not need a love potion.”

— John Collier

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "“I hope all your mixtures are not as expensive,” said Alan apprehensively.
“Oh, dear, no,” said the old man. “It would be no good charging you that sort of price for a love potion, for example. Young people who need a love potion very seldom have five thousand dollars. Otherwise they would not need a love potion.”" in the context of "The Chaser (p. 373)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Quote Image
Source: Wikiquote: "John Collier" (Quotes, Fancies and Goodnights (1951): All page numbers are from the mass market paperback edition published by Bantam Books (catalogue# F1703) in December 1957; there have been many editions of the book See the book's Wikipedia page for original publication details Won the 1952 International Fantasy Award ) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 19, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

About John Collier

John Collier (3 May 1901 – 6 April 1980) was a British-born writer and screenwriter best known for his short stories, many of which appeared in The New Yorker from the 1930s to the 1950s.