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PTRDTH t1_jdtityd wrote

The language is too simple to be of any literary value, there is no philosophy to speak of, the "lesson" itself is pretty vague and ambivalent. Overall you can enjoy it but don't expect it to be on the same level as reading Charles Dickens or Mark Twain.

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[deleted] t1_jdv8myk wrote

There is a philosophy though. I came across this Terrence McKenna quote shortly before I read the Alchemist and it reminded me of the philosophy of the book.

Nature loves courage. You make the commitment and nature will respond to that commitment by removing impossible obstacles. Dream the impossible dream and the world will not grind you under, it will lift you up. This is the trick. This is what all these teachers and philosophers who really counted, who really touched the alchemical gold, this is what they understood. This is the shamanic dance in the waterfall. This is how magic is done. By hurling yourself into the abyss and discovering it's a feather bed.

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PTRDTH t1_jdv9rjm wrote

Reading the quote, it makes so much sense now. Thanks a lot.

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