He hadexchanged six sheep for two precious stones that had been taken from agold breastplate. The Alchemist Quotes Showing 1-30 of 2,288. \"I have the money I need to buy my sheep.And you have the money you need to go to Mecca.\"The old man said nothing.\"Will you give me your blessing?\" asked the boy. The Alchemist is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. \"It's called the principle offavorability. I don't want anything else in life.But you are forcing me to look at wealth and at horizons I have neverknown. Then leave with the caravan. When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strongcurrent that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he firstmade the decision.When I decided to seek out my treasure, I never imagined that I'd wind upworking in a crystal shop, he thought. He knew everything about each member ofhis flock: he knew which ones were lame, which one was to give birth twomonths from now, and which were the laziest. And the solid part was called the Philosopher's Stone.\"It's not easy to find the Philosopher's Stone,\" said the Englishman. Paulo Coelho - The Alchemist Page 34 / 94and purpose, and as part of a search for something believed in and desired.Tangier was no longer a strange city, and he felt that, just as he hadconquered this place, he could conquer the world.\"When you want something, all the universe conspires to help you achieveit,\" the old king had said.But the old king hadn't said anything about being robbed, or about endlessdeserts, or about people who know what their dreams are but don't want torealize them. He recalled that when the sun had risen thatmorning, he was on another continent, still a shepherd with sixty sheep, andlooking forward to meeting with a girl. He went over to the bakery and bought a loaf of bread, thinkingabout whether or not he should tell the baker what the old man had saidabout him. And the names of the people involved werevery difficult to pronounce. There was a small building there, with awindow at which people bought tickets to Africa. The boythought back to that conversation with his father, and felt happy; he hadalready seen many castles and met many women (but none the equal of theone who awaited him several days hence). At othertimes, at a crucial moment, I make it easier for things to happen. Before long, maybe in just a few days, hewould be at the Pyramids. \"In school.\"\"Well, if you know how to read, why are you just a shepherd?\"The boy mumbled an answer that allowed him to avoid responding to herquestion. Because life wantsyou to achieve your destiny,\" the old king had said.But the merchant understood what the boy had said. 2 What did Santiago's parents originally hope he would be when he grew up? So he began to wander through the city,and found himself at the gates. I've already imagined a thousand times crossing the desert, arrivingat the Plaza of the Sacred Stone, the seven times I walk around it beforeallowing myself to touch it. \"I'm herebecause a friend of mine heard of an Arab who\"But the caravan began to move, and it was impossible to hear what theEnglishman was saying. It turned out to be a bitter tea. He held Urim and Thummim in his hand; becauseof those two stones, he was once again on the way to his treasure.\"I am always nearby, when someone wants to realize their destiny,\" the oldking had told him.What could it cost to go over to the supplier's warehouse and find out if thePyramids were really that far away? Paulo Coelho - The Alchemist Page 21 / 94He took his money from his pouch and showed it to the young man. Good afternoon.\"And he vanished around the corner of the plaza. The boy approached awoman who had come to the well to fill a goatskin with water.\"Good afternoon, ma'am. If he ever wrote a book, he thought, he wouldpresent one person at a time, so that the reader wouldn't have to worry \"This candy merchant isn't makingcandy so that later he can travel or marry a shopkeeper's daughter. *The crystal merchant awoke with the day, and felt the same anxiety that hefelt every morning. Paulo Coelho - The Alchemist Page 28 / 94with shepherds.\"The merchant turned to a customer who wanted three crystal glasses. Butchildren always seem to be able to play with them without frightening them.I don't know why. He could see that the old man wanted to knowmore about his life.\"Well, then, we've got a problem. \"Maybe no one herehas, either.\"The Englishman's eyes lit up. All they think about is food and water.Maybe we're all that way, the boy mused. Yes, their days were all the same, with the seemingly endless hoursbetween sunrise and dusk; and they had never read a book in their younglives, and didn't understand when the boy told them about the sights of thecities. I never thoughtI'd end up in a place like this, he thought, as he leafed through the pages ofa chemical journal. I can pay you to serve as myguide.\"\"Do you have any idea how to get there?\" the newcomer asked.The boy noticed that the owner of the bar stood nearby, listening attentivelyto their conversation. Every step has to be followedexactly as it was followed by the masters.\"The boy learned that the liquid part of the Master Work was called the Elixirof Life, and that it cured all illnesses; it also kept the alchemist fromgrowing old. As he mused about these things, he realized that he had to choosebetween thinking of himself as the poor victim of a thief and as anadventurer in quest of his treasure.\"I'm an adventurer, looking for treasure,\" he said to himself. Paulo Coelho - The Alchemist Page 46 / 94\"Go back to watching the caravan,\" he said. He had worked hard for a year, andthe omens were that it was time to go.I'm going to go back to doing just what I did before, the boy thought. But in the crystal shop you probably realized thateven the glasses were collaborating in your success.\"The boy thought about that for a while as he looked at the moon and thebleached sands. One night, acamel driver came to the fire where the Englishman and the boy weresitting. What he needed to do wasreview all he had learned over the years, because the alchemist wouldcertainly put him to the test.The young Arab took out a book and began to read. When someone sees thesame people every day, as had happened with him at the seminary, theywind up becoming a part of that person's life. He had come to the town only to find a woman who couldinterpret his dream. The old man knew how to read, and had alreadyread the book. \"I promised that I would make my own decisions,\" he said tohimself.But the stones had told him that the old man was still with him, and thatmade him feel more confident. He had spent enormous amounts of timeat the great libraries of the world, and had purchased all the rarest and mostimportant volumes on alchemy. But let's say that the most important is that you have He was at home with the silence of the desert, andhe was content just to look at the trees. \"The oases may notshelter armies or troops.\"To the boy's surprise, the Englishman took a chrome-plated revolver out ofhis bag and gave it to the men who were collecting the arms.\"Why a revolver?\" he asked. \"I have watched the caravan as it crossed the desert,\" hesaid. And then they want theperson to change. \"Hewanted your money,\" he said. The boyand the Englishman had bought camels, and climbed uncertainly onto theirbacks. Paulo Coelho - The Alchemist Page 11 / 94books. \"But the desert is so huge, and the horizons so distant, that theymake a person feel small, and as if he should remain silent.\"The boy understood intuitively what he meant, even without ever having setfoot in the desert before. Paulo Coelho - The Alchemist Page 23 / 94trying to tell him not to trust that man. The book was written inSpanish. But he found it much more interesting to observe thecaravan and listen to the wind. Paulo Coelho - The Alchemist Page 5 / 94afford to travel,\" his father said. *The boy went to his room and packed his belongings. But he trusted in the old man, whohad said that, when you really want something, the universe alwaysconspires in your favor. The boy knew a lot of people in the city. It's the simple things in lifethat are the most extraordinary; only wise men are able to understand them.And since I am not wise, I have had to learn other arts, such as the readingof palms.\"\"Well, how am I going to get to Egypt?\"\"I only interpret dreams. This is aport, and every port has its thieves.\"The boy trusted his new friend. This was a port town, and the only truthfulthing his friend had told him was that port towns are full of thieves.Now he understood why the owner of the bar had been so upset: he was He read the lives of the various people who had succeeded in doingso: Helv?ius, Elias, Fulcanelli, and Geber. And don't forget the language of omens. There was nothing tohold him back except himself. Paulo Coelho - The Alchemist Page 19 / 94again after having charged him his one-tenth fee. He was tense and upset, because he knew that the old manwas right. He had had the same dreamthat night as a week ago, and once again he had awakened before it ended.He arose and, taking up his crook, began to awaken the sheep that stillslept. \"I'll work all night, untildawn, and I'll clean every piece of crystal in your shop. \"When he was a child, that man wanted to travel, too. I havenever heard of them, but, if it was a child who showed them to you, they The silence was the worst aspect of the night, when the meregroan of a camelwhich before had been nothing but the groan of acamelnow frightened everyone, because it might signal a raid.The camel driver, though, seemed not to be very concerned with the threatof war.\"I'm alive,\" he said to the boy, as they ate a bunch of dates one night, withno fires and no moon. I can't help you if you feel you've gotenough sheep.\"The boy was getting irritated. Perhaps to a baker, or to another shepherd who could read andcould tell her exciting storiesafter all, he probably wasn't the only one. The boy watched it through itstrajectory for some time, until it was hidden behind the white housessurrounding the plaza. \"The shepherd said nothing. The Soul of the World is nourished bypeople's happiness. But thosewho know about such things would know that those are Urim and Thummim.I didn't know that they had them in this part of the world.\"\"They were given to me as a present by a king,\" the boy said.The stranger didn't answer; instead, he put his hand in his pocket, and tookout two stones that were the same as the boy's.\"Did you say a king?\" he asked.\"I guess you don't believe that a king would talk to someone like me, ashepherd,\" he said, wanting to end the conversation.\"Not at all. That's the world'sgreatest lie.\"\"That's never happened to me,\" the boy said. And he knew that Egyptwas in Africa.\"Can I help you?\" asked the man behind the window.\"Maybe tomorrow,\" said the boy, moving away. I know its dimensions andhow it behaves. Just handling them made himfeel better. The group was to remain there atthe oasis until the conflict between the tribes was over. And, just as she was about to showme the exact location, I woke up. There are thousands of kilometers ofdesert between here and there.\"There was a moment of silence so profound that it seemed the city was One always had something thatthe other neededas if everything were indeed written by one hand. And he asked the boy if he, too, were in search ofthe alchemist.\"I'm looking for a treasure,\" said the boy, and he immediately regrettedhaving said it. \"I've seen how the guides readthe signs of the desert, and how the soul of the caravan speaks to the soulof the desert.\"The Englishman said, \"I'd better pay more attention to the caravan.\"\"And I'd better read your books,\" said the boy. But I'm afraid that it would all be a disappointment, so I preferjust to dream about it.\"That day, the merchant gave the boy permission to build the display. Then he turned to theboy.\"I am proud of you,\" he said. Three days from now, he wouldbe with the merchant's daughter.He started to read the book he had bought. There were thousands of people there,arguing, selling, and buying; vegetables for sale amongst daggers, andcarpets displayed alongside tobacco. They reminded him of the old man.\"When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you toachieve it,\" he had said.The boy was trying to understand the truth of what the old man had said.There he was in the empty marketplace, without a cent to his name, andwith not a sheep to guard through the night. The lad wandered through the desert forforty days, and finally came upon a beautiful castle, high atop a mountain. I don't know how animals know the age of humanbeings.\"\"Tell me more about your dream,\" said the woman. \"I had my orchard, my children, anda life that would change not at all until I died. He didn't want tocry with the other people there. He knew nothing aboutthe customs of the strange land he was in.\"I'll just watch him,\" he said to himself. And maybe it wasn't that they were teaching me,but that I was learning from them.\"Maktub,\" the merchant said, finally.\"What does that mean?\"\"You would have to have been born an Arab to understand,\" he answered.\"But in your language it would be something like 'It is written.' \"Everyone has his or her own way of learning things,\"he said to himself. There had been a time when many people knew ofhis shop: Arab merchants, French and English geologists, German soldierswho were always well-heeled. He had tried in vain to establish a relationship with The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho Upgrade to A + Intro Plot Summary Summary & Analysis Themes Quotes Characters Symbols Theme Wheel Teachers and parents! Paulo Coelho - The Alchemist Page 48 / 94way because they were made up from the pure life, and this kind of lifecannot be captured in pictures or words.Because people become fascinated with pictures and words, and wind upforgetting the Language of the World. Once again he was experiencing thelanguage without words the universal language.The Englishman asked if they were in danger.\"Once you get into the desert, there's no going back,\" said the camel driver.\"And, when you can't go back, you have to worry only about the best way ofmoving forward. He should respect tradition.The Englishman was disappointed. He really was aking, a wise king.The hills of Andalusia were only two hours away, but there was an entiredesert between him and the Pyramids. Theywent in to drink the tea, which was served in beautiful crystal glasses.\"My wife never thought of this,\" said one, and he bought some crystalhewas entertaining guests that night, and the guests would be impressed bythe beauty of the glassware. The boy thanked him, ate it, and went onhis way. He prepared himself a sandwich and drank somehot tea from a crystal glass. 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