quote · Legacy record
Gregorius was never to forget this scene. They were his first Portuguese words in the real world and they worked. That words could cause something in the world, make someone move or stop, laugh or cry: even as a child he had found it enigmatic and it had never stopped impressing him. How did words do that? Wasn't it like magic?But at this moment, the mystery seemed greater than usual, for these were words he hadn't even known yesterday morning.
Gregorius was never to forget this scene. They were his first Portuguese words in the real world and they worked. That words could cause something in the world, make someone move or stop, laugh or cry: even as a child he had found it enigmatic and it had never stopped impressing him. How did words do that? Wasn't it like magic?But at this moment, the mystery seemed greater than usual, for these were words he hadn't even known yesterday morning.
Approximate author period: c. 1995 AD · modern
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Pascal Mercier
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Approximate author period: c. 1995 AD · modern
Approximate historical context for attribution to Pascal Mercier, based on documented writing activity in 1995. The university's memorial identifies Peter Bieri as the writer using the pen name Pascal Mercier and states that he published novels under that name from 1995. This anchors the pen name's documented writing activity. Source: Freie Universitaet Berlin: In memoriam Peter Bieri, https://www.fu-berlin.de/informationen-fuer/beschaeftigte/personalia/wir-trauern/2023/bieri/index.html (checked 2026-10-09). This does not establish the composition date or authenticate the attribution of these words. Source: https://www.fu-berlin.de/informationen-fuer/beschaeftigte/personalia/wir-trauern/2023/bieri/index.html (accessed 2026-10-09).
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided quotation collection
Supplied reference C; CSV row 167529; supplied attribution, independently unverified
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.