quote · Legacy record
The real thing about evil," said the Witch at the doorway, "isn't any of what you said. You figure out one side of it - the human side, say - and the eternal side goes into shadow. Or vice versa. It's like the old saw: What does a dragon in its shell look like? Well no one can ever tell, for as soon as you break the shell to see, the dragon is no longer in its shell. The real disaster of this inquiry is that it is the nature of evil to be secret.
The real thing about evil," said the Witch at the doorway, "isn't any of what you said. You figure out one side of it - the human side, say - and the eternal side goes into shadow. Or vice versa. It's like the old saw: What does a dragon in its shell look like? Well no one can ever tell, for as soon as you break the shell to see, the dragon is no longer in its shell. The real disaster of this inquiry is that it is the nature of evil to be secret.
Approximate author period: c. 1954 AD · modern
Meaning not yet available
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- Author or tradition
- Gregory Maguire
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
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- Approximate author period: c. 1954 AD · modern
Approximate author-period anchor from documented birth year 1954; activity date not established; Wikidata Q736137, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q736137 (accessed 2026-10-08). Not a quotation composition date.
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Supplied reference C; CSV row 230499; supplied attribution, independently unverified
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