Mr. Segundus wished to know, he said, why modern magicians were unable to work the magic they wrote about. In short, he wished to know why there was no more magic done in England.
It was the most commonplace question in the world. It was the question which, sooner or later, every child in the kingdom asks his governess or his schoolmaster or his parent. Yet the learned members of the York society did not at all like hearing it asked and the reason was this: they were no more able to answer it than anyone else.
The President of the York society (whose name was Dr Foxcastle) turned to John Segundus and explained that the question was a wrong one. “It presupposes that magicians have some sort of duty to do magic — which is clearly nonsense. You would not, I imagine, suggest that it is the duty of botanists to devise more flowers? Or that astronomers should labour to rearrange the stars? Magicians, Mr Segundus, study magic that was done long ago. Why should anyone expect more?”
An elderly gentleman with faint blue eyes and faintly colored clothes (called either Hart or Hunt — Mr Segundus could never quite catch the name) faintly said that it did not matter whether anyone expected it or not. A gentleman could not do magic. Magic was what street sorcerers pretended to do in order to rob children of their pennies. Magic (in the practical sense) was much fallen off. It had low connexions. It was the bosom companion of unshaven faces, gypsies, house-breakers; the frequenter of dingy rooms with dirty yellow curtains. Oh no! A gentleman could not do magic. A gentleman might study the history of magic (nothing could be nobler), but he could not do any.
~Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Tag: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Sep 03 2008