Quote 1
"You must understand that love never keeps a man from pursuing his Personal Legend. If he abandons that pursuit, it's because it wasn't true love . . . the love that speaks the Language of the World." (2.442)
Listen up, Santiago: let the alchemist break it down for you. See, there are true loves (like Beyoncé and Jay-Z) and false loves (like, oh, pick a Kardashian and the next man you see). True love speaks the universal language and will last even through separation and difficulty, because it's mean to be. False love has a million dollar wedding and gets divorced 72 hours later.
Quote 2
"There are powerful forces on both sides, and the war is important to both armies. It's not a battle of good against evil. It's a war between forces that are fighting for the balance of power, and, when that type of battle begins, it lasts longer than others—because Allah is on both sides." (2.284)
Huh. This is a little weird, right? Usually you got the good guys and the bad guys, and you know who to root for. In The Alchemist, we never know who is fighting or why. Instead, we're expected to see war almost as a force of nature.
Quote 3
The alchemist sounded angry: "Trust in your heart, but never forget that you're in the desert. When men are at war with one another, the Soul of the World can hear the screams of battle. No one fails to suffer the consequences of everything under the sun." (2.546)
Just in case you were starting to feel like things were going too well, the alchemist steps in to straighten things out: not everyone is in the groovy swing of their Personal Legend. In fact, the world is a dangerous place, which means Santiago—and you—can't ever let down your guard.
Quote 4
"If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil. And one can always come back. If what you had found was only a moment of light, like the explosion of a star, you would find nothing on your return." (2.467)
Okay, Mr. Alchemist, you´re getting pretty abstract with your yakkity-yak. Let´s unpack this code. The alchemist is using alchemy as a metaphor for love; if Santiago has found true love or pure matter, it will last forever, even as he goes out on his quests for treasure. But if it's just a crush or a flirtation—a moment of light—then there was no substance there in the first place and it won't last.
Quote 5
The boy was shaking with fear, but the alchemist helped him out of the tent.
"Don't let them see that you're afraid," the alchemist said. "They are brave men, and they despise cowards." (2.592)
Poor Santiago is constantly being threatened with death, and the alchemist wants him to just suck it up. Great. Real helpful, alchemist. Okay, okay, it's actually good advice—but it's even harder for Santiago to face death now, since he has Fatima to live for.
Quote 6
"You dream about your sheep and the Pyramids, but you're different from me, because you want to realize your dreams. I just want to dream about Mecca." (2.28)
You might have a friend like the crystal merchant: someone who spends his life talking about doing something, like starting a rock band or sailing to Cuba. You may even be this person. Well, The Alchemist is here to tell you to follow your dreams, no matter how wacky. (And Shmoop is here to tell you that your chances of making it big as a rock band are about as good as our chances of making the NBA. And we're pretty short.)
Quote 7
The alchemist said, "No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn't know it." (2.727)
Here's the story the alchemist told Santiago right before drawing this moral: a father dreamed that his poet son's words would be passed down through the ages, but it turns out his other son (hello, black sheep), a soldier, is the one whose words became famous. In other words, the alchemist is trying to show Santiago we may not be able to see a bigger picture, but following our dreams helps us to do our part in the big picture.
Quote 8
"Show me where there is life out in the desert. Only those who can see such signs of life are able to find treasure." (2.419)
We usually think of treasure as dead: gold, silver, and jewels aren't really going anywhere. But the alchemist tells Santiago that he must be able to find life in order to find his treasure. Hint hint—the treasure is more than just the objects; it's a state of mind or a relationship.
Quote 9
"God created the world so that, through its visible objects, men could understand his spiritual teachings and the marvels of his wisdom." (2.490)
The alchemist teaches Santiago that the entire natural world is just a big chalkboard full of lessons, and that human beings should find wisdom and knowledge by observing it. It doesn't matter if it's the desert or the jungle; God is showing himself through nature. And pay attention, because there's probably going to be a test.
Quote 10
"I'm an old superstitious Arab, and I believe in our proverbs. There's one that says, 'Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.'" (2.710)
Hmm. Something may be lost in translation, but it seems to us that there is an "only" missing in here. Logically, everything that happens twice also has happened once, so the sentence doesn't really make sense. But apparently there are two types of events: the once-in-a-lifetime kind and the kinds that we are fated to repeat in a pattern. Of course, there's no way you'll know which is which until it either (1) happens again, or (2) you die.