Then he remembered the cant he had talked, during the year that he had majored in English, when he was in his twenties: “levels of meaning.” “the semantic problem.” “the symbolical level.” Well, there were plenty of substitutes for knowledge and insight—false metaphors everywhere.

Walter Tevis, The Man Who Fell to Earth [Amazon]

Hermetic quote Tevis Man Fell to Earth plenty of substitutes for knowledge and insight

Consider also:

  1. “In all the schools of the Mysteries, as well as in all the great religions of the world, the attainment of the spiritual goal just described is enacted or taught under the veil of a tragic episode analogous to that of our third degree; and in each there is a Master whose death the aspirant is instructed he must imitate in his own person.”
  2. “Anyone, of course, can understand the simpler meaning of our symbols, especially with the help of the explanatory lectures; but he may still miss the meaning of the scheme as a vital whole.”
  3. “But one thing seems evident to me: that unless we get rid of our hypocritical Anglo-Saxon plague of Pharisaism, we shall never be fit to live with.”
  4. “I had no real idea what the people in HR actually did, apart from lose your confidential information, and practically want to know your blood group and who you are currently shagging when you fill in a form, just so they can all discuss you amongst themselves.”
  5. My Pilgrimage