Eternal truths are ultimately invisible, and you won’t find them in material things or natural phenomena, or even in human emotions. Mathematics, however, can illuminate them, can give them expression—in fact, nothing can prevent it from doing so.

Yōko Ogawa, The Housekeeper and the Professor [Amazon, Bookshop, Publisher, Local Library]

Hermetic quote Ogawa The Housekeeper and the Professor eternal truths ultimately invisible material things natural phenomena human emotions mathematics illuminate expression nothing can prevent it

Consider also:

  1. The Housekeeper and the Professor
  2. “there are no eternal truths, no divine virtues, no heavenly ethics decreed by any God upon mankind. Morals are not carved into stones as commandments by a God; they are a product of societal agreements among people. Mankind makes its own rules, laws, and morals.”
  3. He had a special feeling for what he called the “correct miscalculation,” for he believed that mistakes were often as revealing as the right answers. This gave us confidence even when our best efforts came to nothing.