Who said “What does mysticism really mean? It means the way to attain knowledge. It's close to…”?

Verified

Elie Wiesel. A published source records them saying or writing it.

SourceIn a 1978 interview with John S. Friedman, published in The Paris Review 26 (Spring 1984); and in Elie Wiesel : Conversations (2002) edited by Robert Franciosi, p. 87

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Authors A–Z
“What does mysticism really mean? It means the way to attain knowledge. It's close to philosophy, except in philosophy you go horizontally while in mysticism you go vertically.”
— Elie Wiesel
VerifiedIn a 1978 interview with John S. Friedman, published in The Paris Review 26 (Spring 1984); and in Elie Wiesel : Conversations (2002) edited by Robert Franciosi, p. 87 · evidenceMystics and Mysticism

Cite this quote

For academic work, cite the original where you can: In a 1978 interview with John S. Friedman, published in The Paris Review 26 (Spring 1984); and in Elie Wiesel : Conversations (2002) edited by Robert Franciosi, p. 87.

APA

Wiesel, E. (n.d.). What does mysticism really mean? It means the way to attain knowledge. It's close to philosophy, except in philosophy you go horizontally while in mysticism you go vertically. [Quotation]. Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/23682-what-does-mysticism-really-mean-it-means-the/

MLA

Wiesel, Elie. “What does mysticism really mean? It means the way to attain knowledge. It's close to philosophy, except in philosophy you go horizontally while in mysticism you go vertically.” Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/23682-what-does-mysticism-really-mean-it-means-the/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Wiesel, Elie. “What does mysticism really mean? It means the way to attain knowledge. It's close to philosophy, except in philosophy you go horizontally while in mysticism you go vertically.” Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/23682-what-does-mysticism-really-mean-it-means-the/.

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More quotes by Elie Wiesel

“No human race is superior; no religious faith is inferior. All collective judgments are wrong. Only racists make them.”
Verified"Have You Learned The Most Important Lesson Of All?", published in Parade Magazine (May 24, 1992) · evidenceDetails & citeRace and Racism
“The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.”
VerifiedUS News & World Report (October 27, 1986) · evidenceDetails & citeIndifference
“I rarely speak about God. To God, yes. I protest against Him. I shout at Him. But to open a discourse about the qualities of God, about the problems that God imposes, theodicy, no. And yet He is there, in silence, in filigree.”
VerifiedIn a 1978 interview with John S. Friedman, published in The Paris Review 26 (Spring 1984); and in Elie Wiesel : Conversations (2002) edited by Robert Franciosi, p. 87 · evidenceDetails & citeGod
“Peace is our gift to each other.”
Peace
All 19 Elie Wiesel quotes →