“They rode out together from the shadows of the trees, leaving the Bala Hissar and the glowing torch of the burning Residency behind them, and spurred away across the flat lands towards the mountains...
And it may even be that they found their Kingdom.”
― M.M. Kaye, quote from The Far Pavilions
“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer: let him step to the music that he hears.”
― M.M. Kaye, quote from The Far Pavilions
“India and its peoples; not the British India of cantonments and Clubs, or the artificial world of hill stations and horse shows, but that other India: that mixture of glamour and tawdriness, viciousness and nobility. A land full of gods and gold and famine. Ugly as a rotting corpse and beautiful beyond belief …”
― M.M. Kaye, quote from The Far Pavilions
“for the public, it seemed, preferred to believe that which disturbed it least and to ignore troublesome information. Which is a failing common to all nations.”
― M.M. Kaye, quote from The Far Pavilions
“I cannot see anything admirable in stupidity, injustice and sheer incompetence in high places, and there is too much of all three in the present administration.”
― M.M. Kaye, quote from The Far Pavilions
“Perhaps I myself am a pompous and conceited old fool. And perhaps if these fools I complain of were French or Dutch or German I would not mind so much, because then I could say 'What else can you expect?' and feel superior. It is because they are men of my own race that I would have them all good.”
― M.M. Kaye, quote from The Far Pavilions
“Have you really become so much an Angrezi that you believe your people have only to say “It is forbidden”, for such old customs as this to cease immediately? Bah!”
― M.M. Kaye, quote from The Far Pavilions
“What could be more entrancing than a carefree nomadic existence camping, moving, exploring strange places and the ruins of forgotten empires, sleeping under canvas or the open sky, and giving no thought to the conventions and restriction of the modern world?”
― M.M. Kaye, quote from The Far Pavilions
“Ash said slowly: ‘I don’t believe that anyone can have no regrets … Perhaps there are times when even God regrets that He created such a thing as man. But one can put them away and not dwell upon them; and I’ll have you, Larla … that alone is enough happiness for any man.’ He”
― M.M. Kaye, quote from The Far Pavilions
“Did you ever read Aurora Leigh? – “Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God; but only he who sees takes off his shoes.”
― M.M. Kaye, quote from The Far Pavilions
“they were a fanatically independent people, much addicted to intrigue, treachery and murder, and that among their other national traits was an intolerance of rulers (or, if it came to that, of any form of authority whatsoever, other than their own desires).”
― M.M. Kaye, quote from The Far Pavilions
“because Afghanistan is no country to fight a war in – and an impossible one to hold if you win.”
― M.M. Kaye, quote from The Far Pavilions
“But it doesn’t matter. Nothing matters now.” And the sound of her voice in the forest was just like a little tremulous song. And the leaves turn even more yellow, fall is approaching; more stars have appeared in the sky, and from now on the moon looks like a shadow of silver dipped in gold.”
― Knut Hamsun, quote from Pan
“I'm dating Brandon," I told his bowed head.
"Really?" he asked without looking up.
"Yes!"
"I'll print you a wallet card to whip out every time you need to say that, so you can save your voice."
"Could you laminate it?”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Forget You
“He hesitated. “We’ve been told we’re larger than typical males.”
Larger. She swallowed. “I can deal with that. Larger as in ‘just a bit bigger’ or as in ‘that is never, ever going to fit inside me’?”
― Laurann Dohner, quote from Justice
“At twenty-nine, life no longer held any brightness for him, but Voltaire supplied him with man-made wings.
Spreading these man-made wings, he soared with ease into the sky. The higher he flew, the farther below him sank the joys and sorrows of a life bathed in the light of the intellect. Dropping ironies and smiles upon the shabby towns below, he climbed through the open sky, straight for the sun--as if he had forgotten about that ancient Greek who plunged to his death in the ocean when his man-made wings were singed by the sun."
-from "The Life of a Stupid Man”
― Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, quote from Rashōmon and Seventeen Other Stories
“Good responded nobly to this tax upon his inventive faculties. Never before had I the faintest conception of the breadth and depth and height of a naval officer's objurgatory powers. For ten minutes he went on in several languages without stopping, and he scarcely ever repeated himself.”
― H. Rider Haggard, quote from King Solomon's Mines
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