John Buchan - Prester John (1910)

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Time, they say, must the best of us capture,
And travel and battle and gems and gold
No more can kindle the ancient rapture,
For even the youngest of hearts grows old.

John Buchan
The vows we take in the holy place bind us till we are purged of them at Inanda's Kraal. Till then no blood must be shed and no flesh eaten. It was the fashion of our forefathers.

John Buchan
Fortunately for mankind the brain in a life of action turns more to the matter in hand than to conjuring up the chances of the future.

John Buchan
It was foreordained that I should go alone to Umvelos', and in the promptings of my own infallible heart I believed I saw the workings of Omnipotence. Such is our moral arrogance, and yet without such a belief I think that mankind would have ever been content to bide sluggishly at home.

John Buchan
Last night I had looked into the heart of darkness, and the sight had terrified me. What part should I play in the great purification? Most likely that of the Biblical scapegoat.

John Buchan
I mind as if it were yesterday my first sight of the man. Little I knew at the time how big the moment was with destiny, or how often that face seen in the fitful moonlight would haunt my sleep and disturb my waking hours.

John Buchan
Perfect love casteth out fear, the Bible says; but, to speak it reverently, so does perfect hate.

John Buchan
I believe that every man has in his soul a passion for treasure-hunting, which will often drive a coward into prodigies of valour.

John Buchan