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Rutherford assented. "Yes, I liked him a good deal too, though I also saw surprisingly little of him, if you measure it in time." And then there was a somewhat odd silence, during which it was evident that we were both thinking of some one who had mattered to us far more than might have been judged from such casual contacts."
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James Hilton |
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6ac7c03
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But here, at Shangri-La, all was in deep calm. In a moonless sky the stars were lit to the full, and a pale blue sheen lay upon the dome of Karakal
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James Hilton |
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Laziness in doing stupid things can be a virtue.
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James Hilton |
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Conway said quietly, "If you'd had all the experiences I've had, you'd know that there are times in life when the most comfortable thing is to do nothing at all. Things happen to you and you just let them happen."
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James Hilton |
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Miss Brinklow, however, was not yet to be sidetracked, "What do the lamas do?" she continued. "They devote themselves, madam, to contemplation and to the pursuit of wisdom." "But that isn't doing anything." "Then, madam, they do nothing." "I thought as much."
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James Hilton |
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_ What do the [monks] do? [...] _ They devote themselves, madam, to contemplation and to the pursuit of wisdom. _ But that isn't *doing* anything. _ Then, madam, they do nothing. _ I thought as much.
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James Hilton |
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They were all, too, except himself, affected by the altitude. Even Barnard had sunk into melancholy under the strain. Mallinson was muttering to himself; it was clear what would happen to him if these hardships went on for long. In face of such distressful prospects Conway found himself quite unable to restrain an admiring glance at Miss Brinklow. She was not, he reflected, a normal person, no woman who taught Afghans to sing hymns could be..
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James Hilton |
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3506d17
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No ambitions? And how have you contrived to escape those widespread maladies?
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James Hilton |
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eb82270
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And, most precious of all, you will have Time--that rare and lovely gift that your Western countries have lost the more they have pursued it.
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James Hilton |
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He recognized that they were likely to have far more personal reasons for anxiety than he had himself. Mallinson, for instance, was engaged to a girl in England; Barnard might be married; Miss Brinklow had her work, vocation, or however she might regard it. Mallinson, incidentally, was by far the least composed; as the hours passed he showed himself increasingly excitable--apt, also, to resent to Conway's face the very coolness which he had..
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James Hilton |
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14a465d
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1916.... The Somme Battle. Twenty-three names read out one Sunday evening.
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James Hilton |
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Once, asked for his opinion of bayonet practice being carried on near the cricket pavilion, he answered, with that lazy, slightly asthmatic intonation that had been so often and so extravagantly imitated: "It seems--to me--umph--a very vulgar way of killing people." The yarn was passed on and joyously appreciated--how Chips had told some big brass hat from the War Office that bayonet fighting was vulgar. Just like Chips. And they found an a..
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James Hilton |
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that he was both more and less experienced than the youngest new boy at the School might well be; and that, that paradox of age and youth, was what the world called progress.
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James Hilton |
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suspicion had sometimes been current that he really was as unruffled as he looked, and that whatever happened, he did not give a damn. But this, too, like the laziness, was an imperfect interpretation. What most observers failed to perceive in him was something quite bafflingly simple--a love of quietness, contemplation, and being alone.
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James Hilton |
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If you'd had all the experiences I've had, you'd know that there are times in life when the most comfortable thing is to do nothing at all.
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James Hilton |
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8a9f0e2
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What most observers failed to perceive in him was something quite bafflingly simple--a love of quietness, contemplation, and being alone.
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James Hilton |
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683f3fc
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There was also in his nature a trait which some people might have called laziness, though it was not quite that. No one was capable of harder work, when it had to be done, and few could better shoulder responsibility; but the facts remained that he was not passionately fond of activity, and did not enjoy responsibility at all. Both were included in his job, and he made the best of them, but he was always ready to give way to any one else wh..
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James Hilton |
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dilettanti.
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James Hilton |