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Lost Horizon QUOTES

Lost Horizon QUOTES

1 " People make mistakes in life through believing too much, but they have a damned dull time if they believe too little. "

― James Hilton , Lost Horizon

2 " If I could put it into a very few words, dear sir, I should say that our prevalent belief is in moderation. We inculcate the virtue of avoiding excesses of all kinds—even including, if you will pardon the paradox, excess of virtue itself. "

― James Hilton , Lost Horizon

3 " Then the whole range, much nearer now, paled into fresh splendor; a full moon rose, touching each peak in succession like some celestial lamplighter, until the long horizon glittered against a blue-black sky. "

― James Hilton , Lost Horizon

4 " It seemed to him that the little Manchu had never looked so radiant. She gave him a most charming smile, but her eyes were all for the boy. "

― James Hilton , Lost Horizon

5 " We believe that to govern perfectly it is necessary to avoid governing too much. "

― James Hilton , Lost Horizon

6 " if we have not found the heaven within,we have not found the heaven without "

― James Hilton , Lost Horizon

7 " Is there not too much tension in the world at present, and might it not be better if more people were slackers? "

― James Hilton , Lost Horizon

8 " The first quarter-century of your life was doubtless lived under the cloud of being too young for things, while the last quarter-century would normally be shadowed by the still darker cloud of being too old for them; and between those two clouds, what small and narrow sunlight illumines a human lifetime! "

― James Hilton , Lost Horizon

9 " We have reason. It is the entire meaning and purpose of Shangri-La. It came to me in a vision long, long ago. I foresaw a time when man exalting in the technique of murder, would rage so hotly over the world, that every book, every treasure would be doomed to destruction. This vision was so vivid and so moving that I determined to gather together all things of beauty and culture that I could and preserve them here against the doom toward which the world is rushing. Look at the world today. Is there anything more pitiful? What madness there is! What blindness! A scurrying mass of bewildered humanity crashing headlong against each other. The time must come, my friend, when brutality and the lust for power must perish by its own sword. For when that day comes, the world must begin to look for a new life. And it is our hope that they may find it here. "

― James Hilton , Lost Horizon

10 " It is significant ..... that the English regard slackness as a vice. We, on the other hand, should vastly prefer it to tension. Is there not too much tension in the world at present, and might it not be better if more people were slackers? "

― James Hilton , Lost Horizon

11 " The will of God or the lunacy of man - it seemed to him that you could take your choice, if you wanted a good enough reason for most things. Or, alternatively, the will of man and the lunacy of God. "

― James Hilton , Lost Horizon

12 " My friend, it is not an arduous task that I bequeath, for our order knows only silken bonds. To be gentle and patient, to care for the riches of the mind, to preside in wisdom and secrecy while the storm rages without — it will all be very pleasantly simple for you, and you will doubtless find great happiness. "

― James Hilton , Lost Horizon

13 " I shall be very deeply interested—in due course. "

― James Hilton , Lost Horizon

14 " One had to breathe consciously and deliberately, which, though disconcerting at first, induced after a time an almost ecstatic tranquility of mind. The whole body moved in a single rhythm of breathing, walking, and thinking, the lungs, no longer discrete and automatic, were disciplined to harmony with mind and limb. "

― James Hilton , Lost Horizon

15 " Laziness in doing stupid things can be a great virtue... "

― James Hilton , Lost Horizon

16 " He was, and he knew it, very quietly in love with the little Manchu. His love demanded nothing, not even reply; it was a tribute of the mind, to which his senses added only a flavor. "

― James Hilton , Lost Horizon

17 " you’re certain, then, that no human affection can outlast a five-year absence?” “It can, undoubtedly,” replied the Chinese, “but only as a fragrance whose melancholy we may enjoy. "

― James Hilton , Lost Horizon

18 " The jewel has facets,” said the Chinese, “and it is possible that many religions are moderately true. "

― James Hilton , Lost Horizon

19 " Moonlight faded after a time, and with it that distant specter of the mountain; then the triple mischiefs of darkness, cold, and wind increased until dawn. As though at its signal, the wind dropped, leaving the world in compassionate quietude. "

― James Hilton , Lost Horizon

20 " During a subsequent visit, however, Chang told him that there were other books published up to about the middle of 1930 which would doubtless be added to the shelves eventually; they had already arrived at the lamasery. “We keep ourselves fairly up-to-date, you see,” he commented. “There are people who would hardly agree with you,” replied Conway with a smile. “Quite a lot of things have happened in the world since last year, you know.” “Nothing of importance, my dear sir, that could not have been foreseen in 1920, or that will not be better understood in 1940. "

― James Hilton , Lost Horizon