"The past becomes a texture, an ambience to our present."
"Rumours began with the whispered gossip of native servants and spread quickly to the rest of the population."
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Source: Paul Scott (1998). “The Raj Quartet, Volume 1: The Jewel in the Crown”, p.299, University of Chicago Press
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"Imagination is not enough. Knowledge is necessary."
"In India nearly everybody spoke metaphorically except the English who spoke bluntly and could make their most transparent lies look honest as a consequence; whereas any truth contained in these metaphorical rigmaroles was so deviously presented that it looked devious itself."
"Ah, well, the truth is always one thing, but in a way it's the other thing, the gossip, that counts. It shows where people's hearts lie."
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