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charlenasaxen · 2 months ago

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The Gods of Pegana Favorite Quotes

“Fate and Chance cast lots to decide whose the Game should be”

“whether it was Fate or whether Chance that went through the mists before THE BEGINNING to MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI—none

knoweth”

“There are in Pegana Mung and Sish and Kib, and the maker of all small gods, who is MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI”

“none may pray to MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI but only the gods whom hehath made”

“And the gods and the worlds shall depart, and there shall be only MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI”

“Skarl made a drum, and began to beat upon it that he might drum for ever”

“there was silence on Pegana save for the drumming of Skarl”

“there he beateth his drum. Some say that the Worlds and the Suns are but the echoes of the drumming of Skarl”

“for who hath heard the voice of MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI, or who hath seen his drummer?”

“Skarl still beateth his drum, for the purposes of the gods are not yet fulfilled”

“the worlds go on, for if he cease for an instant then MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI will start awake, and there will be worlds nor gods no more”

“Then shall Skarl put his drum upon his back and walk forth into the void”

“but to Skarl it shall matter not, for he shall have done the work of Skarl”

“speaking with Their hands lest the silence of Pegana should blush”

“Let Us make worlds and Life and Death, and colours in the sky”

“Then said the gods: “Let Us make one to seek”

“They made by the lifting of Their hands, each god according to his sign, the Bright One”

“Let there be now a Watcher to regard.”

And They made the Moon, with his face wrinkled with many mountains”

“And They made the Star of the Abiding”

“know that somewhere among the Worlds is rest”

“And They made Earth to wonder, each god by the uplifting of his hand according to his sign.

And Earth was.”

“The Moon regarded, and the Bright One sought, and returned again to his seeking”

“Earth became covered with beasts for Kib to play with.

And Kib played with beasts.”

“If Kib has thus made beasts he will in time make Men, and will endanger the Secret of the gods.”

“Mung was jealous of the work of Kib, and sent down Death among the beasts, but could not stamp them out”

“A million years passed over the second game”

“making the sign of Kib, and made Men: out of beasts he made them, and Earth was covered with Men”

“the gods feared greatly for the Secret of the gods, and set a veil between Man and his ignorance that he might not understand”

“But when the other gods saw Kib playing his new game They came and played it too”

“They shall be ashamed of Their playing in the hour of the laughter”

“And all the other gods were angry with Kib that he had spoken with his mouth.”

“And there was no longer silence in Pegana or the Worlds.”

“There came the voice of the gods singing the chaunt”

“Because this is written, believe! For is it not written, or are you greater than Kib?”

“(The Destroyer of Hours)

Time is the hound of Sish.”

“At Sish’s bidding do the hours run before him as he goeth upon his way”

“pleasant are all things before the face of Sish, but behind him they are withered and old”

“And Wornath-Mavai was a garden fairer than all the gardens upon Earth”

“on the slopes of it Sish rested among the flowers when Sish was young”

“And Time, which is the hound of Sish, devoured all things; and Sish sent up the ivy”

“Only the valley where Sish rested when he and Time were young did Sish not provoke his hours to assail”

“still the flowers grow about its slopes as they grew when the gods were young”

“butterflies live in Wornath-Mavai still. For the minds of the gods relent towards their earliest memories”

“if thou shouldst ever find it thou art then more fortunate than the gods, because they walk not in Wornath-Mavai now”

“Once did the prophet think that he discerned it in the distance”

“Time is the hound of the gods; but it hath been said of old that he will one day turn upon his masters, and seek to slay the gods”

“excepting only MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI, whose dreams are the gods themselves—dreamed long ago”

“who shall trouble MANA with mortal woes or irk him with the sorrows of all the houses of Earth?”

“what glory shall he find in sacrifices or altars who hath made the gods themselves?”

“Yet what mercy should the small gods have, who themselves made Death and Pain; or shall they restrain their old hound Time for thee?”

“and it may be that Slid will not forget to send thee Death when most thou needest it.”

“And the People of Earth said: “There is a melody upon the Earth as though ten thousand streams all sang together.”

“be a happier god than Those who sway the Worlds, whose work is Life and Death”

“the miser lord of wealth in gems and pearls beyond the telling of all fables”

“Slid is in many places, for he sitteth in high Pegana”

“to be always with Slid in all the moods of Slid, to find no rest until he reaches the sea”

“over whose bones doth Slid lament with the voice of a god lamenting for his people”

“have heard Slid’s far-off cry, and all together have forsaken lawns and trees to follow”

“Mung said: “Were the forty million years before thy coming intolerable to thee?”

“Then Mung made against him the sign of Mung and the Life of the Man was fettered no longer”

“little before night meeteth with the morning”

“when Mung said: “I am Mung!” the man cried out: “Alas, that I took this road”

“it may be that They will send thee again into the Worlds; and then thou mayest choose some other way, and not meet with Mung.”

“Then Mung made the sign of Mung. And the Life of that man went forth with yesterday’s regrets”

“Mung said: “When at the sign of Mung thy Life shall float away there will also disappear thy sorrow at forsaking it.”

“tarry for a little, and make not the sign of Mung against me now, for I have a family upon the earth with whom sorrow will remain”

“the man beheld Mung making the sign of Mung before his eyes, which beheld things no more”

“So shall they cry louder unto Mung than ever was their wont.

And it may be that Mung shall hear.”

“This is the chaunt of the Priests.

The chaunt of the Priests of Mung.

This is the chaunt of the Priests.”

“while Death seems to thee as far away as the purple rim of hills; or sorrow as far off as rain in the blue days of summer”

“Go out into the starry night, and Limpang-Tung will dance with thee who danced since the gods were young”

“god of mirth and of melodious minstrels”

“for he saith of sorrow: ‘It may be very clever of the gods,’ but he doth not understand.”

“between Pegana and the Earth flutter ten thousand thousand prayers that beat their wings against the face of Death”

“never for one of them hath the hand of the Striker been stayed, nor yet have tarried the feet of the Relentless One”

“Utter thy prayer! It may accomplish where failed ten thousand thousand.”

“will I paint the Blue, that men may see and rejoice; and ere day falleth under into the night will I paint upon the Blue again, lest men be sad.”

“this he hath sworn by the oath of the gods of Pegana”

“swearing by the light behind Their eyes”

“here and there amid the peoples of earth one heareth, and straightaway all that hath voice to sing crieth aloud in music to his soul”

“mirth and melody abound in that city of song, and no one seeth Limpang-Tung as he standeth behind the minstrels”

“he must endure all night the laughter of the gods, with highest mockery, in Pegana”

“the fancies of Yoharneth-Lahai be true, none knoweth saving only MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI, who hath not spoken”

“there must Roon’s people go, and the worlds and their streams and the winds”

“Pitsu, who stroketh the cat; Hobith who calms the dog”

“gods of Pegana, speaking to the gods, say: “There is Kilooloogung doing the work on earth of Kilooloogung.”

“these are gods so small that they be lesser than men, but pleasant gods to have beside the hearth”

“And Kilooloogung, who is pleased that men should pray, stretches himself up”

“A kindly god is Jabim”

“Triboogie, the Lord of Dusk, whose children are the shadows”

“then doth Triboogie send his children to run about the room and dance”

“children are the bats, that have broken the command of their father”

“the wolf and the fox and the owl, and the great beasts and the small, lift up their voices to acclaim”

“three broad rivers of the plain, born before memory or fable, whose mothers are three grey peaks and whose father was the storm”

“Segástrion sings old songs to shepherd boys, singing of his childhood”

“say that they be mightier than Pegana’s gods, and play Their game with men.”

“because being home gods, though small, they were immortal”

“clawing with miserly grasp at the bones of men and breathing hot”

“And Umbool answered: “I am the beast of Mung.”

And Umbool came and crouched upon a hill.”

“the lords of the rivers slunk away back again to their homes: still Umbool sat and grinned”

“Eimës grew lean, and was forgotten, so that the men of the plain would say: “Here once was Eimës”

“It is the foot of a man that has passed across my neck, and I have sought to be greater than the gods of Pegana.”

“sear the memory of Afrik into the brains of all who ever bring their bones away”

“And Eimës, Zänës, and Segástrion sang again, and walked once more”

“played the game of Life and Death with fishes and frogs, but never essayed to play it any more with men, as do the gods of Pegana”

“felt a fear, for they have seen a look in the eyes of Dorozhand that regardeth beyond the gods”

“Life is the instrument of Dorozhand wherewith he would achieve his end”

“scarce more than ten million mortal years of the Worlds that ye have made.”

“arise from resting, because it is THE END, the Greater One, who rested of old time, even MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI”

“comes suddenly on dear, remembered things”

“For none shall know of MANA who hath rested for so long, whether he be a harsh or merciful god. It may be that he shall have mercy, and that these things shall be.”

“in the centre of the Desert of Deserts, standeth the image that hath been hewn of old”

“found the secret of MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI, and knoweth the wherefore of the making of the gods”

“but who shall credit tales that camel drivers have heard from aged men in so remote a city?”

“because Yadin the prophet was doomed by the gods ere he was born to go in search of wisdom, he followed the caravans to Bodrahan”

“in the evening, where the camels rest, when the wind of the day ebbs out into the desert sighing”

“down the wind his prayer went calling: “Why do the gods endure, and play their game”

“it seemed happy to fly and pleasant to follow behind great white wings”

“blue rivers sang to them as they passed”

“far away the sea sang mighty dirges of old forsaken isles”

“he perceived that he was following no mortal birds but some strange messengers of Hoodrazai whose nest had lain in one of Pegana’s vales”

“Still they went South till they passed below the South and came to the Rim of the Worlds”

“neither howls nor breathes, only It turns over the leaves of a great book, black and white, black and white for ever until THE END”

“there is writing about thee and me until the page where our names no more are written”

“Then did he utter his prayer in the fact of Trogool who only turns the pages and never answers prayer”

“Only turn back thy pages to the name of one which is writ no more”

“his voice was like the murmurs of the waste at night when echoes have been lost”

“Then because of words in the book that said that it should be so, Yadin found himself lying in the desert”

“until he come to the words: Mai Doon Izahn, which means The End For Ever, and book and gods and worlds shall be no more”

“Man must endure the Days that Are, but the gods have left him his ignorance as a solace”

“Seek not to know. Thy seeking will weary thee, and thou wilt return much worn, to rest at last about the place from whence thou settest out”

“Set not thy foot upon that path.

Seek not to know.

These be the Words of Yonath.”

“And Yug said: “I know all things.” And men were pleased.”

“These be the affairs of Alhireth-Hotep.” And men brought gifts to him.”

“Mung stepped from behind him, making the sign of Mung, saying: “Knowest thou All Things, then, Alhireth-Hotep?”

“Alhireth-Hotep became among the Things that Were”

“Kabok grew wise in his own sight and in the sight of men”

“it seemed most evil to Kabok that Mung should be treading in his garden”

“he knew not what lay behind the back of Mung, which none had ever seen”

“But that night Mung trod again in the garden of Kabok”

“stood before the window of the house like a shadow standing erect, so that Kabok knew indeed that it was Mung”

“And Kabok lay and listened with horror at his heart”

“Kabok hoped, but looked with great dread for the coming of the third night”

“And Kabok fled out of his house as flees a hunted beast and flung himself before Mung”

“And the fears of Kabok had rest from troubling Kabok any more”

“at last they found Yun-Ilara, who tended sheep and had no fear of Mung”

“Yun-Ilara builded a tower towards the sea that looked upon the setting of the Sun. And he called it the Tower of the Ending of Days.”

“cry his curses against Mung, crying: “O Mung! whose hand is against the Sun, whom men abhor but worship because they fear thee”

“here stands and speaks a man who fears thee not. Assassin lord of murder and dark things, abhorrent, merciless, make thou the sign of Mung against me”

“until silence settles upon my lips, because of the sign of Mung, I will curse Mung to his face.”

“And the people in the street below would gaze up with wonder”

“whiteness over the hairs of Yun-Ilara, and ivy about his tower, and weariness over his limbs, for Mung passed by him still”

“when Sish became a god less durable to Yun-Ilara than ever Mung hath been he ceased at last to cry”

“Yun-Ilara cry out thus to Mung, crying: “O Mung! O loveliest of the gods!”

“thy gift of Death is the heritage of Man, with ease and rest and silence and returning to the Earth.”

“now for the hour of the mourning of many, and the pleasant garlands of flowers and the tears”

“where never shall come the wind that now blows through my bones”

“Thus prayed Yun-Ilara, who had cursed in his folly and youth”

“Still from a heap of bones that are Yun-Ilara still, goes up a voice with the wind crying out for the mercy of Mung, if any such there be”

“may come on one of our lost prayers, that flutters like a butterfly tossed in storm”

“And Arb-Rin-Hadith, who was the High Prophet, answered: “I pray for all the People.”

“Now, therefore, since They have not heard thee in four grim years, thou must go and carry to Their faces the prayer”

“And Arb-Rin-Hadith went trembling to the gods”

“Then said the people: “Thou shalt go to MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI”

“Thou hast escaped the thunder of the gods, surely thou shalt also escape the stillness of MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI.”

“ere the morning of the day that followed, such as rose early saw him in the silence, a speck against the blue, stretch up his arms”

“where stood a temple to “All the gods save One” in which was no high priest”

“upon the summit of the dome of the Hall of Night, but faintly writ, and in an unknown tongue”

“where is writ The Secret of Things, but faintly, and in an unknown tongue.”

“And now thou knowest what all High Prophets know.”

And Imbaun answered: “I know.”

“And as I uttered the last of certain secret words I fell asleep in the temple, for I was weary, with my head against the altar”

“there entered Dorozhand by the temple door in the guise of a man, and touched me on the shoulder, and I awoke”

“when I saw that his eyes shone blue and lit the whole of the temple I knew that he was a god”

“speaking no words but commanding with his eyes”

“And the sum of their slaying was greater than the slaying of the pestilence of any of the evils of the gods.”

“I came at last to a time when men set their yoke no longer upon beasts but made them beasts of iron”

“Then, because the slaying exceeded their desire, there came peace upon the world”

“And suddenly I beheld that THE END was near, for there was a stirring above Pegana”

“I saw the hound Time crouch to spring, with his eyes upon the throats of the gods, and the drumming of Skarl grew faint”

“led me back along the paths of Time that I might not see THE END”

“a man should never behold it or know the doom of the gods. This They have hidden.”

“suddenly the prophet was aware of an old man who bemoaned beside the river, crying: “Alas! alas!”

“I am Zodrak. Thousands of years ago I tended sheep upon a hill.”

“‘And I, who was only a shepherd, how could I know?”

“I sent gold into the Worlds, and, alas! I sent with it poverty and strife. And I sent love into the Worlds, and with it grief.”

“I can never remedy what I have done, for the deeds of the gods are done, and nothing may undo them.”

“from having been happy became glad no more”

“I, who would make men happy, have made them sad, and I have spoiled the beautiful scheme of the gods”

“I was only a shepherd, and how should I have known? Now I come to thee as thou restest by the river to ask of thee thy forgiveness.”

“O Lord of seven skies, whose children are the storms, shall a man forgive a god?”

“He answered: ‘Men have sinned not against the gods as the gods have sinned against men.’”

“thou art amongst the gods, what need hast thou for words from any man?”

“a look in Their eyes that saith: “Thou wert a man.””

“‘because thou biddest me, I, a man, forgive thee.’

“And he answered: ‘I was but a shepherd, and I could not know.’ Then he was gone.”

“after the passing of Eternity thou shouldst live again, thou wouldst say: ‘I closed mine eyes but for an instant.”

“Hast thou bewailed the aeons that passed without thee, who art so much afraid of the aeons that shall pass?”

“the people when they die shall come to Pegana, and there live with the gods, and there have pleasure”

“each under the god that he hath worshipped most when his lot was in the Worlds”

“there shall music beyond thy dreaming come drifting through the scent of all the orchards”

“there shall be gardens that have always sunlight, and streams that are lost in no sea beneath skies for ever blue”

“Roses shall shed their petals in showers at thy feet”

“that cheered thee in thy childhood about the gardens of thy youth”

“they shall take thee by the hand and whisper in thine ear till the old voices are forgot”

“the rose that clambered about the house where thou wast born”

“Far through Pegana a silvery fountain, lured upward by the gods from the Central Sea, shall fling its waters”

“upon which sit the gods: ‘Thine Enemies Are Forgiven.””

“Shall not I say: “Upon The Morrow the gods shall speak with thee”

“for whom none may make strange signs before his eyes to quench his fear”

“The Prophet of the gods hath sold his happiness for wisdom, and hath given his hopes for the people”

“Or when thou art angry by day regard the distant hills, and see the calm that doth adorn their faces. Shalt thou be angry while they stand so serene?”

“Do bullocks goad one another on whom the same yoke rests?”

“be not angry with Dorozhand, for then thou beatest thy bare fingers against iron cliffs.”

“drop by drop he turneth the common dew to every kind of gem. And he maketh a splendour in the hills.”

“Soon now the sun will set, and very softly come twinkling in the stillness all the stars.”

“Shall he not again behold the gardens of his youth? Or does he set to end?”

“Lord of the Hills, to the High Prophet of All the gods save One sends salutations.”

“the prophet answered: “O King! thy people may not rejoice for ever, and some day the King will die.”

“Then guards led the prophet away.

And there arose prophets in Aradec who spake not of death to Kings.”

“there standeth the “Great Temple of One god Only.”

Therein is a dreaming prophet who doeth naught, and a drowsy priesthood about him.”

“for surely he would hear the prayers of his own prophet—then would there be Worlds no more”

“for certain hidden reasons it were better for thee to go by the peaks and snow”

“There arises a river in Pegana that is neither a river of water nor yet a river of fire”

“all the Worlds are sounds, the noises of moving, and the echoes of voices and song; but upon the River is no sound ever heard, for there all echoes die”

“Upon her deck were rowers with dream-made oars, and the rowers were the people of men’s fancies, and princes of old story”

“on every wind float up to Pegana the hopes and the fancies of the people which have no home”

“there Yoharneth-Lahai weaves them into dreams, to take them to the people again”

“going aboard it, among the dreams and the fancies of old times, lie down upon the deck”

“pass from sleeping to the River, while Mung, behind them, makes the sign of Mung because they would have it so”

“far away and forgotten bleat the small sorrows that trouble all the Worlds”

“save certain things that may not be forgotten even beyond the Worlds”

“till they come where the River enters the Silent Sea, and shall there be gods of nothing”

“For at the last shall the thunder, fleeing to escape from the doom of the gods, roar horribly”

“there with his trumpet voice acclaim THE END”

“go with dignity and quiet down to Their galleons of gold, and sail away down the River of Silence, not ever to return”

“shall fight out his last fight with the hound Time, his empty scabbard Sleep clattering loose beside him”

“days and nights that shall be lit by neither sun nor moons”

“as the galleons glide away, because the gods that made them are gods no more”

“Then shall MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI be all alone, with neither Death nor Time”

“But far away from Pegana shall go the galleons of gold that bear the gods away, upon whose faces shall be utter calm, because They are the gods knowing that it is THE END”

#quotes #literature #the gods of pegana

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