The old soldier is a former Indian soldier from a rural hamlet outside Umballa. There, he befriends Kim and the lama and joins them on their journey from the hamlet to the Great Trunk Road, regaling them with stories from his military past along the way. At several points, he playfully points out the hypocrisies and inconsistencies of the lama’s worldview.
The Old Soldier Quotes in Kim
The Kim quotes below are all either spoken by The Old Soldier or refer to The Old Soldier. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 3
Quotes
‘It is not a good fancy,’ said the lama. ‘What profit to kill men?’
‘Very little – as I know; but if evil men were not now and then slain it would not be a good world for weaponless dreamers. I do not speak without knowledge who have seen the land from Delhi south awash with blood.’
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Old Soldier Quotes in Kim
The Kim quotes below are all either spoken by The Old Soldier or refer to The Old Soldier. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 3
Quotes
‘It is not a good fancy,’ said the lama. ‘What profit to kill men?’
‘Very little – as I know; but if evil men were not now and then slain it would not be a good world for weaponless dreamers. I do not speak without knowledge who have seen the land from Delhi south awash with blood.’
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
