in which poem do the following lines appear:all races run, all
passions spent".
I came across these lines in a novel by Frederick Forsyth entitled
Icon. This novel was published in 1997

Hello - thanks for your question.

"All passion spent" is a famous quote from Milton's "Samson
Agonistes".  It's  from the closing line of a long dramatic poem: "And
calm of mind, all passion spent".  I think it is likely that Frederick
Forsyth would have been aware of Milton's line and adapted it for his
own purposes.  It has the same 'mood' of great events and much effort
having come to an end and Milton's phrase is so well known in the
world of writing, I doubt Forsyth could have used it without being
aware of the Milton connection. It has even been used by other authors
as a title.  "All Passion Spent" is the title of a novel by Vita
Sackville-West and a story by Pirandello.

You will find some excerpts from "Samson Agonistes" at:

http://www.themediadrome.com/content/poetry/milton_samson_agonistes.htm

I hope this is helpful but please ask if anything needs clarification.

Regards - Leli

search terms:

"all passion spent" Milton  (I also checked out "all races run" but
found no reference to this.)

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Clarification of Answer by leli-ga on 17 Sep 2002 23:29 PDT

Thanks for the nice feedback. I'm glad the answer was of use.

Your speedy reply to my question is impressive. I also appreciate the
fact that you enclosed a fragment of the poem.
Many thanks.
Rimafreda.