When two mouths, made sacred by love, draw near to each other to create, it is impossible, that above that ineffable kiss there should not be a thrill in the immense mystery of the stars.
Victor HugoRead
It seemed to be a necessary ritual that he should prepare himself for sleep by meditating under the solemnity of the night sky... a mysterious transaction between the infinity of the soul and the infinity of the universe.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the deep connection between one's inner self and the vastness of the universe during moments of contemplation.
Victor Hugo illustrates the profound experience of meditation under the night sky, suggesting that this practice is a sacred ritual where an individual engages in a dialogue with the universe. It conveys the idea that the act of reflecting at night allows for a deeper understanding of both the cosmos and one's own soul, highlighting the interconnection between internal and external realities.
In practice
During a mindfulness retreat, participants can refer to this quote while discussing their experiences under the stars.
When two mouths, made sacred by love, draw near to each other to create, it is impossible, that above that ineffable kiss there should not be a thrill in the immense mystery of the stars.
At that moment of love, a moment when passion is absolutely silent under omnipotence of ecstasy, Marius, pure seraphic Marius, would have been more capable of visiting a woman of the streets than of raising Cosette’s dress above the ankle. Once on a moonlit night, Cosette stopped to pick up something from the ground, her dress loosened and revealed the swelling of her breasts. Marius averted his eyes.
Thought is the work of the intellect, reverie is its self-indulgence. To substitute day-dreaming for thought is to confuse a poison with a source of nourishment.
Taste is the common sense of genius.
Forget not, never forget that you have promised me to use this silver to become an honest man.... Jean Valjean, my brother: you belong no longer to evil, but to good. It is your soul that I am buying for you. I withdraw it from dark thoughts and from the spirit of perdition, and I give it to God!
There are no weeds, and no worthless men. There are only bad farmers.
Language is the most imperfect and expensive means yet discovered for communicating thought.
If you and I are to live religious lives, it mustn't be that we talk a lot about religion, but that our manner of life is different. It is my belief that only if you try to be helpful to other people will you in the end find your way to God.
Those that have had great passions esteem themselves for the rest of their lives fortunate and unfortunate in being cured of them.
All wars signify the failure of conflict resolution mechanisms, and they need post-war rebuilding of faith, trust and confidence.
The idea that God could only forgive our sins by having his son tortured to death as a scapegoat is surely, from an objective point of view, a deeply unpleasant idea. If God wanted to forgive us our sins, why didn't he just forgive them? Why did he have to have his son tortured?
The love of power, like the love of money, increases with the possession of it; and we know in what ruin these baneful passions have involved human societies in all ages when they have been let loose and suffered to rage uncontrolled - There is no restraint like the pervading eye of the virtuous citizens.
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