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.
Victor HugoRead
Nothing can be sadder or more profound than to see a thousand things for the first and last time.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the deep sadness of fleeting experiences that we encounter only once in our lives.
Victor Hugo's quote serves as a poignant reminder of the transient nature of life and the bittersweet reality that many experiences are unique and cannot be revisited. The idea of seeing a thousand things for the first and last time evokes a sense of loss and appreciation for the beauty of moments that are both precious and ephemeral.
In practice
In a graduation speech to highlight the importance of cherishing each moment.
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.
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 Cosetteβs 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!
They say if one understands himself, he understands all people. But I say to you, when one loves people, he learns something about himself.
There is a growing movement called effective altruism. It's important because it combines both the heart and the head.
I would choose freedom over comfort every time.
The unpredictable and the predetermined unfold together to make everything the way it is.
Out of the experience of extraordinary human disaster that lasted too long, must be born a society of which all humanity will be proud.
We need to confront honestly the issue of scale... You may need a large corporation to run an airline or to manufacture cars, but you don't need a large corporation to raise a chicken or a hog. You don't need a large corporation to process local food or local timber and market it locally.
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