Magpie and Muttonfly

I’ve been reading Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables.  sigh.  Literary greatness at it’s finest my friends.  Oh sure, there are diatribes of historical back story.  But the prose -  oh the prose!  Hugo has this way of describing characters and everyday moments in such a way that the words dance right off the page and come alive.  It’s so beautifully written I find myself reading bits and pieces over and over, soaking up all it’s goodness.  Which, considering the book counts in at 1432 pages, might not be the best of ideas.  But it can’t be helped. 

Take this piece, for instance; speaking of Paris: 

…It is more than great, it is immense.  Why?  Because it dares. 

To dare; progress is at this price. 

All sublime conquests are, more or less, the rewards of daring.

… Deeds of daring dazzle history, and form one of the guiding lights of man.  The dawn dares when it rises.  To strive, to brave all risks, to persist, to persevere, to be faithful to yourself, to grapple hand to hand with destiny, to surprise defeat by the little terror it inspires, at one time to confront unrighteous power, at another to defy intoxicated triumph, to hold fast, to hold hard – such is the example which the nations need …

And so my hope for you, dear readers, is this – that you would dare.  Dare to love … dare to laugh, and dance, and celebrate … dare not only to dream, but pursue your dreams … dare to stand up for the powerless … dare to read an immense work of literature, for you just never know the great heights it might take you!