Have you ever read this book?
I have.
I began my adventure of reading the unabridged version over Christmas break 2010 and finished on March 2, 2011. I wasn't able to read as often or as much as I would have liked, but I did it! This worthy quest was suggested to me by my friend Ken. Let's just say I'm really glad I took him up on his recommendation.
As I finished this piece of historical fiction tonight, I wept. My roommate told me that it has been a long while since she has seen me cry that hard. I couldn't help it. I would gain composure, to lose it again within the next 20 seconds. Almost two hours later, I have dry eyes. I love the power of the written word. I love what a book can do to you.
If you too have read this book, then you know the amazing brilliance of these words; if you haven't, here is a sneak peak to some of my most favorite quotes!
(It's worth reading all 1463 pages - promise)
page 519: to deny the will of the infinite, that is to say God, can be done only on condition of denying the infinite itself.
page 591: since 1789 all heroes of all nations have been made from the soul of its thinkers and poets.
page 826: this conflict between right and fact has endured since the origins of society. To bring the duel to an end, to consolidate the pure ideal with the human reality, to make the right peacefully interpenetrate the fact, and the fact the right, this is the work of the wise.
page 828: Now, logic ignores the Almost, just as the sun ignores the candle.
page 932: the reduction of the universe to a single being, the expansion of a single being into God, this is love.
page 1072: Scotland has her trios of witches, but Paris has her quartet of gossips
I have many more favorites, but why spoil the whole thing for you?! Especially as it nears the end. Those quotes have to be "earned." It is truly worth reading for yourself so that you can appreicate how beautiful this text is.
oh, i know that feeling well!! there is nothing better in all the world than a good book, one that goes strait to your soul! i haven't read this one, but i know the story. Maybe I will have to try to conquer it!! :)
ReplyDeleteMEg