Saturday, May 20, 2006

The Moon according to Marlowe

"after we had watched the moon float away above the chasm between the hills like an ascending spirit out of a grave; its sheen descended, cold and pale, like the ghost of dead sunlight. There is something haunting in the light of the moon; it has all the dispassionateness of a disembodied soul, and something of its inconceivable mystery. It is to our sunshine, which -- say what you like -- is all we have to live by, what the echo is to the sound: misleading and confusing whether the note be mocking or sad. It robs all forms of matter -- which, after all, is our domain -- of their substance, and gives a sinister reality to shadows alone. And the shadows were very real around us, but Jim by my side looked very stalwart, as though nothing -- not even the occult power of moonlight -- could rob him of his reality in my eyes."
-Chapter 24

1 comment:

chasezgranger said...

There was something beautiful about that that almost made me cry. Or it could simply be that I am way too emotional as of late.