Quote by Victor Hugo
From Les Miserables:All at once, in the midst of this profound calm, a fresh sound arose; a sound as celestial, divine, ineffable, ravishing, as the other had been horrible. It was a hymn which issued from the gloom, a dazzling burst of prayer and harmony in the obscure and alarming silence of the night; women's voices, but voices composed at one and the same time of the pure accents of virgins and the innocent accent of children, -- voices which are not of the earth, and which resemble those that the newborn infant still hears, and which the dying man hears already. This song proceeded from the gloomy edifice which towered above the garden. At the moment when the hubbub of demons retreated, one would have said that a choir of angels was approaching through the gloom.Cosette and Jean Valjean fell on their knees.They knew not what it was, they knew not where they were; but both of them, the man and the child, the penitent and the innocent, felt that they must kneel.These voices had this strange characteristic, that they did not prevent the building from seeming to be deserted. It was a supernatural chant in an uninhabited house. While these voices were singing, Jean Valjean thought of nothing. He no longer beheld the night; he beheld a blue sky. It seemed to him that he felt those wings which we all have within us, unfolding.The song died away. It may have lasted a long time. Jean Valjean could not have told. Hours of ecstasy are never more than a moment.
Summary
In this quote from Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, a profound stillness is interrupted by the sudden emergence of a celestial hymn. The sound, both divine and enchanting, contrasts with the previous horrors experienced by the characters. The voices, seemingly angelic, create a moment of transcendence for both Cosette and Jean Valjean, compelling them to kneel in response. Despite being in an empty building, the voices create an otherworldly presence. For Jean Valjean, the song transports him beyond the darkness of the night, evoking a sensation of experiencing a vast, limitless sky. Ultimately, the blissful moment remains timeless, as moments of pure joy tend to feel fleeting.
By Victor Hugo
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