“I see that I hold a sanctuary in their hearts, and in the hearts of their descendants, generations hence. I see her, an old woman, weeping for me on the anniversary of this day. I see her and her husband, their course done, lying side by side in their last earthly bed, and I know that each was not more honoured and held sacred in the other’s soul, than I was in the souls of both.
“I see that child who lay upon her bosom and who bore my name, a man winning his way up in that path of life which once was mine. I see him winning it so well, that my name is made illustrious there by the light of his. I see the blots I threw upon it, faded away. I see him, foremost of just judges and honoured men, bringing a boy of my name, with a forehead that I know and golden hair, to this place — then fair to look upon, with not a trace of this day’s disfigurement — and I hear him tell the child my story, with a tender and a faltering voice.
“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.”
by Charles Dickens (February 7, 1812 – June 9, 1870)
from A Tale of Two Cities
Oh, Sydney Carton, you are a true hero. Condemn me for praising you, tell me that I am besotted of a tarnished old fashioned world, irrelevant to the quicker pace of modern life. But who with a heart could not be moved by your subtle sincerity, your rightly guided passion, your calm bravery? For to die with great cause is a far, far better thing than to live in hapless vain. Purest joy in such death can be found than in the baser pleasures of one's life. A second chance was not made to be given, but to be taken: willfully, lovingly. Your gentle embrace of of Madame Guillotine was the softest she ever felt, for scarcely had she felt so noble a gesture from one unknown who had laid his heart down so serenely: For you were not his mortal slayer, my lady, but his transcendental savior.
"I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00szh08
ReplyDeleteIn the year of the 150th anniversary of Gustav Mahler's birth, Norman Lebrecht travels in the footsteps of the composer in search of those whose lives have been touched and changed by his music.
He discovers how Mahler was able to bring them face to face with themselves and gave them the means to continue. It is an experience Norman himself is familiar with, "There are times when I've needed Mahler more than anything else on earth - times when I've been so unsure or frightened or confused about the state of my world only Mahler would have the answer. Mahler can do many things - he can address you, he can harangue you, he can tease you, he can do many things, but in that music, there is a healing balm. Mahler from somewhere brings a reunion of the individual with the world, a person with nature - the possibility that out of chaos there can be harmony and there can be love. Mahler can be the healer of us all."
I like your blog thanks for inspiring us.
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