Path

In the past men were handsome and great (now they are children and dwarfs), but this is merely one of the many facts that demonstrate the diaster of an aging world.  The young no longer want to study anything, learning is in the decline, the whole world walks on its head, blind men lead others equally blind and cause them to plunge into the abyss, birds leave the nest before they can fly, the jackass plays the lyre, oxen dance.  Mary no longer loves the contemplative life and Martha no longer loves the active life, Leah is sterile, Rachel has a carnal eye, Cato visits brothels, Lucretius becomes a woman.  Everything is on the wrong path.  ... I aquired from my master the desire to learn and the sense of the straight way, which remains even when the path is tortuous.
- Emberto Eco The Name of the Rose

The Name of the Rose is a heady detective novel - I'm not sure I'll be able to follow or perhaps even finish it.  It reminds me of the line in the Princess Bride, "Your intellect is dizzying."  Although it might prove too weighty for me to wade through, I am enjoying particular snippets very much, and this one very much, indeed.  True, so true.  And on the subject of tortuous paths:

Remember what Bilbo used to say: It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.