Watership Down

"We take daylight for granted. But moonlight is another matter. It is inconsistent. The full moon wanes and returns again. Clouds may obscure it to the extent to which they cannot obscure daylight. Water is necessary to us, but a waterfall is not. Where it is to be found it is something extra, a beautiful ornament. We need daylight and to that extent it is utilitarian, but moonlight we do not need. When it comes, it serves no necessity. It transforms." Richard Adams - Watership Down

Why do I like this passage? Maybe because moonlight gives us a new way of looking at things. When we picture something in our head, we naturally picture it in daylight. It becomes impossible to separate the object from the light shining upon it.

When moonlight shines on an object, the moonlight does not completely reveal what the object is, as daylight does. The parts that are not exposed by the moonlight are filled in with our imagination. Moonlight changes the object. It puts into shadow the known and beautifully highlights the unknown. As the moon waxes and wanes, different parts are emphasized. Moonlight doesn’t just give us a new way of looking at things, it gives us new things altogether. We don’t need any of these new objects. They exist for our pleasure, like a waterfall.

On a side note, you should read Watership Down. It’s like Lord of the Rings but with rabbits instead of hobbits. The rabbits go on an epic journey to find the one home to rule them all.