Unspeakable tragedy.

The spire. Henri-Cartier Bresson, 1948.

I write with tears in my eyes.

Name the three greatest cathedrals of Western civilization and the names which spring to mind are Westminster Abbey, St. Peter’s and Notre Dame. And while the first two were only ever symbols of oppression, despotism and egotistical power, Notre Dame was, by contrast, the greatest statement of freedom medieval man ever made. Paris may be the center of bloody revolution, of past despots and of great victories and defeats, but none would argue it ever stood for anything but individual freedom.

As I write the spire of Notre Dame has collapsed. Fire is ravaging the cathedral. Who knows what will survive?

I simply cannot reproduce those images here.

Unspeakable tragedy.