Lagniappe: The courageous heat of the stars

The waxing moon tossed a dull glow on the surface of the clouds, but it was the scattered layers of stars that held my attention. I looked at them and tried to feel the courageous heat of their battle as they fought against the natural state of all things in the universe: dead cold.

Craig Johnson, Hell is Empty

I just loved how this is put. It makes me think of Hell in Dante's Divine Comedy ... where it is very cold.