Victor Hugo

To speak out aloud when alone is as it were to have a dialogue with the divinity which is within.

“Cross of God!” said the hosier, “are you deaf?”

He was, in truth, deaf.

"Promise me!"

"I promise."

"Promise to give me a kiss on my brow when I am dead.—I shall feel it."

"And by the way, Monsieur Marius, I believe that I was a little bit in love with you."

The passers-by, who have their own way of appreciating clever people, used to say: He is an idiot.

Les femmes regardaient Booz plus qu'un jeune homme.

Car le jeune homme est beau, mais le vieillard est grand.

Le vieillard, qui revient vers la source première,

Entre aux jours éternels et sort des jours changeants;

Et l'on voit de la flamme aux yeux des jeunes gens,

Mais dans l'oeil du vieillard on voit de la lumière.

'Voilà longtemps que celle avec qui j'ai dormi,

O Seigneur! a quitté ma couche pour la vôtre;

Et nous sommes encor tout mêlés l'un à l'autre,

Elle à demi vivante et moi mort à demi.

and above all, of the expression spread over the whole; of that mixture of malice, amazement, and sadness. Let the reader dream of this whole, if he can.

Although this detail has no connection wha

he is obeyed, because he is a just man among simple men.