The Count of Monte Cristo

until the day when God shall deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is summed up in these two words,—' Wait and hope.'—Your friend, "Edmond Dantes, Count of Monte Cristo."

I have always had more dread of a pen, a bottle of ink, and a sheet of paper, than of a sword or pistol."

"And how did this misfortune occur?" inquired the latter, resuming the interrupted conversation.

all human wisdom is summed up in these two words,—'Wait and hope.'

As usual, the oldest women were the most decorated, and the ugliest the most conspicuous. If there was a beautiful lily, or a sweet rose, you had to search for it, concealed in some corner behind a mother with a turban, or an aunt with a bird of paradise.

for men who are truly generous are always ready to compassionate when the misfortune of their enemy surpasses the limits of their hatred.

What! you do not believe in God when he is striking you dead?

The appetite grows by what it feeds on,

One day you acknowledged that you loved me, and since that day my hope of future happiness has rested on obtaining you, for to gain you would be life to me. Now, I think no more; I say only that fortune has turned against me—I had thought to gain heaven, and now I have lost it. It is an every-day occurrence for a gambler to lose not only what he possesses but also what he has not."

"You have talked of me?"

"Yes, that is the penalty of being a living puzzle!"

"Ah, my time is not valuable," replied the man with a melancholy smile. "Still it belongs to government, and I ought not to waste it

Let us, then, hope for the best; hope is so sweet a comforter.

"Pretend to think well of yourself, and the world will think well of you,"

"Well," said Franz with a sigh, "do as you please my dear viscount, for your arguments are beyond my powers of refutation.

look-out at Notre-Dame de la Garde signalled

At length the boat touched the shore, but without effort, without shock, as lips touch lips

and assuming attitudes which the gods could not resist, but which saints withstood, and looks inflexible and ardent like those with which the serpent charms the bird

Uncertainty is still hope.

Yes; a thousand times, yes!

"Well, then," said Dantes, "What shall you teach me first? I am in a hurry to begin. I want to learn."