Quotes from book

Les Misérables

“Marius was of the temperament that sinks into grief and remains there; Cosette was of the sort that plunges in and comes out again.”

“There is no vacuum in the human heart. Certain demolitions take place, and it is well that they do, but on condition that they are followed by reconstructions.”

“To study in Paris is to be born in Paris!”

“Die, very good, but do not make others die. Suicides like the one which is about to take place here are sublime, but suicide is restricted, and does not allow of extension; and so soon as it affects your neighbors, suicide becomes murder.”

“France is great because she is France.”

“A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in--what more could he ask? A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.”

“Profound hearts, wise minds, take life as God makes it; it is a long trial, and unintelligible preparation for the unknown destiny.”

“We need those who pray constantly to compensate for those who do not pray at all.”

“It is man's consolation that the future is to be a sunrise instead of a sunset.”

“To be a saint is the exception; to be a just person is the rule. Err, stumble, commit sin, but be one of the just.”

“Bonapartist democrat. Grey shades of a quiet mouse colour.”

“Marius and Cosette were in the dark in regard to each other. They did not speak, they did not bow, they were not acquainted; they saw each other; and, like the stars in the sky separated by millions of leagues, they lived by gazing upon each other.”

“Nothing is more imminent than the impossible… what we must always foresee is the unforeseen.”

“Sleep comes more easily than it returns.”

“God will bless you,' said he, 'you are an angel since you take care of the flowers.'
'No,' she replied. 'I am the devil, but that's all the same to me.”

“There is neither a foreign war nor a civil war; there is only just and unjust war.”

“The first symptom of true love in a man is timidity, in a young woman, boldness. This is surprising, and yet nothing is more simple. It is the two sexes tending to approach each other and assuming each the other's qualities.”

“You look at a star for two reasons, because it is luminous, and because it is impenetrable. You have beside you a sweeter radiance and a greater mystery, woman.”

“All the human and animal manure which the world wastes, if returned to the land, instead of being thrown into the sea, would suffice to nourish the world.”