Les Misérables

Not seeing people permits one to attribute to them all possible perfections.

In fact, had it been given to our eyes of the flesh to gaze into the consciences of others, we should be able to judge a man much more surely according to what he dreams, than according to what he thinks.

The joy which we inspire has this charming property, that, far from growing meagre, like all reflections, it returns to us more radiant than ever.

And at the same moment the same idea occurred to them both, and made her smile and him blush.

The highest law is conscience.

If there is anything more heart-breaking than a body perishing for lack of bread, it is a soul which is dying from hunger for the light.

The first symptom of true love in a young man is timidity; in a young girl it is 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.

I encountered in the street, a very poor young man who was in love. His hat was old, his coat was worn, his elbows were in holes; water trickled through his shoes, and the stars through his soul.

A conflagration can create an aurora, no doubt, but why not await the dawn?

I shall not understand you, but I shall listen to you. When one hears the voices of those whom one loves, one does not need to understand the words that they utter.

To die of love, is to live in it.

It is very easy to be kind; the difficulty lies in being just.

Since the most sublime things are often those which are the least understood.

Love has no middle course; it either ruins or it saves.

That which we lack attracts us. No one loves the light like the blind man.

It is the fate of many men to live thus half submerged.