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man and sacrifice the innocent, which save an old vagabond
who has only a few years to live at most, and who will not be
more unhappy in the galleys than in his hovel, and which
sacrifice a whole population, mothers, wives, children. This
poor little Cosette who has no one in the world but me, and
who is, no doubt, blue with cold at this moment in the den
of those Thenardiers; those peoples are rascals; and I was
going to neglect my duty towards all these poor creatures;
and I was going off to denounce myself; and I was about to
commit that unspeakable folly! Let us put it at the worst:
suppose that there is a wrong action on my part in this, and
that my conscience will reproach me for it some day, to ac-
cept, for the good of others, these reproaches which weigh
only on myself; this evil action which compromises my soul
alone; in that lies self-sacrifice; in that alone there is vir-
tue.’
He rose and resumed his march; this time, he seemed to
be content.
Diamonds are found only in the dark places of the earth;
truths are found only in the depths of thought. It seemed to
him, that, after having descended into these depths, after
having long groped among the darkest of these shadows, he
had at last found one of these diamonds, one of these truths,
and that he now held it in his hand, and he was dazzled as
he gazed upon it.
‘Yes,’ he thought, ‘this is right; I am on the right road; I
have the solution; I must end by holding fast to something;
my resolve is taken; let things take their course; let us no
longer vacillate; let us no longer hang back; this is for the