Les Miserables

conscience would have condemned
him as to any other man; but a conventionist he looked upon as an
outlaw, even to the law of charity.
{FANTINE|BOOK_1ST|X ^paragraph 40}
G__, with his self-possessed manner, erect figure, and vibrating
voice, was one of those noble octogenarians who are the marvel of
the physiologist. The revolution produced many of these men equal to
the epoch: one felt that here was a tested man. Though so near
death, he preserved all the appearance of health. His bright
glances, his firm accent, and the muscular movements of his
shoulders seemed almost sufficient to disconcert death. Azrael, the
Mahometan angel of the sepulchre, would have turned back, thinking
he had mistaken the door. G__ appeared to be dying because he wished
to die. There was freedom in his agony; his legs only were
paralysed; his feet were cold and dead, but his head lived in full
power of life and light. At this solemn moment G__ seemed like the
king in the oriental tale, flesh above and marble below. The bishop
seated himself upon a stone near by. The beginning of their
conversation was ex abrupto:
"I congratulate you," he said, in a tone of reprimand. "At least you
did not vote for the execution of the king."
The conventionist did not seem to notice the bitter emphasis
placed upon the words "at least." The smiles vanished from his face,
and he replied:
"Do not congratulate me too much, monsieur; I did vote for the
destruction of the tyrant."
And the tone of austerity confronted the tone of severity.
{FANTINE|BOOK_1ST|X ^paragraph 45}
"What do you mean?" asked the bishop.
"I mean that man has a tyrant, Ignorance. I voted for the
abolition of that tyrant. That tyrant has begotten royalty, which is
authority springing from the False, while science is authority
springing from the True. Man should be governed by science."
"And conscience," added the bishop.
"The same thing: conscience is innate knowledge that we have."
Monsieur Bienvenu listened with some amazement to this language,
novel as it was to him.
{FANTINE|BOOK_1ST|X ^paragraph 50}
The conventionist went on:
"As to Louis XVI.: I said no. I do not believe that I have the right
to kill a man, but I feel it a duty to exterminate evil. I voted for
the downfall of the tyrant; that is to say, for the abolition of
prostitution for woman, of slavery for man, of night for the child. In
voting for the republic I voted for that: I voted for fraternity,
for harmony, for light. I assisted in casting down prejudices and
errors: their downfall brings light! We caused the old world to
fall; the old world, a vase of misery, reversed, becomes an urn of joy
to the human race."
"Joy alloyed," said the bishop.
"You might say joy troubled, and, at present, after this fatal
return of the blast which we call 1814, joy disappeared. Alas! the
work was imperfect I admit; we demolished the ancient order