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Quote by Victor Hugo

“Grantaire, earthbound in doubt, loved to watch Enjolras soaring in the upper air of faith. He needed Enjolras. Without being fully aware of it, or seeking to account for it himself, he was charmed by that chaste, upright, inflexible and candid nature.”

Quote by Victor Hugo

Book:Les Misérables
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Les Misérables

Victor Hugo's 'Les Misérables' is an epic narrative that delves into the lives of various characters, including Jean Valjean, a former convict seeking redemption, and Fantine, a woman struggling in poverty. The story is rich in historical detail and moral complexity, offering a profound examination of society's flaws and the resilience of the human spirit. more

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Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo

Victor Hugo, a French romantic poet, novelist, and playwright, was born on February 26, 1802, and died on May 22, 1885. He is considered one of the greatest writers in French literary history, known for his profound humanistic concerns and rich imagination. more

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“But, sceptic that he was, he had one fanatical devotion, not for an idea, a creed, an art or a science, but for a man — for Enjolras. Grantaire admired, loved, and venerated Enjolras. The anarchic questioner of all beliefs had attached himself to the most absolute of all that circle of believers. Enjolras had conquered him not by any force of reason but by character. It is a not uncommon phenomenon. The sceptic clinging to a believer is something as elementary as the law of complementary colours. We are drawn to what we lack. No one loves daylight more than a blind man. The dwarf adores the drum-major. The toad has its eyes upturned to Heaven, and for what? — to watch the flight of the birds. Grantaire, earthbound in doubt, loved to watch Enjolras soaring in the upper air of faith. He needed Enjolras. Without being fully aware of it, or seeking to account for it himself, he was charmed by that chaste, upright, inflexible, and candid nature. Instinctively he was attracted to his opposite. His flabby, incoherent, and shapeless thinking attached itself to Enjolras as to a spinal column. He was in any case a compound of apparently incompatible elements, at once ironical and friendly, affectionate beneath his seeming indifference. His mind could do without faith, but his heart could not do without friendship: a profound contradiction, for affection in itself is faith. Such was his nature. There are men who seem born to be two-sided. They are Pollux, Patrocles, Nisus, Ephestion. They can live only in union with the other who is their reverse side; their name is one of a pair, always preceded by the conjunction "and"; their lives are not their own; they are the other side of a destiny which is not theirs. Grantaire was one of those, the reverse side of Enjolras. Truly the satellite of Enjolras, he formed one of that circle of young men, went everywhere with them and was only happy in their company. His delight was to see those figures moving amid the mists of wine, and they bore with him because of his good humour. Enjolras, the believer, despised the sceptic and soberly deplored the drunkard. His attitude towards him was one of pitying disdain. Grantaire was an unwelcome Ephestion. But, roughly treated though he was by Enjolras, harshly repulsed and rejected, he always came back, saying of him: "What a splendid statue!”

GrantaireEnjolras
Book:Les Misérables
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“Анжольрас, стоявший с ружьем в руке на гребне заграждения, поднял свое прекрасное строгое лицо. Анжольрас, как известно, был из породы спартанцев и пуритан. Он умер бы при Фермопилах вместе с Леонидом и сжег бы Дрохеду вместе с Кромвелем. – Грантер! – крикнул он. – Пойди куда-нибудь, проспись. Здесь место опьянению, а не пьянству. Не позорь баррикаду. Эти гневные слова произвели на Грантера необычайное впечатление. Ему словно выплесну-ли стакан холодной воды в лицо. Он, казалось, сразу протрезвился, сел, облокотился на стол возле окна, с невыразимой кротостью взглянул на Анжольраса и сказал: – Позволь мне поспать здесь. – Ступай для этого в другое место! – крикнул Анжольрас. Но Грантер, не сводя с него нежного и мутного взгляда, проговорил: – Позволь мне тут поспать, пока я не умру. Анжольрас презрительно взглянул на него. – Грантер! Ты неспособен ни верить, ни думать, ни хотеть, ни жить, ни умирать. – Вот ты увидишь, – серьезно сказал Грантер. Он пробормотал еще несколько невнятных слов, потом его голова тяжело упала на стол, и мгновение спустя он уже спал, что довольно обычно для второй стадии опьянения, к которому его резко и безжалостно подтолкнул Анжольрас.”

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Book:Les Misérables
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