Let us study things that are no more. It is necessary to understand them, if only to avoid them.
Victor HugoMarius was of the temperament that sinks into grief and remains there; Cosette was of the sort that plunges in and comes out again.
Victor HugoHe caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her up, though tottering himself. He felt as if his head were filled with smoke; flashes of light slipped through his eyelids; his thoughts vanished; it seemed to him that he was performing a religious act, and that he was committing a profanation. Moreover, he did not feel one passionate desire for this ravishing woman, whose form he felt against his heart. He was lost in love.
Victor Hugo