M. Myriel had to undergo the fate of every newcomer in a little town, where there are many mouths which talk, and very few heads which think.

Dear God! how beauty varies in nature and art. In a woman the flesh must be like marble; in a statue the marble must be like flesh.

Often the losing of a battle leads to the winning of progress. Less glory but greater liberty: the drum is silent and the voices of reason can be heard.

A fall from such a height is rarely straight downwards.

What matters deafness of the ear, when the mind hears? The one true deafness, the incurable deafness, is that of the mind.

If a man has his throat cut in Paris, it's a murder. If 50,000 people are murdered in the east, it is a question.

We teachers make the road, others will make the journey.