“ In the midst of all this wretchedness, if you but throw hope in the balance, let the poor man learn there is a heaven where joy reigns, a paradise that he can share, and you raise him; he feels that he has a part in the rich man's joys. ”
Victor Hugo, Claude Gueux (1834). copy citation
| Author | Victor Hugo |
|---|---|
| Source | Claude Gueux |
| Topic | joy sharing |
| Date | 1834 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Claude_Gueux |
Context
“"Whatever you may do for the people, the majority will always remain poor and unhappy. Theirs the work, the heavy burden to carry, to endure: all the miseries for the poor, all the pleasures for the rich.
"As such is life, ought not the State to lean to the weaker and helpless side?
"In the midst of all this wretchedness, if you but throw hope in the balance, let the poor man learn there is a heaven where joy reigns, a paradise that he can share, and you raise him; he feels that he has a part in the rich man's joys. And this was the teaching Jesus gave, and He knew more about it than Voltaire.
"Then give to those people who work, and who suffer here, the hope of a different world to come, and they will go on patiently;”
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