“ When one listens, by the side of honest men, at the portals of society, one overhears the dialogues of those who are on the outside. ”
Victor Hugo, Les Misérables (1862). copy citation
| Author | Victor Hugo |
|---|---|
| Source | Les Misérables |
| Topic | society listening |
| Date | 1862 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translation by Isabel F. Hapgood in 1887 |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/135/135-h/135-h.htm |
Context
“every sort of spectre, its dressers, have painted its face, it crawls and rears, the double gait of the reptile. Henceforth, it is apt at all rôles, it is made suspicious by the counterfeiter, covered with verdigris by the forger, blacked by the soot of the incendiary; and the murderer applies its rouge.
When one listens, by the side of honest men, at the portals of society, one overhears the dialogues of those who are on the outside. One distinguishes questions and replies. One perceives, without understanding it, a hideous murmur, sounding almost like human accents, but more nearly resembling a howl than an articulate word. It is slang.”
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