“ The eye of man must be more religious in the presence of the rising of a young girl than in the presence of the rising of a star. ”
Victor Hugo, Les Misérables (1862). copy citation
Author | Victor Hugo |
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Source | Les Misérables |
Topic | presence stars |
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
“That innocent bud which opens, that adorable half-nudity which is afraid of itself, that white foot which takes refuge in a slipper, that throat which veils itself before a mirror as though a mirror were an eye, that chemise which makes haste to rise up and conceal the shoulder for a creaking bit of furniture or a passing vehicle, those cords tied, those clasps fastened, those laces drawn, those tremors, those shivers of cold and modesty, that exquisite affright in every movement, that almost winged uneasiness where there is no cause for alarm, the successive phases of dressing, as charming as the clouds of dawn,—it is not fitting that all this should be narrated, and it is too much to have even called attention to it.
The eye of man must be more religious in the presence of the rising of a young girl than in the presence of the rising of a star. The possibility of hurting should inspire an augmentation of respect. The down on the peach, the bloom on the plum, the radiated crystal of the snow, the wing of the butterfly powdered with feathers, are coarse compared to that chastity which does not even know that it is chaste.”
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