“ Science alone knows well how to hollow, wither, and dry up human faces; she needs not to have old age bring her faces already furrowed. ”
Victor Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831). copy citation
| Author | Victor Hugo |
|---|---|
| Source | The Hunchback of Notre-Dame |
| Topic | science age |
| Date | 1831 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translation by Isabel F. Hapgood in 1888 |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2610/2610-h/2610-h.htm |
Context
““Old man, it requires longer years than remain to you, to undertake this voyage across mysterious things. Your head is very gray! One comes forth from the cavern only with white hair, but only those with dark hair enter it. Science alone knows well how to hollow, wither, and dry up human faces; she needs not to have old age bring her faces already furrowed. Nevertheless, if the desire possesses you of putting yourself under discipline at your age, and of deciphering the formidable alphabet of the sages, come to me; ’tis well, I will make the effort. I will not tell you, poor old man, to go and visit the sepulchral chambers of the pyramids, of which ancient Herodotus speaks, nor the brick tower of Babylon, nor the immense white marble sanctuary of the Indian temple of Eklinga.”
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