“It's not enough to abolish abuse; custom must also be transformed. The mill was pulled down, but the wind still blows.”

“To destroy abuses is not enough; Habits must also be changed. The windmill has gone, but the wind is still there."~old man G--- to Monseigneur Bienvenu Myriel”

“To blame or praise men on account of the result, is almost like praising or blaming figures on account of the sum total. Whatever is to happen, happens; whatever is to blow, blows. The eternal serenity does not suffer from these north winds. Above Revolutions, Truth and Justice reign, as the starry heavens above the tempest.”

“He sought...to transform the grief which looks down into the grave by showing it the grief which looks up to the stars.”

“It is not enough to be happy, one must be content.”

“You shouldn't abuse the revolutionaries, Mother Streetcorner. My pistol is on your side. It's to help you find more things worth eating in your basket.”

“A tempest ceases, a cyclone passes over, a wind dies down, a broken mast can be replaced, a leak can be stopped, a fire extinguished, but what will become of this enormous brute of bronze?”