Page 507 - les-miserables

the ecclesiastical authority was the chief of all; he was reli-
gious, superficial and correct on this point as on all others.
In his eyes, a priest was a mind, who never makes a mistake;
a nun was a creature who never sins; they were souls walled
in from this world, with a single door which never opened
except to allow the truth to pass through.
On perceiving the sister, his first movement was to re-
tire.
But there was also another duty which bound him and
impelled him imperiously in the opposite direction. His
second movement was to remain and to venture on at least
one question.
This was Sister Simplice, who had never told a lie in her
life. Javert knew it, and held her in special veneration in
consequence.
‘Sister,’ said he, ‘are you alone in this room?’
A terrible moment ensued, during which the poor por-
tress felt as though she should faint.
The sister raised her eyes and answered:—
‘Yes.’
‘Then,’ resumed Javert, ‘you will excuse me if I persist;
it is my duty; you have not seen a certain person—a man—
this evening? He has escaped; we are in search of him—that
Jean Valjean; you have not seen him?’
The sister replied:—
‘No.’
She lied. She had lied twice in succession, one after the
other, without hesitation, promptly, as a person does when
sacrificing herself.

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