Page 1169 - les-miserables

torture: something like the case of a blind man who should
recover the sight of one eye. He refused.
Marius dwelt in solitude. Owing to his taste for remain-
ing outside of everything, and through having been too
much alarmed, he had not entered decidedly into the group
presided over by Enjolras. They had remained good friends;
they were ready to assist each other on occasion in every
possible way; but nothing more. Marius had two friends:
one young, Courfeyrac; and one old, M. Mabeuf. He in-
clined more to the old man. In the first place, he owed to
him the revolution which had taken place within him; to
him he was indebted for having known and loved his father.
‘He operated on me for a cataract,’ he said.
The churchwarden had certainly played a decisive part.
It was not, however, that M. Mabeuf had been anything
but the calm and impassive agent of Providence in this con-
nection. He had enlightened Marius by chance and without
being aware of the fact, as does a candle which some one
brings; he had been the candle and not the some one.
As for Marius’ inward political revolution, M. Mabeuf
was totally incapable of comprehending it, of willing or of
directing it.
As we shall see M. Mabeuf again, later on, a few words
will not be superfluous.

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