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287 pages, Unknown Binding
First published February 19, 1874
鈥�93 is a year of intense action. The tempest is there in all its wrath and grandeur. Cimourdain felt himself in his element. This scene of distraction, wild and magnificent, suited the compass of his outspread wings. Like a sea-eagle, he united a profound inward calm with a relish for external danger.
"Listen, Danton; foreign war is as nothing compared with the dangers of civil war. A foreign war is like a scratch on the elbow, but civil war is an ulcer which eats away your liver. Here is the sum and substance of all that I have just read to you: the Vend茅e, which has hitherto been divided among many chiefs, is about to concentrate its forces. Henceforth it is to have one leader"Although I highlighted a bit more elsewhere, this was enough to set the stage for this novel and the conflict it describes. Hugo felt compelled to a bit more philosophizing than I like in a novel. If I were more a student of the French Revolution, and especially this period of the Reign of Terror, I might have appreciated it more. As it is, this sits on the border between 3- and 4-stars. The compelling parts are enough to nudge it up.
Mavilerin saf谋na ge莽en k枚yl眉lere "Jakoben y谋臒谋nlar谋" ad谋n谋 tak谋p herkesten 莽ok onlar谋 ezdiler. Askerler gibi d枚v眉艧meye ve haydutlar gibi katliam yapmaya bay谋l谋yorlard谋. "艦i艧kolar"谋 yani burjuvalar谋 kur艧una dizmeyi pek seviyor, bunu "e臒lenmek" olarak tan谋ml谋yorlard谋. Nitekim, Fontenay'deki kralc谋 papazlardan Barbotin yetmi艧lik bir adam谋 kasatura darbesiyle indirmi艧ti. Saint-Germain-sur-Ille'deki komutanlardan biri de soylu bir savc谋y谋 kur艧unlay谋p 枚ld眉rm眉艧, saatini alm谋艧t谋. Machecoul'daki cumhuriyet莽ileri ise, her g眉n otuz ki艧i olmak 眉zere, sistemli bir bi莽imde 枚ld眉rd眉ler. Bu tam be艧 hafta s眉rd眉. O g眉n temizlemeyi d眉艧眉nd眉kleri otuz ki艧iyi s谋raya dizer, buna "tespih" derlerdi. Bu s谋ray谋 枚nceden kaz谋lm谋艧 hende臒in k谋y谋s谋na getirir, kur艧una dizerlerdi. Vurulanlardan baz谋lar谋 莽ukura canl谋 d眉艧er ve 枚ylece g枚m眉l眉rd眉.
Bu bir f谋rt谋na. F谋rt谋na ne yapt谋臒谋n谋 hep bilmi艧tir. Me艧e a臒ac谋na y谋ld谋r谋m d眉艧眉yor belki ama koca bir ormana da su y眉r眉yor. Uygarl谋臒谋n ba艧谋na bir veba musallat olmu艧tu, bu g眉莽l眉 r眉zg芒r onu bu dertten kurtar谋yor. Pek se莽meci davranm谋yor belki ama ba艧ka ne yapabilirdi ki? 脺stlendi臒i temizlik i艧i 莽ok zor! 脟眉r眉me kokusu 枚yle i臒ren莽 ki, r眉zg芒r谋n 枚fkesini anlayabiliyorum.