# The most beautiful lines from Victor Hugo's Les Misérables

"It is nothing to die; it is dreadful not to live", the bishop who visited the rich once his money ran out and love as the angels' greeting to the stars: the most quoted lines of Les Misérables.

- 5 votes · 15 items
- Jan 13, 2024 · Julie
- https://even.best/en/l/5005/the-most-beautiful-lines-from-victor-hugo-s-les-miserables

## Top 15

1. **Death belongs to God alone. By what right do men touch that unknown thing?** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Monseigneur Myriel, the Bishop of Digne.
2. **Love is the greeting of the angels to the stars.** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — The narrator.
3. **Thought is the labour of the intellect; reverie is its pleasure.** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — The narrator.
4. **It is nothing to die; it is dreadful not to live.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Jean Valjean.
5. **He visited the poor as long as he had money; when he had none left, he visited the rich.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The narrator, about Monseigneur Myriel.
6. **Alas! God gives air to men, and the law sells it to them.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Monseigneur Myriel, the Bishop of Digne.
7. **The most beautiful of altars is the soul of an unhappy person who has been comforted and thanks God.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Monseigneur Myriel, the Bishop of Digne.
8. **Books are cold but reliable friends.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The narrator.
9. **To travel is to be born and to die at every instant.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The narrator.
10. **To think: that is the true triumph of the soul.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The narrator.
11. **Life, misfortune, isolation, abandonment and poverty are battlefields that have their heroes; obscure heroes, sometimes greater than the famous ones.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The narrator.
12. **Sometimes insurrection is resurrection.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The narrator.
13. **If nature is called providence, society should be called foresight.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The narrator.
14. **As little sin as possible is the law of man. No sin at all is the dream of the angel.** (-1 · ▲0 ▼1) — Monseigneur Myriel, the Bishop of Digne.
15. **The soul that loves and suffers is in a sublime state.** (-1 · ▲0 ▼1) — The narrator.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.