Editing Volume 3/Book 1/Chapter 4

Les Mis&eacute;rables, Volume 3: Marius, Book First: Paris Studied in its Atom,Chapter 4: He may be of Use<br />
(Tome 3: Marius, Livre premier: Paris &eacute;tudi&eacute; dans son atome, Chapitre 4: Il peut &ecirc;tre utile)

==General notes on this chapter==

==French text==

 
Paris commence au badaud et finit au gamin, deux &ecirc;tres dont aucune autre
ville n'est capable; l'acceptation passive qui se satisfait de regarder,
et l'initiative in&eacute;puisable; Prudhomme et Fouillou. Paris seul a cela
dans son histoire naturelle. Toute la monarchie est dans le badaud.
Toute l'anarchie est dans le gamin.

 
Ce p&acirc;le enfant des faubourgs de Paris vit et se d&eacute;veloppe, se noue et
&laquo;se d&eacute;noue&raquo; dans la souffrance, en pr&eacute;sence des r&eacute;alit&eacute;s sociales et des
choses humaines, t&eacute;moin pensif. Il se croit lui-m&ecirc;me insouciant; il ne
l'est pas. Il regarde, pr&ecirc;t &agrave; rire; pr&ecirc;t &agrave; autre chose aussi. Qui que
vous soyez qui vous nommez Pr&eacute;jug&eacute;, Abus, Ignominie, Oppression,
Iniquit&eacute;, Despotisme, Injustice, Fanatisme, Tyrannie, prenez garde au
gamin b&eacute;ant.

 
Ce petit grandira.

 
De quelle argile est-il fait? de la premi&egrave;re fange venue. Une poign&eacute;e de
boue, un souffle, et voil&agrave; Adam. Il suff&icirc;t qu'un dieu passe. Un dieu a
toujours pass&eacute; sur le gamin. La fortune travaille &agrave; ce petit &ecirc;tre. Par
ce mot la fortune, nous entendons un peu l'aventure. Ce pygm&eacute;e p&eacute;tri &agrave;
m&ecirc;me dans la grosse terre commune, ignorant, illettr&eacute;, ahuri, vulgaire,
populacier, sera-ce un ionien ou un b&eacute;otien? Attendez, ''currit rota'',
l'esprit de Paris, ce d&eacute;mon qui cr&eacute;e les enfants du hasard et les hommes
du destin, au rebours du potier latin, fait de la cruche une amphore.

 
==English text==

 
Paris begins with the lounger and ends with the street urchin, two beings of
which no other city is capable; the passive acceptance, which contents
itself with gazing, and the inexhaustible initiative; Prudhomme and
Fouillou. Paris alone has this in its natural history. The whole of the
monarchy is contained in the lounger; the whole of anarchy in the gamin.

 
This pale child of the Parisian faubourgs lives and develops, makes
connections, "grows supple" in suffering, in the presence of social
realities and of human things, a thoughtful witness. He thinks himself
heedless; and he is not. He looks and is on the verge of laughter; he is
on the verge of something else also. Whoever you may be, if your name is
Prejudice, Abuse, Ignorance, Oppression, Iniquity, Despotism, Injustice,
Fanaticism, Tyranny, beware of the gaping gamin.

 
The little fellow will grow up.

 
Of what clay is he made? Of the first mud that comes to hand. A handful of
dirt, a breath, and behold Adam. It suffices for a God to pass by. A God
has always passed over the street Arab. Fortune labors at this tiny being.
By the word "fortune" we mean chance, to some extent. That pigmy kneaded
out of common earth, ignorant, unlettered, giddy, vulgar, low. Will that
become an Ionian or a Boeotian? Wait, currit rota, the Spirit of Paris,
that demon which creates the children of chance and the men of destiny,
reversing the process of the Latin potter, makes of a jug an amphora.

==Translation notes==

===currit rota===

The wheel runs.

===gamin / street urchin===

See annotations for explanation of "street urchin" as a translation for "gamin" at https://chanvrerie.net/lmap/Volume_3/Book_1/Chapter_2

==Textual notes==

==Citations==
<references />