Editing Volume 3/Book 1/Chapter 7

Les Mis&eacute;rables, Volume 3: Marius, Book First: Paris Studied in its Atom, Chapter 7: The Gamin should have his Place in the Classifications of India<br />
(Tome 3: Marius, Livre premier: Paris &eacute;tudi&eacute; dans son atome, Chapitre 7: Le gamin aurait sa place dans les classifications de l'Inde)

==General notes on this chapter==

==French text==

 
La gaminerie parisienne est presque une caste. On pourrait dire: n'en
est pas qui veut.

 
Ce mot, ''gamin'', fut imprim&eacute; pour la premi&egrave;re fois et arriva de la
langue populaire dans la langue litt&eacute;raire en 1834. C'est dans un
opuscule intitul&eacute; ''Claude Gueux'' que ce mot fit son apparition. Le
scandale fut vif. Le mot a pass&eacute;.

 
Les &eacute;l&eacute;ments qui constituent la consid&eacute;ration des gamins entre eux sont
tr&egrave;s vari&eacute;s. Nous en avons connu et pratiqu&eacute; un qui &eacute;tait fort respect&eacute;
et fort admir&eacute; pour avoir vu tomber un homme du haut des tours de
Notre-Dame; un autre, pour avoir r&eacute;ussi &agrave; p&eacute;n&eacute;trer dans l'arri&egrave;re-cour
o&ugrave; &eacute;taient momentan&eacute;ment d&eacute;pos&eacute;es les statues du d&ocirc;me des Invalides et
leur avoir &laquo;chip&eacute;&raquo; du plomb; un troisi&egrave;me, pour avoir vu verser une
diligence; un autre encore, parce qu'il &laquo;connaissait&raquo; un soldat qui
avait manqu&eacute; crever un &oelig;il &agrave; un bourgeois.

 
C'est ce qui explique cette exclamation d'un gamin parisien, &eacute;piphon&egrave;me
profond dont le vulgaire rit sans le comprendre:&mdash;''Dieu de Dieu! ai-je
du malheur! dire que je n'ai pas encore vu quelqu'un tomber d'un
cinqui&egrave;me!'' (''Ai-je'' se prononce ''j'ai-t-y; cinqui&egrave;me'' se prononce
''cinti&egrave;me''.)

 
Certes, c'est un beau mot de paysan que celui-ci: P&egrave;re un tel, votre
femme est morte de sa maladie; pourquoi n'avez-vous pas envoy&eacute; chercher
de m&eacute;decin? Que voulez-vous, monsieur, nous autres pauvres gens, ''j'nous
mourons nous-m&ecirc;mes''. Mais si toute la passivit&eacute; narquoise du paysan est
dans ce mot, toute l'anarchie libre-penseuse du mioche faubourien est, &agrave;
coup s&ucirc;r, dans cet autre. Un condamn&eacute; &agrave; mort dans la charrette &eacute;coute
son confesseur. L'enfant de Paris se r&eacute;crie:&mdash;''Il parle &agrave; son calotin.
Oh! le capon!''

 
Une certaine audace en mati&egrave;re religieuse rehausse le gamin. &Ecirc;tre esprit
fort est important.

 
Assister aux ex&eacute;cutions constitue un devoir. On se montre la guillotine
et l'on rit. On l'appelle de toutes sortes de petits noms:&mdash;Fin de la
soupe,&mdash;Grognon,&mdash;La m&egrave;re au Bleu (au ciel),&mdash;La derni&egrave;re
bouch&eacute;e,&mdash;etc., etc. Pour ne rien perdre de la chose, on escalade les
murs, on se hisse aux balcons, on monte aux arbres, on se suspend aux
grilles, on s'accroche aux chemin&eacute;es. Le gamin na&icirc;t couvreur comme il
na&icirc;t marin. Un toit ne lui fait pas plus peur qu'un m&acirc;t. Pas de f&ecirc;te qui
vaille la Gr&egrave;ve. Samson et l'abb&eacute; Mont&eacute;s sont les vrais noms populaires.
On hue le patient pour l'encourager. On l'admire quelquefois. Lacenaire,
gamin, voyant l'affreux Dautun mourir bravement, a dit ce mot o&ugrave; il y a
un avenir: ''J'en &eacute;tais jaloux''. Dans la gaminerie, on ne conna&icirc;t pas
Voltaire, mais on conna&icirc;t Papavoine. On m&ecirc;le dans la m&ecirc;me l&eacute;gende &laquo;les
politiques&raquo; aux assassins. On a les traditions du dernier v&ecirc;tement de
tous. On sait que Tolleron avait un bonnet de chauffeur, Avril une
casquette de loutre, Louvel un chapeau rond, que le vieux Delaporte
&eacute;tait chauve et nu-t&ecirc;te, que Castaing &eacute;tait tout rose et tr&egrave;s joli, que
Bories avait une barbiche romantique, que Jean Martin avait gard&eacute; ses
bretelles, que Lecouff&eacute; et sa m&egrave;re se querellaient.&mdash;''Ne vous reprochez
donc pas votre panier'', leur cria un gamin. Un autre, pour voir passer
Debacker, trop petit dans la foule, avise la lanterne du quai et y
grimpe. Un gendarme, de station l&agrave;, fronce le sourcil.&mdash;Laissez-moi
monter, m'sieu le gendarme, dit le gamin. Et pour attendrir l'autorit&eacute;,
il ajoute: Je ne tomberai pas.&mdash;Je m'importe peu que tu tombes, r&eacute;pond
le gendarme.

 
Dans la gaminerie, un accident m&eacute;morable est fort compt&eacute;. On parvient
au sommet de la consid&eacute;ration s'il arrive qu'on se coupe tr&egrave;s
profond&eacute;ment, &laquo;jusqu'&agrave; l'os&raquo;.

 
Le poing n'est pas un m&eacute;diocre &eacute;l&eacute;ment de respect. Une des choses que le
gamin dit le plus volontiers, c'est: ''Je suis joliment fort, va!''&mdash;&Ecirc;tre
gaucher vous rend fort enviable. Loucher est une chose estim&eacute;e.

 
==English text==

 
The body of street Arabs in Paris almost constitutes a caste. One might
almost say: Not every one who wishes to belong to it can do so.

 
This word gamin was printed for the first time, and reached popular speech
through the literary tongue, in 1834. It is in a little work entitled
Claude Gueux that this word made its appearance. The horror was lively.
The word passed into circulation.

 
The elements which constitute the consideration of the gamins for each
other are very various. We have known and associated with one who was
greatly respected and vastly admired because he had seen a man fall from
the top of the tower of Notre-Dame; another, because he had succeeded in
making his way into the rear courtyard where the statues of the dome of
the Invalides had been temporarily deposited, and had "prigged" some lead
from them; a third, because he had seen a diligence tip over; still
another, because he "knew" a soldier who came near putting out the eye of
a citizen.

 
This explains that famous exclamation of a Parisian gamin, a profound
epiphonema, which the vulgar herd laughs at without comprehending,&mdash;Dieu
de Dieu! What ill-luck I do have! to think that I have never yet seen
anybody tumble from a fifth-story window! (I have pronounced I'ave and
fifth pronounced fift'.)

 
Surely, this saying of a peasant is a fine one: "Father So-and-So, your
wife has died of her malady; why did you not send for the doctor?" "What
would you have, sir, we poor folks die of ourselves." But if the peasant's
whole passivity lies in this saying, the whole of the free-thinking
anarchy of the brat of the faubourgs is, assuredly, contained in this
other saying. A man condemned to death is listening to his confessor in
the tumbrel. The child of Paris exclaims: "He is talking to his black cap!
Oh, the sneak!"

 
A certain audacity on matters of religion sets off the gamin. To be
strong-minded is an important item.

 
To be present at executions constitutes a duty. He shows himself at the
guillotine, and he laughs. He calls it by all sorts of pet names: The End
of the Soup, The Growler, The Mother in the Blue (the sky), The Last
Mouthful, etc., etc. In order not to lose anything of the affair, he
scales the walls, he hoists himself to balconies, he ascends trees, he
suspends himself to gratings, he clings fast to chimneys. The gamin is
born a tiler as he is born a mariner. A roof inspires him with no more
fear than a mast. There is no festival which comes up to an execution on
the Place de Greve. Samson and the Abbé Montes are the truly popular
names. They hoot at the victim in order to encourage him. They sometimes
admire him. Lacenaire, when a gamin, on seeing the hideous Dautin die
bravely, uttered these words which contain a future: "I was jealous of
him." In the brotherhood of gamins Voltaire is not known, but Papavoine
is. "Politicians" are confused with assassins in the same legend. They
have a tradition as to everybody's last garment. It is known that Tolleron
had a fireman's cap, Avril an otter cap, Losvel a round hat, that old
Delaporte was bald and bare-headed, that Castaing was all ruddy and very
handsome, that Bories had a romantic small beard, that Jean Martin kept on
his suspenders, that Lecouffe and his mother quarrelled. "Don't reproach
each other for your basket," shouted a gamin to them. Another, in order to
get a look at Debacker as he passed, and being too small in the crowd,
caught sight of the lantern on the quay and climbed it. A gendarme
stationed opposite frowned. "Let me climb up, m'sieu le gendarme," said
the gamin. And, to soften the heart of the authorities he added: "I will
not fall." "I don't care if you do," retorted the gendarme.

 
In the brotherhood of gamins, a memorable accident counts for a great
deal. One reaches the height of consideration if one chances to cut one's
self very deeply, "to the very bone."

 
The fist is no mediocre element of respect. One of the things that the
gamin is fondest of saying is: "I am fine and strong, come now!" To be
left-handed renders you very enviable. A squint is highly esteemed.


==Translation notes==

==Textual notes==

==Citations==
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