Those are rare who fall without becoming degraded; there is a point, moreover, at which the unfortunate and… — Victor Hugo

Those are rare who fall without becoming degraded; there is a point, moreover, at which the unfortunate and the infamous are associated and confounded in a single word, a fatal word, Les Misérables.

In the original (French)

Ils sont rares, ceux qui sont tombés sans être dégradés; d’ailleurs il y a un point où les infortunés et les infâmes se mêlent et se confondent dans un seul mot, mot fatal, les misérables.

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