Chapter 289 The limit of three edges

Marius went to the market. It was quieter, darker, and less moving than the nearby streets.The icy serenity that had risen from the grave seemed to have spread over the ground. The row of roofs which blocked the Rue de las Mills from the direction of Saint-Eustache reflected in the dark sky a red light, the reflection of the torch burning in the Corinthian barricades.Marius walked towards the red light.The red light led him to the beet market.He caught a glimpse of the dark corner of the Rue de Mission Friars.He went in.The insurrectionary sentry on the other side of the street did not see him.He felt he was close to where he was looking.He tiptoed forward.We remember that Enjolras had reserved a small section of the Via Montedu as the only access to the outside.The place where Marius had now arrived was entering the corner of the little Rue de la Mondedu.

The place where this alley meets Machang Street is pitch black, and he himself is hidden in the shadows.A little farther ahead he saw a glimmer of light on the stone pavement, a corner of the hotel and behind it a paper lantern blinking in a shapeless wall, and a group of men squatting on the ground with rifles across their knees.All this is only ten tuas away from him.This is the inside of that barricade. The houses on the right side of the lane blocked him from seeing the rest of the hotel, the big ramparts, and the flags. Marius had but one more step to go. Now the distressed youth sat on a corner stone, arms folded, thinking of his father.

He thought of what a soldier the gallant Colonel Pontmercy was, who had defended the frontiers of France in the Republic, who had been led by the Emperor to the borders of Asia, who had seen Genoa, Alexandria, Milan, Turin, Madrid, Vienna, Dresden, Berlin, Moscow, he sprinkled his blood on every battlefield in Europe with glorious victories, that is, the blood that flowed in the veins of Marius, who maintained military discipline and commanded battles all his life, before he reached old age His hair was already grizzled, his belt was fastened around his waist, the tassels on his epaulets fell to his chest, his cap badge was blackened by gunpowder smoke, his forehead was wrinkled by his iron helmet, he lived in barracks, camps, tents, and field medical stations, traveling east and west After 20 years of seeking, he returned to his hometown with a big scar on his face. He was full of smiles, peaceful and peaceful, everyone admired him, and he was as simple as a child. He gave everything to France and did not disappoint the motherland in the slightest.

He thought again, now it is his own turn, his own time has come, he should follow in his father's footsteps, be brave, fearless, dare to shoot bullets, stand up to the bayonet, shed blood, wipe out the enemy, disregarding life and death, Those who go to the battlefield and dare to fight.He thought that the battlefield he was going to was the streets, and the battle he was going to fight was the civil war. Thinking of the Civil War, he seemed to see a hole in the ground with a gaping mouth before him into which he would fall. Then he shivered. He thought of his father's sword, which was sold by his grandfather to a second-hand dealer. He usually felt pained when he thought of it, but now he said to himself that this heroic and steadfast sword would rather drink hatred and hide in the dark. It was right not to want to fall into his hands, it hides like this because it has the wisdom and foresight to foresee this riot, this war by the gutter, this war in the street, this war in the cellar vent. Shooting, from the back and from the back, because it came back from Marengo and Friedland, and didn't want to go to Machang Street, and didn't want to follow his son to do what he did with my father !He said to himself, if this sword were here, if he had accepted it at the bedside of his father's death, and he dared to hold it in his hand today, it would burn his hand like an angel's god. Like a sword, a raging flame burst out in front of him!He said to himself that it was not there, that it was missing, that it was a good thing, that it was fair, that his grandfather had truly defended his father's honor, and that he would have preferred the Colonel's sword to be auctioned off in a junk It is better to throw it into the scrap metal heap in the hands of merchants than to use it to bleed the motherland.

Then he burst into tears. this is too scary.But what to do?It was beyond his power to live without Cosette.Since she was gone, he had only one death.Had he not sworn to her that he would die?Knowing this, she went away again, that is to say, she deliberately did not ask Marius whether he was dead or alive.Moreover, she did not tell Marius in advance, nor did she leave a word. It is not that she did not know Marius' address, but she left without writing a letter.It shows that she no longer loves Marius.Why should he live now?Why live on?And, how to say!Already here, retreat again!Already headed for danger, run away again!I have seen the situation in the barricade, and get out of the way again!Trembling, he moved away and said: "Indeed, I've had enough, I've seen it clearly, I've seen it enough, this is civil war, I'll go away!" Leave those friends who are waiting for him alone!Maybe they need him!They are a handful against an army!Lose love, lose friends, say nothing, give up everything!Use patriotism as an excuse to hide your fear!But that was not justified, for the ghost of his father, if he had been in the darkness around him at this moment, had seen him draw back, it would have struck him with the back of his sword at the waist, and shouted at him: "Go, coward!"

Annoyed by the ups and downs of his thoughts, his head slowly lowered. He suddenly raised his head again.There has been a most spectacular correction in the mind, with that mind-expanding characteristic of gravesiders, and the closeness of death can brighten one's eyes.Perhaps he was seeing a vision of the action to be taken, not of the more tragic but of the most glorious.The barricades, by some inner action of the soul, suddenly changed before the vision of his mind.The tumultuous confusion of question marks from his dreams came back to his mind without disturbing him.He answered them one by one.

Think about it, why is his father angry?Wouldn't some circumstance raise the revolt to the majestic heights of vocation?To the son of Colonel Pontmercy, what would degrade him if he took part in the present battle?This is no longer Montmirail or Champaubert. Montmirail and Champaubert are both in the east of France. In 1814, Napoleon defeated the invasion of the Russian-Prussian coalition in these two places. , but something else.This is not a question of sacred territory, but a question of lofty ideals.The motherland is suffering, yes, but humanity is cheering.And will the motherland really suffer?France bleeds, and Liberty smiles, and before the smile of Liberty France will forget her wounds.Besides, what would people say about the Civil War if you looked at it from a higher perspective?

civil war?what does this mean?Is there another kind of foreign war?Aren't all wars between men a war between brothers?The nature of war depends only on its purpose.There is neither foreign war nor civil war.There are only unjust and just wars.In the days when mankind has not entered the world of great harmony, war, at least the kind of war between the rapidly advancing future and the stagnant past, may be necessary.What is there to blame for such a war?War is a disgrace only when it is used to kill human rights, progress, reason, civilization, and truth, and the sword is a murder weapon.Civil wars or foreign wars can be unjust, and both can be called crimes.There is no ground upon which one form of war can be judged against another, except by the sacred standard of justice.What right did Washington's sword have to deny Camille Desmoulins' lance?Timoleon (Timoleon, 410-336 BC), a Greek statesman who advocated the rule of law.Against a tyrant, who is greater?One is the defender and the other is the rescuer.Can one slander any armed revolt within a city without asking its purpose?Well, Brutus, Marcel, the mayor of Paris in the fourteenth century, fought to limit the power of the king. , Arnould de Blankenheim (Arnould de Blankenheim), unknown. , Corini, you can be called a gangster.Jungle battle?Street fighting?Why not?This is Ambiorix, the king of ancient Gaul, who opposed Caesar five or four years ago and failed. , Artevelde Artevelde (Artevelde), fifteenth-century Belgian Ghent administrator. , Marnix Marnix (Marnix), the leader of the Flemish people's uprising against Spanish rule in the sixteenth century. , Pelage (Pelage), the king of Asturias in Spain in the eighth century, opposed the Arab invasion.the war waged.But Ambiorix fought against Rome, Altvelde against France, Marnicus against Spain, Perage against the Moors, they were all Fighting against aliens.Well, monarchy is also alien, oppression is also alien, and theocracy is also alien.Despotism violates the frontiers of the mind as force violates the frontiers of geography.To drive out a tyrant or to drive out an Englishman is alike to recover the country.Sometimes protest is useless, and after talking about philosophy, there must be action; the theory opens the way, and the violence finishes;The encyclopedia inspires the soul, recharges the soul on August 10th.After Aeschylus, there must be Thrasybule (Thrasybule), a Greek general in the fifth century BC, who ended the 30-year autocracy in Greece and restored democracy. , after Diderot, there must be Danton.The masses of the people have a tendency to obey their masters, and the people are shrouded in stagnation, and the masses tend to bow their heads to the powerful.These people should be encouraged, pushed, spurred on by the interests of saving themselves, pierced their eyes with the light of truth, and thrown at them with a lot of frightening light.They should be struck by some lightning for their own benefit, and the lightning can wake them up.Therefore, it is necessary to sound the alarm and fight.There should be great warriors emerging one after another, taking their fearless spirit as an example for the people of all ethnic groups, and turning this deplorable human being, who blindly appreciates the sunset and misses the twilight, from theocratic power, martial arts, violence, and religious madness rescued from the darkness of , irresponsible regimes and despots.Down with the tyrant!What?Who are you referring to?Do you call Louis Philippe a tyrant?No, he may not be more violent than Louis XVI.Both of them are consistently called good kings in history.Principles cannot be castrated, true logic is linear, and the essence of truth cannot be chosen at will. Therefore, there is no room for compromise, and any violation of human beings should be suppressed. Louis XVI has divine power, and Louis Philippe has Bourbon blood, both are in some way responsible for the abuse of human rights, and in order to clean up all the usurpation of power, they must be brought down, it has to be, because France has historically broken its way.The day the master of France fell was the day when other masters fell.In short, establish the truth of society, restore the commanding position of liberty, return the people to the people, return the sovereignty to the people, put the purple and gold crown on the head of France again, and renew the full power of reason and equality. Basically eliminate the root of all hatred, completely destroy the obstacles set by the monarchy on the road to Datong, and use the law to standardize the status of all human beings. What cause is more just than this?That said, what war could be greater than this?Such war leads to peace.At present, there is still a huge fortress composed of prejudice, privilege, superstition, hypocrisy, blackmail, abuse, rape, bullying, and darkness standing on the earth, towering its countless towers of hatred.It must be destroyed.This monstrosity must be razed to the ground.Great as the victory at Austerlitz was, the capture of the Bastille was even more incomparable.

Everyone has experienced such a personal experience: the soul has such a strange performance, which also shows its wonderful function of both existing in the individual and filling the void. It can make people in desperate situations almost calm in the most excited moments Thinking about problems, intense frustration and painful despair can often analyze and discuss problems in self-questioning and self-answering distress that is difficult to explain.There is logic in the chaotic thinking, and the clues of reasoning float in the bleak wind and rain of thought without breaking.Such was the state of mind of Marius at the time.

Dejected, but confident, he still hesitated, in short, still terrified at the thought of what he was about to do, and he looked into the barricade while thinking.The insurgents were talking in low tones, no one was moving, and this half-quietness gave one the feeling that the last moment of waiting had come.Marius noticed someone looking down at a window four floors above them, and he thought it might be someone spying on the situation.It was the old janitor killed by Le Cabuc.From below, the head could not be seen clearly by the light of the torch surrounded by stones alone.A gray face with a terrified expression, motionless, disheveled hair, eyes fixedly open, mouth half-opened, leaning against the window facing the middle of the street, as if watching a scene, this image appeared in the dim flickering firelight, There is indeed nothing more peculiar than this.It might be said that this is the dead looking at the dying.The blood flowing from that end was like a long red line, flowing from the window to the second floor before it stopped.