The Toilers of the Sea

by Victor Hugo

Dr. Hérode now embarked on a speech. He had heard that a great misfortune had occurred. The Durande had been wrecked. He had therefore come, as pastor, to offer consolation and counsel. This shipwreck was unfortunate, but was also beneficial. Let us look in our hearts: were we not puffed up with prosperity? The waters of felicity are dangerous. Misfortunes must be taken in good part. The ways of the Lord are mysterious. Mess Lethierry was ruined, no doubt; but to be rich is to be in danger. You have false friends; they leave you when you fall into poverty, and you remain alone. Solus eris.152 The Durande was said to have brought in a thousand pounds sterling a year. That is too much for a wise man. Let us flee temptation and disdain mere gold. Let us accept with gratitude ruin and abandonment. Isolation brings much of good; it wins us the favor of the Lord. It was in solitude that Ajah found the hot waters while leading the asses of his father Zibeon.153 Let us not rebel against the impenetrable decrees of Providence. The holy man Job had increased in wealth after his misfortunes. Who knows but that the loss of the Durande might have compensations, even temporal compensations? For example he, Dr. Jaquemin Hérode, had invested some money in a very promising affair that was under way in Sheffield, and if Mess Lethierry were to join in the enterprise with what money remained to him he would recover his fortune: it was a large order for the supply of arms to the Tsar, who was ...

Brilliant portrait of hypocrisy