Chapter 5
Volume 3: 3: Marius · Book 4: 4: The Friends of the Abc
5: Enlargement of the Horizon
Chapter 5Visible text2 paragraphs
HE jostlings of young minds against each other have this wonderful attribute, that one can never foresee the spark, nor predict the flash. What may spring up in a moment? Nobody knows. A burst of laughter follows a scene of tenderness. In a moment of buffoonery, the serious makes its entrance. Impulses depend upon a chance word. The spirit of each is sovereign. A jest suffices to open the door to the unlocked for. Theirs are conferences with sharp turns, where the perspective suddenly changes. Chance is the director of these conversations.
A stern thought, oddly brought out of a clatter of words, suddenly crossed the tumult of speech in which Grantaire, Bahorel, Prouvaire, Bossuet, Combeferre, and Courfeyrac were confusedly fencing.