Her son would be incomparably handsome, good and powerful. He would be the expected Messiah; it is fortunate for humanity that all mothers have this … - Émile Zola

Just as the frost that burns the crops, the hail that chops them down, the thunderstorms which batter them are all perhaps necessary, maybe blood and tears are needed to keep the world going.

At the street corner, a one-storey house built of freestone, but repulsively decrepit and filthy, seemed to command the entrance, like a gaol. And here, indeed, lived La Méchain, like a vigilant proprietess, ever on the watch, exploiting in person her little population of starving tenants.

Şehirlerin her tarafını tutuşturun, milletleri yok edin, her şeyi silip süpürün ve şu çürümüş dünyada hiçbir eser bırakmayın; belki o zaman ortaya daha iyi bir dünya çıkar.