I love you more than I love Adele.

Fil-de-Soie
We worship you.

Vautrin
If necessary, I shall even have to beat you.

Philosopher
We'll take it without a murmur.

Vautrin
To spit in your face; to bowl over your lives like a row of skittles.

Buteux
But I bowl over with a knife.

Vautrin
Very well--Kill me this instant.

Buteux
It is no use being vexed with this man. Do you wish me to restore the
opera-glass? I intended it for Adele!

All (surrounding Vautrin)
Would you abandon us, Vautrin?

Lafouraille
Vautrin! Our friend.

Philosopher
Mighty Vautrin!

Fil-de-Soie
Our old companion, deal with us as you will.

Vautrin
Yes, and I can deal with you as I will. When I think what trouble you
make, in your trinket-stealing, I feel inclined to send you back to
the place I took you from. You are either above or below the level of
society, dregs or foam; but I desire to make you enter into society.
People used to hoot you as you went by. I wish them to bow to you; you
were once the basest of mankind, I wish you to be more than honest
men.

Philosopher
Is there such a class?

Buteux
There are those who are nothing at all.

Vautrin
There are those who decide upon the honesty of others. You will never
be honest burgesses, you must belong either to the wretched or the
rich; you must therefore master one-half of the world! Take a bath of
gold, and you will come forth from it virtuous!

Fil-de-Soie
To think, that, when I have need of nothing, I shall be a good prince!

Vautrin
Of course. And you, Lafouraille, you can become Count of Saint Helena;
and what would you like to be, Buteux?

Buteux
I should like to be a philanthropist, for the philanthropist always
becomes a millionaire.

Philosopher
And I, a banker.

Fil-de-Soie
He wishes to be a licensed professional.

Vautrin
Show yourselves then, according as occasion demands it, blind and
clear-sighted, adroit and clumsy, stupid and clever, like all those
who make their fortune. Never judge me, and try to understand my
meaning. You ask who Raoul de Frescas is? I will explain to you; he
will soon have an income of twelve hundred thousand francs. He will be
a prince. And I picked him up when he was begging on the high road,
and ready to become a drummer-boy; in his twelfth year he had neither
name nor family; he came from Sardinia, where he must have got into
some trouble, for he was a fugitive from justice.

Buteux
Oh, now that we know