<blockquote>That night on the parapet, Valjean forces Javert to live. Some time later, Javert finds himself returning the favor.
"Do you think," Javert said slowly, in a tone that perhaps meant to mock but trembled with another emotion entirely, "that once you have saved a life, you must also save that man's soul?"
"I know nothing of saving souls," Valjean said. "My soul was bought for God, not saved. But it is my belief that you are better than the fate to which you have consigned yourself."</blockquote>
