Les Misérables Volume III Book 7 Chapter 1-2

In which the subterranean depths of society are explored as a vast, shadowy labyrinth of philosophies, revolutions, and human striving, extending from noble aspirations to ominous abysses. Here, beneath the surface of civilization, dwell spectres of ignorance and misery whose selfish hunger and ferocity threaten the order and light above, embodying the great cavern of darkness that philosophy and progress labour to dispel.