God delivers over to men his visible will in events, an obscure text written in a mysterious tongue. Men immediately make translations of it; translations hasty, incorrect, full of errors, of gaps, and of nonsense. Very few minds comprehend the divine language. The most sagacious, the calmest, the most profound, decipher slowly, and when they arrive with their text, the task has long been completed; there are already twenty translations on the public place. From each remaining springs a party, and from each misinterpretation a faction; and each party thinks that it alone has the true text, and each faction thinks that it possesses the light.
In this passage from Victor Hugo's "Les Misérables," the author reflects on how God communicates His will to humanity through visible events, which can be likened to text written in an obscure language. People tend to quickly interpret these events, often creating flawed translations filled with errors and misconceptions, leading to differing understandings of the divine message.
As a result, various groups form around these interpretations, with each faction believing it has the exclusive insight into the true meaning. The complexity of understanding divine will means that only a few individuals can truly grasp the original meaning, but by the time they do, many other translations have already caused divisions among people, each claiming to hold the light of truth.
