The Count of Monte Cristo

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period that I have pronounced it so distinctly. Oh, Mercedes, I have
uttered your name with the sigh of melancholy, with the groan of sorrow,
with the last effort of despair; I have uttered it when frozen with
cold, crouched on the straw in my dungeon; I have uttered it, consumed
with heat, rolling on the stone floor of my prison. Mercedes, I must
revenge myself, for I suffered fourteen years,--fourteen years I wept, I
cursed; now I tell you, Mercedes, I must revenge myself."

The count, fearing to yield to the entreaties of her he had so ardently
loved, called his sufferings to the assistance of his hatred. "Revenge
yourself, then, Edmond," cried the poor mother; "but let your vengeance
fall on the culprits,--on him, on me, but not on my son!"

"It is written in the good book," said Monte Cristo, "that the sins
of the fathers shall fall upon their children to the third and fourth
generation. Since God himself dictated those words to his prophet, why
should I seek to make myself better than God?"