# Faith, Law explained — Les Misérables > Chapter companion for Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. ## What happens This chapter reflects on the necessity of faith, the dignity of contemplation, and the convergence of asceticism and philosophy. It defends the value of prayer and meditation as forms of labor, and honors those who choose a cloistered existence as a sacrifice, even if misguided. The author distinguishes between religion and religions, and affirms the moral grandeur of those who live by faith, waiting on the brink of mystery. ## Themes in this chapter ### The Human Condition and Fate The chapter meditates on the human confrontation with mortality and the unknown, describing the cloister as a frontier between life and death, and emphasizing the necessity of faith in facing the abyss. ### Suffering and Sacrifice The monastery is portrayed as a renunciation and sacrifice, with the author honoring even wrongly directed sacrifice as having a grandeur of its own, especially in the context of women's suffering. ## Key lines > To contemplate is to labor, to think is to act. Folded arms toil, clasped hands work. A gaze fixed on heaven is a work. Contemplation and thought are forms of action and labor; even stillness and prayer are productive. _Defends the value of spiritual and intellectual work against charges of idleness._ > We are for religion as against religions. We support the essence of faith and spirituality, but not organized religious institutions. _Distinguishes between universal faith and particular dogmatic systems._ > There is probably no work more divine than that performed by these souls. The prayers of those who devote themselves to constant contemplation may be the most sacred work of all. _Honors the invisible labor of monks and nuns._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se/chapters/viii-faith-law - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se/chapters