He experienced keen pleasure mingled with remorse, the kind of pleasure known only to Catholics who, in the midst of sin, are goaded by the fear of hell.

Ce fut une jouissance mêlée de remords, une de ces jouissances de catholique que la peur de l’enfer aiguillonne dans le péché.

Original text (French)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Émile Zola (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.