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Quotation from Father Goriot (Le Père Goriot) by Honoré de Balzac

“Not until you are dying do you know your children”

Honoré de Balzac (spoken by Goriot)

Father Goriot (Le Père Goriot), Goriot's last illness, trans. Ellen Marriage (1896)

Portrait of Honoré de Balzac

Told that Rastignac will write to both daughters, the dying man sits up and says they will not come.

Citation: "Not until you are dying do you know your children" — Honoré de Balzac, Father Goriot (Le Père Goriot), Goriot's last illness, trans. Ellen Marriage (1896). (id balzac-father-goriot-q5)

Portrait: Honoré de Balzac (1842) detail, Louis-Auguste Bisson, Public domain.

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