When one saw it miss clearly designated prey, such as Grand or Rieux's young woman, get worse in some districts for two or three days while it vanished entirely from others, increase the number of its victims on Monday, then on Wednesday let almost all of them escape... seeing it in this way slip back exhausted or rush forward, one could have thought that it was falling apart with weariness and irritation and that it was losing not only its control over itself, but the sovereign, mathematical efficiency that had been its strength.
Zinez aukeratuak zituen Grand edo Rieuxen neskatxa bezalako harrapakinak nola galtzen zituen ikusterakoan, nola halako eta halako auzotan bizpahiru egunetan sutan jartzen zen, beste hainbatetik erabat desagertzen zen artean, nola ugaltzen ziren biktimak astelehenean eta asteazkenean, ostera, ihes egiten uzten zien ia denei, nola ito egin edo azkarregi joaten zen ikusterakoan, esan zitekeen urduritasunez edo nekeagatik nahasten ari zela, beraren gaineko jabetzarekin batera, bere indarra osatu ohi zuen eraginkortasun matematikoa eta subiranotasuna galtzen ari zela.