The 90 best quotes by Victor Hugo

Reflections and quotes by Victor Hugo that help to understand the art and thought of this writer.

Victor Hugo, (Besanzon, February 26, 1802-Paris, May 22, 1885) was a famous writer of romantic novels, considered one of the most important writers of the French language. He is credited with international recognition thanks to his novel "Les Miserables", as well as "Notre Dame de Paris" and his poems such as "Odes et poésies diverses".

In the following lines you will find a selection of the best phrases of Victor Hugocommented.

The most memorable phrases of Victor Hugo

He was not only known for being a novelist, but also a poet, playwright, intellectual and social politician. To learn a little more of his story, here is a review of the best quotes by Victor Hugo.

1. The smaller the heart, the more hatred it harbors.

This happens when people are unwilling to turn the page.

2. Thought is nothing but a mere breath. But a breath that shakes the world.

Thoughts can lead us to generate great changes.

3. Forty is the middle age of youth; fifty is the youth of middle age.

Youth is, in part, only a state of mind.

4. The future has many names. To the weak it is the unattainable. To the fearful, the unknown. For the brave, it is opportunity.

The future is seen depending on the perspective of each person.

5. We would judge a man with much more certainty by what he dreams than by what he thinks.

Dreams are what move us into the future.

6. It is not serious to die. It is frightening not to live.

There are people who do not enjoy their life and it is as if they were walking dead.

7. My friends, hold this: there are no bad weeds and there are no bad men. There are only bad cultivators.

Many people become bad because they had no opportunities and no love in their childhood.

8. Music expresses that which cannot be said in words but cannot remain silent.

Music is another form of expression.

9. Dare: progress can only be achieved in this way.

No one advances by staying in their comfort zone.

10. How did their lips meet, how did the bird sing, the snow melt, the rose open? A kiss; that was it.

With a kiss everything begins. 11. To give thanks in solitude is enough. The act of giving thanks has wings and goes where it needs to go.

If you are thankful, everyone will notice.

12. The supreme happiness in life is to have the knowledge that you are loved for yourself, or more accurately, loved in spite of yourself.

The most important love is the love we have for ourselves.

13. All power is duty.

People with power are in a position to help others.

14. The soul has its illusions, as the little bird has its wings: It is they who sustain them.

Illusions allow us to look for a better future.

15. As short as life is, we shorten it even more by the senseless waste of time.

Wasting time is one of the most heinous crimes of all.

16. Hell is all in this one word: loneliness.

Loneliness can consume us if we shut ourselves up in it.

The human body is only appearance and hides the true reality. The reality of what we are is the soul.

Our true self is within us.

18. Those of you who suffer because you love: love all the more; to die of love is to live.

In love, things do not always turn out as we wish, but it is better not to love at all.

19. What is an envious person? An ingrate who hates the light that enlightens and warms him.

The envious feel incapable of doing things on their own.

20. Architecture is the immense book of the whole of humanity.

Much of the ancient history we know today is thanks to architecture.

21. Common sense is in spite of education, not the result of it.

Common sense is acquired with experience.

22. Curious thing! The first symptom of love in a young man, is shyness; in a young woman, is audacity.

Roles that are reversed in falling in love.

23. What drives and drags the world are not machines but ideas.

It is the ideas that make us advance.

24. Woe to those who have loved nothing but bodies, forms and appearances. Death will take it all away.

Physical beauty is not eternal and he who bases his love on that is only a superficial person without honest feelings.

25. Life is the flower for which love is the honey.

Love is an inherent part of life.

26. Melancholy is the happiness of being sad.

A poetic way of looking at sadness.

27. The eyes cannot see God well, but through tears.

It is in the most difficult moments that people have recourse to their faith.

28. The future is much more of the hearts than of the minds.

It is useless to advance technologically if we do not advance as a civilization respectful of others.

29. It is said that slavery has disappeared from European civilization, and this is a mistake. It still exists; it is just that it no longer weighs only on women, and is called prostitution.

Slavery evolves in other forms.

30. God manifests himself to us firstly through the life of the universe, secondly through human thought. The first manifestation is called nature, the second art.

The way Victor Hugo believed God manifested himself.

31. Tolerance is the best religion.

Tolerance leads us to accept things without judging them.

32. Truth is like the sun. It cannot be seen, but it makes everything visible.

The truth will sooner or later make itself known.

33. There are so many beautiful women, but there are no perfect ones.

Perfection exists only in the minds of each person.

34. Between the government that governs wrongly and the people who allow it, there is a solidarity that is embarrassing.

Many governments are corrupt because the people themselves allow it.

35. Like stomachs, we should feel sorry for minds that do not eat.

A closed-minded person is one who cannot get ahead in society.

36. Success is a disgusting thing; its false resemblance to merit deceives men.

Not all people deserve the success they have.

37. Water that does not run makes a swamp; a mind that does not work makes a fool.

Ignorant people are a parasite on society.

38. The history of cities is reflected in their sewers.

An interesting way to see how far a city has progressed.

39. A man is not idle because he is absorbed in his thoughts. Just as there are visible works, there are also those that are invisible.

There are fruitful thoughts that are silent in our mind.

40. Anyone who has been in love will grasp all the radiant meanings that fit into the four letters of that word: She.

Love makes us see things in a peculiar way.

41. One faith: here is what is most necessary to man. Woe to the one who believes in nothing.

Every person needs to believe in something in his life.

42. For me it is better to be whistled at for a good verse, than to be applauded for a bad one.

By letting bad things pass, people become lazy.

43. He who always insults me, never offends me.

Offenses are proportional to the amount of concern the words generate in us.

44. At the moment when love is happy, the soul takes the course to gentleness and kindness.

Stay with the person who makes you happy.

45. Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when, whatever the activity of the body, the soul is on its knees.

Prayers that are only heard in our thoughts.

46. What is history? An echo of the past in the future.

What history represents.

47. You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving.

Giving and receiving is a natural part of love.

48. The death penalty is a peculiar sign of barbarism.

Personal opinions on the death penalty.

49. Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have done your daily laborious task, go to sleep in peace.

The way to keep our mind at ease, according to the novelist.

50. A poet is a world imprisoned in a man.

Many poets are misunderstood.

51. The masterpiece is a varied form of miracle.

A miracle that is born only in art.

52. Compulsory primary education is the right of the child.

Every child must have equal access to education.

53. The first equality is equity.

It is in equity that we are able to appreciate true equality.

54. Let us sacrifice a day to gain, perhaps, a lifetime.

There are great achievements that require sacrifice. It may hurt today, but it will be worth it tomorrow.

55. There are many mouths that speak and few heads that think.

Everyone has an opinion, even if it arises from ignorance.

56. What is well thought, is well expressed.

When we have something clear in our mind there is no impediment to express it.

57. Conscience is the presence of God in man.

Conscience as an act of faith.

58. The rich man's paradise is made of the poor man's hell.

Many rich people are made from the suffering of the lower classes which they perpetuate.

59. To put everything in balance is good, to put everything in harmony is better.

Harmony leads us to attain true tranquility.

60. In the eyes of the young, the flame burns; in the eyes of the old, the light shines.

Two ways of looking at life.

61. A house without children is a beehive without bees.

In favor of forming a family with children.

62. Inspiration and genius are almost the same thing.

Geniuses need continuous inspiration.

63. The hero has a dream: To be great next to everyone, and small next to his father.

There are no greater heroes than our parents.

64. The first justice is conscience.

Justice begins in our conscience.

65. To love, that is the only thing that can occupy and fill eternity. The infinite needs the inexhaustible.

Love never ends, it can always be found in another form or place.

66. Even the darkest night will end with the rising of the sun.

Nothing lasts forever. Neither goodness nor evil.

67. There is no army that can stop the force of an idea when it arrives in time.

If you have a productive idea, give it wings.

68. Laughter is the sun that drives winter away from the human face.

Laughter is what allows us to drive away bad vibes.

69. Try to love souls and one day you will find them again.

True love is when we are able to see the soul of the other person.

70. When an innocent person is punished, a wicked person is born.

Not because he has always been evil, but because he has lost faith in humanity.

71. An old man is as much in need of affection as he is in need of sunshine.

All people need affection, regardless of their age.

72. Great acts of love are done by those who habitually do small acts of kindness.

Greatness is created from small valuable things.

73. To be good is easy, to be just is difficult.

We do not always have the capacity to be just.

74. It is strange how lightly the wicked believe that everything will turn out well for them.

People with bad intentions always seem to be relaxed.

75. Change your mind, keep your principles; change your leaves, keep your roots intact.

It's okay to change if it will get you to a better place.

76. You ask me what forces me to speak? Something strange, my conscience.

Let your morals speak when you think it is necessary.

77. Volcanoes throw stones, and revolutions throw men.

Revolutions are armed with men tired of injustice and looking for a better future.

78. The intelligences with little capacity are interested in extraordinary matters. The intelligences of great capacity deal with simple matters.

Two types of intelligences that are completely different.

79. Freedom is, in philosophy, reason; in art, inspiration; in politics, law.

Freedom is everywhere, and we have the right to live it.

80. God is the invisible evidence.

Speaking about the omnipresence of God.

81. Many have enough strength, what they lack is will.

It is useless to form great plans if we do not have the conviction to carry them out.

82. Your prayers know much more about what you need than you do.

Sometimes you have to let things take their natural course.

83. Believing herself to be beautiful, she knew very well, though in a vague way, that she had a weapon. Women play with their beauty like children with a knife, and hurt themselves.

There are women who use their beauty for their convenience.

84. To rise from error to truth is strange and beautiful.

The only way to repair a mistake is to recognize it and seek the right.

85. To suffer deserves respect, to submit is despicable.

To submit is a form of humiliation.

86. When you have an idea in your head you see it everywhere.

It is an energetic feeling that you cannot shake off.

87. Try as hard as you will, you cannot annihilate that ancient relic in the human Heart called: Love.

Love is present in all hearts.

88. What is said about people has as much influence on their lives and destinies as what they do.

That is why we should strive to do good deeds that speak well of us.

89. He who opens the doors of a school closes the doors of a prison.

Education is the first step in creating moral and good-hearted people.

90. Great hearts keep the secret of their greatness in the word persevere.

Perseverance is what sooner or later takes us to the place where we should be.

Victor Hugo is an example of overcoming and success without leaving aside the humanity that we all should have to relate to others and empathize with their situations.