37 Inspiring Quotes By Victor Hugo

In a world that constantly seeks inspiration, the timeless words of Victor Hugo continue to resonate with profound depth and wisdom. As one of the most celebrated writers of the 19th century, Hugo's insights into the human condition explore themes of love, hope, and resilience. His eloquent prose and poignant reflections offer not just literary brilliance but also a guiding light for navigating life's challenges. In this collection, we present 37 inspiring quotes by Victor Hugo, each chosen for its power to uplift and motivate. Let these words ignite your spirit and accompany you on your journey of self-discovery and growth.

1. “Tabahlah saat menghadapi penderitaan besar,Sabarlah saat menghadapi penderitaan kecil,Dan kalau anda sudah melaksanakan dengan giat tugas anda sehari-hari,Pergilah tidur dengan damai.Tuhan selalu berjaga.” - Victor Hugo

2. “The poor man shuddered, overflowed with an angelic joy; he declared in his transport that this would last through life; he said to himself that he really had not suffered enough to deserve such radiant happiness, and he thanked God, in the depths of his soul, for having permitted that he, a miserable man, should be so loved by this innocent being.” - Victor Hugo

3. “Marius and Cosette were in the dark in regard to each other. They did not speak, they did not bow, they were not acquainted; they saw each other; and, like the stars in the sky separated by millions of leagues, they lived by gazing upon each other.” - Victor Hugo

4. “She let her head fall back upon Marius' knees and her eyelids closed. He thought that poor soul had gone. Eponine lay motionless; but just when Marius supposed her for ever asleep, she slowly opened her eyes in which the gloomy deepness of death appeared, and said to him with an accent the sweetness on which already seemed to come from another world:"And then, do you know, Monsieur Marius, I believe I was a little in love with you."She essayed to smile again and expired.” - Victor Hugo

5. “L’amour est une mer dont le femme est la rive.” - Victor Hugo

6. “To sum up: all nature-spirits are not the same as fairies; nor are all fairies nature-spirits. The same applies to the relationship of nature-spirits and the dead. But we may safely say that a large proportion of nature-spirits became fairies, while quite a number of the dead in some areas seem to take on the character of nature-spirits. We cannot expect any fixity of rule in dealing with barbaric thought. We must take it as it comes. It bears the same relationship to "civilized" or folk-lore theory as does the growth of the jungle to a carefully designed and meticulously labelled botanical garden. As Victor Hugo once exclaimed when writing of the barbaric confusion which underlies the creative function in poetry: 'What do you expect? You are among savages!” - Lewis Spence

7. “The barber ran to the broken window, and saw Gavroche, who was running with all his might towards the Saint Jean market. On passing the barber's shop, Gavroche, who had the two children on his mind, could not resist the desire to bid him "good day", and had sent a stone through his sash."See!" screamed the barber, who from white had become blue, "he makes mischief. What has anybody done to this Gamin?” - Victor Hugo

8. “Hardly had the light been extinguished, when a peculiar trembling beganto affect the netting under which the three children lay.It consisted of a multitude of dull scratches which produced a metallicsound, as if claws and teeth were gnawing at the copper wire. This wasaccompanied by all sorts of little piercing cries.The little five-year-old boy, on hearing this hubbub overhead, andchilled with terror, jogged his brother's elbow; but the elder brotherhad already shut his peepers, as Gavroche had ordered. Then the littleone, who could no longer control his terror, questioned Gavroche, but ina very low tone, and with bated breath:--"Sir?""Hey?" said Gavroche, who had just closed his eyes."What is that?""It's the rats," replied Gavroche.And he laid his head down on the mat again.The rats, in fact, who swarmed by thousands in the carcass of theelephant, and who were the living black spots which we have alreadymentioned, had been held in awe by the flame of the candle, so long asit had been lighted; but as soon as the cavern, which was the sameas their city, had returned to darkness, scenting what the goodstory-teller Perrault calls "fresh meat," they had hurled themselves inthrongs on Gavroche's tent, had climbed to the top of it, and had begunto bite the meshes as though seeking to pierce this new-fangled trap.Still the little one could not sleep."Sir?" he began again."Hey?" said Gavroche."What are rats?""They are mice."This explanation reassured the child a little. He had seen white mice inthe course of his life, and he was not afraid of them. Nevertheless, helifted up his voice once more."Sir?""Hey?" said Gavroche again."Why don't you have a cat?""I did have one," replied Gavroche, "I brought one here, but they ateher."This second explanation undid the work of the first, and the littlefellow began to tremble again.The dialogue between him and Gavroche began again for the fourth time:--"Monsieur?""Hey?""Who was it that was eaten?""The cat.""And who ate the cat?""The rats.""The mice?""Yes, the rats."The child, in consternation, dismayed at the thought of mice which atecats, pursued:--"Sir, would those mice eat us?""Wouldn't they just!" ejaculated Gavroche.The child's terror had reached its climax. But Gavroche added:--"Don't be afraid. They can't get in. And besides, I'm here! Here, catchhold of my hand. Hold your tongue and shut your peepers!” - Victor Hugo

9. “The merciful precepts of Christ will at last suffuse the Code and it will glow with their radiance. Crime will be considered an illness with its own doctors to replace your judges and its hospitals to replace your prisons. Liberty shall be equated with health. Ointments and oil shall be applied to limbs that were once shackled and branded. Infirmities that once were scourged with anger shall now be bathed with love. The cross in place of the gallows: sublime and yet so simple.” - Victor Hugo

10. “But secondly you say 'society must exact vengeance, and society must punish'. Wrong on both counts. Vengeance comes from the individual and punishment from God.” - Victor Hugo

11. “N'être pas écouté, n'est pas une raison pour se taire.” - Victor Hugo

12. “La pensée est le labeur de l’intelligence, la rêverie en est la volupté.” - Victor Hugo

13. “Let no one misunderstand our idea; we do not confound what are called 'political opinions' with that grand aspiration after progress with that sublime patriotic, democratic, and human faith, which, in our days, should be the very foundation of all generous intelligence.” - Victor Hugo

14. “So long as there shall exist, by virtue of law and custom, decrees of damnation pronounced by society, artificially creating hells amid the civilization of earth, and adding the element of human fate to divine destiny; so long as the three great problems of the century—the degradation of man through pauperism, the corruption of woman through hunger, the crippling of children through lack of light—are unsolved; so long as social asphyxia is possible in any part of the world;—in other words, and with a still wider significance, so long as ignorance and poverty exist on earth, books of the nature of Les Misérables cannot fail to be of use. HAUTEVILLE HOUSE, 1862. [Translation by Isabel F. Hapgood]” - Victor Hugo

15. “Hay una manera de huir que parece buscar.” - Victor Hugo

16. “Les recomiendo la moderación en sus deseos. (Tholomyes)” - Victor Hugo

17. “Joy is the reflex of terror.” - Victor Hugo

18. “As with stomachs, we should pity minds that do not eat.” - Victor Hugo

19. “Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.” - Victor Hugo

20. “Kawan-kawan semua, dimasa yang akan datang tidak boleh lagi ada kegelapan, tidak juga desingan peluru. tidak ada lagi kebodohan yang begitu keji atau pertimpahan darah. Karena tak ada lagi setan, maka tak akan ada lagi malaikat. Di masa depan tidak boleh ada lagi manusia membantai sesamanya, bumi akan menjadi terang, umat manusia akan saling mencinta. akan tiba suatu hari ketika semuanya terasa damai, harmonis, terang benderang, menggembirakan dan begitu hidup. Hari itu akan datang dan itulah sebabnya mengapa kita akan menyongsong maut.” - Victor Hugo

21. “A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in--what more could he ask? A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.” - Victor Hugo

22. “There, at a depth to which divers would find it difficult to descend, are caverns, haunts, and dusky mazes, where monstrous creatures multiply and destroy each other. Huge crabs devour fish and are devoured in their turn. Hideous shapes of living things, not created to be seen by human eyes wander in this twilight. Vague forms of antennae, tentacles, fins, open jaws, scales, and claws, float about there, quivering, growing larger, or decomposing and perishing in the gloom, while horrible swarms of swimming things prowl about seeking their prey.To gaze into the depths of the sea is, in the imagination, like beholding the vast unknown, and from its most terrible point of view. The submarine gulf is analogous to the realm of night and dreams. There also is sleep, unconsciousness, or at least apparent unconsciousness, of creation. There in the awful silence and darkness, the rude first forms of life, phantomlike, demoniacal, pursue their horrible instincts.” - Victor Hugo

23. “Confiar es a veces abandonar.” - Victor Hugo

24. “Se dice que en toda manada de lobos hay un perro al que la loba mata, porque si lo deja vivir al crecer devoraría a los demás cachorros. Dad un rostro humano a este perro hijo de loba y tendréis el retrato de aquel hombre.” - Victor Hugo

25. “Querer prohibir a la imaginación que vuelva a una idea es lo mismo que prohibir al mar que vuelva a la playa.” - Victor Hugo

26. “No era la facultad de amar lo que le faltaba, sino la posibilidad.” - Victor Hugo

27. “Asociad estas dos ideas, París y la infancia, que contienen la una todo el fuego, la otra toda la aurora; haced que choquen estas dos chispas, y el resultado es un pequeño ser.” - Victor Hugo

28. “Es que tiene en el alma una perla, la inocencia; y las perlas no se disuelven en el fango.[...]Se revuelca en estiércol y sale de él recubierto de estrellas.” - Victor Hugo

29. “En esos momentos de la existencia en que el hombre tiene necesidad de orgullo porque tiene necesidad de amor.” - Victor Hugo

30. “¿Qué había esta vez en la mirada de la joven? Marius no hubiera podido decirlo. No había nada y lo había todo. Fue un relámpago extraño.[...]Es una especie de ternura indecisa que se revela al azar y que espera. Es una trampa que la inocencia arma sin saberlo, donde atrapa a dos corazones sin quererlo.” - Victor Hugo

31. “Aquí el hombre se convierte en dragón. Tener hambre, tener sed es el punto de partida, ser Satanás es el punto de llegada.” - Victor Hugo

32. “Terminar este duelo, amalgamar la idea pura con la realidad humana, hacer penetrar pacíficamente el derecho en el hecho y e hecho en el derecho, es el trabajo de los sabios.” - Victor Hugo

33. “Los que padecéis porque amáis, amad más aún. Morir de amor es vivir” - Victor Hugo

34. “No tenían ya palabras. Las estrellas empezaban a brillar. ¿Cómo fue que sus labios se encontraron? ¿Cómo es que el pájaro canta, que la nieve se funde, que la rosa se abre? Un beso; eso fue todo. Los dos se estremecieron, y se miraron en la sombra con ojos brillantes. No sentían ni el frío de la noche, ni la frialdad de la piedra,ni la humedad de la tierra, ni la humedad de las hojas; se miraban y tenían el corazón lleno de pensamientos. Se habían cogido de las manos sin saberlo.” - Victor Hugo

35. “Hay siempre en el pensamiento cierta cantidad de rebelión interior, y le irritaba sentirla dentro de sí.” - Victor Hugo

36. “La doctrina significa aquello que hace que el pueblo esté en armonía con su gobernante, de modo que le siga donde sea, sin temer por sus vidas ni a correr cualquier peligro.” - Victor Hugo

37. “To commit the least possible sin is the law for man. To live without sin is the dream of an angel. Everything terrestrial is subject to sin. Sin is a gravitation.” - Victor Hugo