The wisdom of Victor Hugo

The difference between logic and philosophy is that the one can decide upon war, whereas the other can only be fulfilled by peace.

History is one long repetition, each century plagiarizing the next.

Nothing is more pointless than to win, the real triumph is to win over.

There is no more powerful eloquence than that of indignation based on true conviction.

Silence has always something of the effect of acquiescence or of the building of a wall.

What is the turmoil in a city compared with that of the human heart?

There are times when all things look impossible and times when all things look easy.

Human nature is a creditor who accepts no compromise.

It is of the embraces of despair that faith is born.

Suffering brings death, but the idea brings immortality.

The soul will circle about the Truth as the planets circle round the sun.

A revolution is a toll-gate, but mankind will be liberated, uplifted, and consoled.

Rascality is a comfortless life, honesty is far less demanding.

If there is anything worse than to see one’s children die it is to see them leading evil lives.

A man may leave prison, but he is still condemned.

Debt is the beginning of slavery, a creditor is worse than a master; for a master owns only your physical presence, whereas a creditor owns your dignity and may affront it.

Concience is the amount of inner knowledge that we possess.

It is an error to suppose that we can ever exhaust Fate or reach the end of anything.

To die is nothing, but it is terrible not to live.

The truth means the whole truth, not just part of it.

The circumstances of happiness are not enough, there must also be peace of mind.

Prejudice is the real robber and vice the real murderer.

So what can you do when you love someone and you know that the next sentence you come out with is going to destroy them?

The soul of an unfortunate who thanks God for consolation is the best of altars.

The soul in darkness sins, but the real sinner is he who caused the darkness.

The supreme happiness in life is the assurance of being loved.

There can be no small lie; who lies, lies wholly.

A clever man has plenty of ways of winning the trust of simple people.

There is a prospect greater than the sky, and it is the human soul.

A lost gold coin is found by means of a penny candle, the deepest truth is found by means of a simple story.

It is not easy to keep silent when the silence is a lie.

The embodiment of human society: envy on one side, indifference on the other.

A letter, like a person, can have a displeasing appearance – the very sight of them can be unpleasant.

God knows better than we do what is good for us. Because things do not always please us, that is no reason for reproaching God.

When the wind blows it blows away more human dreams than clouds in the sky.

The best way to see the soul is with the eyes clothes.

True love is as radiant as the dawn and as silent as the tomb.

At the end of life, death is a departure; but at life’s beginning a departure is a death.

Great suffering brings great weakness; it undermines the will to live.

There are things too strong for even the strongest man.

Nothing is more charming than a glow of happiness amid squalor.

To substitute day-dreaming for thought is to confuse a poison with a source of nourishment.

If we rob the words of lovers of the melody from the heart that accompanies them like a lyre, what remains is but the shadow.

To depict a battle we need a painter with chaos in his brush.

Peer through the heart of the people and you will discover the truth.

No ambition is ever wholly fulfilled, at least here on earth.

There are moments in battle when the souls of men so harden as to turn flesh to stone.

The reek of blood, the over-filled graveyard, the weeping mother; these are powerful arguments.

Be comical and you will be accepted as a clown.

Acts of daring light the pages of history and the soul of man.