It seemed to be a necessary ritual that he should prepare himself for sleep by meditating under the solemnity of the night sky... a mysterious transaction between the infinity of the soul and the infinity of the universe.
Victor HugoRead
...It all seemed to him to have disappeared as if behind a curtain at a theater. There are such curtains that drop in life. God is moving on to the next act.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life changes and moves forward, often unexpectedly, like scenes in a play.
In this quote, Victor Hugo reflects on the transient nature of life and how events can suddenly change, much like a curtain falling in a theater. This metaphor captures the idea that life is a series of acts that unfold, with God or fate guiding the transitions, reminding us that change is a fundamental part of our existence.
Themes
LifeChangePhilosophyTheaterTransience
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about embracing change and letting go of the past.
More from Victor Hugo
All quotes →When two mouths, made sacred by love, draw near to each other to create, it is impossible, that above that ineffable kiss there should not be a thrill in the immense mystery of the stars.
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At that moment of love, a moment when passion is absolutely silent under omnipotence of ecstasy, Marius, pure seraphic Marius, would have been more capable of visiting a woman of the streets than of raising Cosette’s dress above the ankle. Once on a moonlit night, Cosette stopped to pick up something from the ground, her dress loosened and revealed the swelling of her breasts. Marius averted his eyes.
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Thought is the work of the intellect, reverie is its self-indulgence. To substitute day-dreaming for thought is to confuse a poison with a source of nourishment.
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Taste is the common sense of genius.
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Forget not, never forget that you have promised me to use this silver to become an honest man.... Jean Valjean, my brother: you belong no longer to evil, but to good. It is your soul that I am buying for you. I withdraw it from dark thoughts and from the spirit of perdition, and I give it to God!
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