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
We are reassured almost as foolishly as we are alarmed; human nature is so constituted.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Human beings often oscillate between fear and comfort due to their inherent nature.
Victor Hugo's quote highlights a fundamental aspect of human psychology where people are easily swayed by emotions, feeling both comforted and distressed in response to the same situations. This duality in human nature reveals how we often react without rational judgment, allowing our fears and reassurances to dictate our perceptions and actions.
Themes
Human NatureEmotionFearReassurancePsychology
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the challenges of making decisions in uncertain times.
More from Victor Hugo
All quotes βWhen 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 Cosetteβs 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!
Victor HugoRead
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