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
War can only be qualified by its object, and there is neither foreign war nor civil war, there is only just or unjust war.
Interpretation
What this quote means
War is defined by its purpose, not by its location or sides.
Victor Hugo's quote emphasizes that the morality of war should be assessed based on its objectives rather than whether it is a foreign conflict or a civil strife. He suggests that distinctions between types of war are irrelevant if the underlying motivations are just or unjust, urging people to consider the ethical implications of warfare regardless of its context.
Themes
WarMoralityJusticePhilosophyEthics
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the ethics of military intervention, you might reference this quote to argue that the motivations behind the war are more important than where it is fought.
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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