Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent. Victor Hugo on music
What would be ugly in a garden constitutes beauty in a mountain. Victor Hugo on nature
Dear God! how beauty varies in nature and art. In a woman the flesh must be like marble in a statue the marble must be like flesh. Victor Hugo on nature
Love is a portion of the soul itself, and it is of the same nature as the celestial breathing of the atmosphere of paradise. Victor Hugo on nature
Nature has made a pebble and a female. The lapidary makes the diamond, and the lover makes the woman. Victor Hugo on nature
As a means of contrast with the sublime, the grotesque is, in our view, the richest source that nature can offer. Victor Hugo on nature
Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. Victor Hugo on patience
Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. Victor Hugo on peace
Peace is the virtue of civilization. War is its crime. Victor Hugo on peace
The drama is complete poetry. The ode and the epic contain it only in germ it contains both of them in a state of high development, and epitomizes both. Victor Hugo on poetry
Rhyme, that enslaved queen, that supreme charm of our poetry, that creator of our meter. Victor Hugo on poetry
All the forces in the world are not so powerful as an idea whose time has come. Victor Hugo on power
Toleration is the best religion. Victor Hugo on religion
I'm religiously opposed to religion. Victor Hugo on religion
Jesus wept Voltaire smiled. From that divine tear and from that human smile is derived the grace of present civilization. Victor Hugo on smile
Joy's smile is much closer to tears than laughter. Victor Hugo on smile
Society is a republic. When an individual tries to lift themselves above others, they are dragged down by the mass, either by ridicule or slander. Victor Hugo on society
Freedom in art, freedom in society, this is the double goal towards which all consistent and logical minds must strive. Victor Hugo on society
People do not lack strength they lack will. Victor Hugo on strength
Sorrow is a fruit. God does not make it grow on limbs too weak to bear it. Victor Hugo on sympathy