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
Intelligence is the wife, imagination is the mistress, memory is the servant.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the different roles of intelligence, imagination, and memory in the process of understanding and creativity.
In this quote, Victor Hugo uses metaphorical relationships to illustrate how intelligence, imagination, and memory function together in the mind. Intelligence is seen as a formal and structured partner, guiding our logical thoughts. Imagination is portrayed as a more spontaneous and free-spirited counterpart, suggesting that creativity and innovation thrive when we allow our minds to wander and explore. Meanwhile, memory acts as a faithful servant, providing us with the necessary information and experiences to support our reasoning and imaginative efforts. Thus, Hugo emphasizes the synergy between these three mental faculties, each playing a crucial role in the development of knowledge and creativity.
Themes
IntelligenceImaginationMemoryCreativityWisdom
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of creativity in education.
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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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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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