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
Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Music conveys deep emotions and thoughts that words alone cannot capture.
This quote highlights the profound ability of music to articulate feelings and ideas that are often beyond verbal expression. Victor Hugo emphasizes that music serves as a universal language, allowing us to communicate and connect with our emotions deeply, making it a vital part of human experience.
Themes
MusicExpressionEmotionCommunicationArt
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about the power of art in therapy, this quote can highlight the importance of music in healing.
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.
Victor HugoRead
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.
Victor HugoRead
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.
Victor HugoRead
Taste is the common sense of genius.
Victor HugoRead
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
Similar quotes
My feeling is that poetry will wither on the vine if you don't regularly come back to the simplest fundamentals of the poem: rhythm, rhyme, simple subjects - love, death, war.
James FentonRead
Poetry is that / which arrives at the intellect / by way of the heart.
R. S. ThomasRead
I think music is about our internal life. It’s part of the way people touch each other. That’s very precious to me. And astronomy is, in a sense, the very opposite thing. Instead of looking inwards, you are looking out, to things beyond our grasp.
Brian MayRead
Genius creates, and taste preserves. Taste is the good sense of genius; without taste, genius is only sublime folly.
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A recurring ideal, I find, is that of simplicity. At times there comes the desire to write with great precision and clarity, words so simple and moving that they bring tears to the eyes.
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I've been imitated so well I've heard people copy my mistakes.
Jimi HendrixRead