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
Nothing can be sadder or more profound than to see a thousand things for the first and last time.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the deep sadness of fleeting experiences that we encounter only once in our lives.
Victor Hugo's quote serves as a poignant reminder of the transient nature of life and the bittersweet reality that many experiences are unique and cannot be revisited. The idea of seeing a thousand things for the first and last time evokes a sense of loss and appreciation for the beauty of moments that are both precious and ephemeral.
Themes
TransienceExperienceLossAppreciationLife
In practice
Example use cases
In a graduation speech to highlight the importance of cherishing each moment.
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
Fire. God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, not of the philosophers and the scholars. I will not forget thy word. Amen.
Blaise PascalRead
No work nor deed of ours whatsoever, no not faith itself, can be the condition of the covenant of grace properly so called; but only Christ's fulfilling all righteousness.
Thomas BostonRead
Many people despise those who spend their health, strength and money for the salvation of others, and call them mad. And yet it is they who will save many and be saved themselves.
Sadhu Sundar SinghRead
So use your own property as not to injure that of another
Edward CokeRead
The church doesn’t have a social strategy, the church is a social strategy.
Stanley HauerwasRead
How prudently most men creep into nameless graves, while now and then one or two forget themselves into immortality.
Wendell PhillipsRead