“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. God is awake.”
What this quote means
Victor Hugo distinguishes two types of trials: great ones, which require courage, and small ones, which demand patience. This distinction is valuable because it prevents exhausting ourselves by reacting the same way to everything. It invites us to accept that some things take time and to trust after doing our part. This resonates in times of accumulated stress, where we forget to let go.
How to apply it daily
Tonight, list your great and small sorrows. For the great ones, commit to acting with courage; for the small ones, practice patience. Then, go to bed in peace.
Reading guide
Which book should you read to discover Victor Hugo?
Our starting point
Discovering Hugo's full epic and humanist range
Les Misérables
His great novel brings together the questions of justice, poverty, forgiveness, and commitment that run through his work.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Reading time
- 25–35 hours
- Formats to compare
- Print · Ebook · Audio
Merchant links help compare editions. Recommendations are editorially independent.
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