Literary Birthday – 26 February – Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo was born 26 February 1802, and died 22 May 1885.
Victor Hugo Quotes
- He who opens a school door, closes a prison.
- An intelligent hell would be better than a stupid paradise.
- The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved — loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.
- To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.
- There is nothing like a dream to create the future.
- Architecture has recorded the great ideas of the human race. Not only every religious symbol, but every human thought has its page in that vast book.
- A library implies an act of faith.
- He loved books; books are cold but safe friends.
- One resists the invasion of armies; one does not resist the invasion of ideas.
- What a grand thing, to be loved! What a grander thing still, to love!
Victor Hugo was a French Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. In France, he is best known as a poet, but in the English-speaking world he is most famous for his two novels, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Les Miserables
. Hugo is one of those rare writers who excites both popular and academic audiences. According to Wikipedia: ‘His works have inspired music, both during his lifetime and after his death, including the opera Rigoletto and the musicals Les Misérables and Notre-Dame de Paris. He produced more than 4,000 drawings in his lifetime, and campaigned for social causes such as the abolition of capital punishment and slavery.’ Hugo was finally elected to the Académie française in 1841, solidifying his position in the world of French arts and letters. His legacy has been honored in many ways, including his portrait being placed on French currency.
Source for photo: Wikipedia: In the public domain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Victor_Hugo_by_%C3%89tienne_Carjat_1876_-_full.jpg
Are you interested in more authors’ birthdays? Please click here: Literary Birthday Calendar