Victor Hugo to Savinien Lapointe, March 1841. The letters of Victor Hugo, ed. Paul Meurice, vol. 2, From exile, and after the fall of the Empire (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Company, 1898), p. 23.
"Courage donc, et patience! Courage pour les grandes douleurs de la vie, et patience pour les petites. Et puis, quand vous avez laborieusement accompli votre ouvrage de chaque jour, endormez-vous avec sérénité. Dieu veille."
Correspondance, 3rd ed., vol. 2, 1836-1882 (Paris: Calmann Lévy, 1898), p. 38.
I have not checked this against a modern, critical edition. Cf., for example, this variant, which Dr. Marva Barnett, a Hugo specialist at the University of Virginia, confirms in the comment below is the critically established one):
"Courage donc, et patience, monsieur. Courage pour les grandes douleurs de la vie, et patience pour les petites. Et puis, quand vous avez laborieusement accompli votre ouvrage de chaque jour, endormez-vous avec sérénité. Dieu veille."
"Courage donc, et patience! Courage pour les grandes douleurs de la vie, et patience pour les petites. Et puis, quand vous avez laborieusement accompli votre ouvrage de chaque jour, endormez-vous avec sérénité. Dieu veille."
Correspondance, 3rd ed., vol. 2, 1836-1882 (Paris: Calmann Lévy, 1898), p. 38.
I have not checked this against a modern, critical edition. Cf., for example, this variant, which Dr. Marva Barnett, a Hugo specialist at the University of Virginia, confirms in the comment below is the critically established one):
"Courage donc, et patience, monsieur. Courage pour les grandes douleurs de la vie, et patience pour les petites. Et puis, quand vous avez laborieusement accompli votre ouvrage de chaque jour, endormez-vous avec sérénité. Dieu veille."
Too bad by the end of his life in 1885 Hugo was probably a Deist at best. (But see Dr. Barnett's comment on this, too.)
2 comments:
Many thanks for finding the source of this lovely quote by Victor Hugo. I write mostly to confirm for future readers that the second French version is the correct one, according to a definite edition of Hugo's complete works (details below).
But I also wanted to note that Hugo spiritual beliefs cannot be captured by any term or put into any category, as he spent his life building a personal sense of God and of humanity's connections with God.
Original French:
"Courage donc, et patience, monsieur. Courage pour les grandes douleurs de la vie, et patience pour les petites. Et puis, quand vous avez laborieusement accompli votre ouvrage de chaque jour, endormez-vous avec sérénité. Dieu veille."
From the middle of Victor Hugo’s March 1841 letter to the cobbler/shoemaker and poet Savinien Lapointe [who likely had sent his poetry to Hugo, as lesser known poets regularly did—and he consistently complimented and encouraged them]. Hugo encourages Lapointe to continue with both his workman and intellectual tasks. After this quote, Hugo continues by confirming his belief in God and in humanity, exhorting him to follow his conscience, and stating his belief that poets are responsible for people’s souls.
From Victor Hugo, Œuvres complètes. Edition chronologique publiée sous la direction de Jean Massin. Paris: Club Français du Livre, 1968. Vol. VI (1838-43), p. 1205. Usually cited by Hugo scholars as “CFL” or “Massin.”
Marva Barnett at http://www.marvabarnett.com/
Thanks so much, Dr. Barnett!
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