--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Death belongs to God alone; by what right…" description: "\"Death belongs to God alone; by what right do men touch that unknown thing?\" — Victor Hugo" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/victor-hugo-32_death_death-belongs-to-god-alone-by-what-right_2905492.jpg" --- # Death belongs to God alone; by what right do men touch… ![“Death belongs to God alone; by what right do men touch that unknown thing?” quote by Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/victor-hugo-32_death_death-belongs-to-god-alone-by-what-right_2905492.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/victor-hugo-32_death_death-belongs-to-god-alone-by-what-right_2905492.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/victor-hugo-32_death_death-belongs-to-god-alone-by-what-right_2905492.jpg) > “Death belongs to God alone; by what right do men touch that unknown thing?” [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human mortality is divine; only God may claim death, prompting humility about our power over life and death. **In simple terms:** Only God can decide death. Key Takeaway Respect life's mystery and limits. Themes mortality divine authority humility existence Mood reflective somber Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - funeral rites - ethical debates on euthanasia - personal reflection on loss - spiritual counseling Key Concepts theology philosophy existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to accept death as divine? - How do we balance respect for life with fear of death? A Different Perspective Human desire to control death can lead to ethical dilemmas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Unknown things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unknown-things/) ## Related quotes > [“Death belongs only to God. By what right to men tamper with a thing so unknowable?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/death-belongs-only-to-god-by-what-right-to-men-tamper-with-a-thing-so/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“We may be indifferent to the death penalty and not declare ourselves either way so long as we have not seen a guillotine with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/we-may-be-indifferent-to-the-death-penalty-and-not-declare-ourselves/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I hate men who are in touch with their feminine side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bailey/i-hate-men-who-are-in-touch-with-their-feminine-side/) [David Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bailey/) > [I didn't believe it could be so monstrous. It's wrong to be so absorbed in divine law as not to perceive human law. Death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/i-didn-t-believe-it-could-be-so-monstrous-it-s-wrong-to-be-so/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“I am just a girl, a girl men touch without asking, a girl men disrobe without even seeing her tears.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-gregory/i-am-just-a-girl-a-girl-men-touch-without-asking-a-girl-men-disrobe/) [Julie Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-gregory/) > [There is nothing that man fears more than the touch of the unknown. He wants to see what is reaching towards him, and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/there-is-nothing-that-man-fears-more-than-the-touch-of-the-unknown-he/) [Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/) > [“Even places you know well can take on a touch of the unknown when you arrive there from a different direction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-milford/even-places-you-know-well-can-take-on-a-touch-of-the-unknown-when-you/) [Kate Milford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-milford/) > [There is nothing that man fears more than the touch of the unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/there-is-nothing-that-man-fears-more-than-the-touch-of-the-unknown/) [Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/) > [Death belongs to the dying and those who love them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/death-belongs-to-the-dying-and-those-who-love-them/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [Death belongs to life as birth does The walk is in the raising of the foot as in the laying of it down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/death-belongs-to-life-as-birth-does-the-walk-is-in-the-raising-of-the/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“…my belief is that even if death is the same for everybody, life is not. Death belongs to nature. But our lives are our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-s-getson/my-belief-is-that-even-if-death-is-the-same-for-everybody-life-is-not/) Denise S Getson > [A different image came to me a few weeks ago.The unknown thing to be known appeared to me as some stretch of earth orhard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-grothendieck/a-different-image-came-to-me-a-few-weeks-ago-the-unknown-thing-to-be/) [Alexander Grothendieck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-grothendieck/) > [Analysis is simplifying, breaking down things into parts, picking out strands and elements. Analysis is comparing unknown things with things that are known. Analysis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-de-bono/analysis-is-simplifying-breaking-down-things-into-parts-picking-out/) [Edward de Bono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-de-bono/) > [I told myself: 'I am surrounded by unknown things.' I imagined man without ears, suspecting the existence of sound as we suspect so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-maupassant/i-told-myself-i-am-surrounded-by-unknown-things-i-imagined-man/) [Guy de Maupassant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-maupassant/) > [“vexation, yet filled with unconscious regret for the terrible unknown things that might have, but had not, happened (23)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/vexation-yet-filled-with-unconscious-regret-for-the-terrible-unknown/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) ## More by Victor Hugo > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“There is still a certain grace in a dead festival. It has been happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/there-is-still-a-certain-grace-in-a-dead-festival-it-has-been-happy/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“First I loved women, then animals, and now I love stones. They're just as amusing as women and animals and they're much less trecherous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/first-i-loved-women-then-animals-and-now-i-love-stones-they-re-just/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Nature is pitiless; she never withdraws her flowers, her music, her fragrance, and her sunlight from before human cruelty or suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/nature-is-pitiless-she-never-withdraws-her-flowers-her-music-her/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Have courage for the great sorrows of life, and patience for the small ones. And when you have finished your daily task, go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/have-courage-for-the-great-sorrows-of-life-and-patience-for-the-small/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [The peasants of the Asturias believe that in every litter of wolves there is one pup that is killed by the mother for fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-peasants-of-the-asturias-believe-that-in-every-litter-of-wolves/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Great blunders are often made, like large ropes, of a multitude of fibres.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/great-blunders-are-often-made-like-large-ropes-of-a-multitude-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“For love is like a tree; it grows of itself; it send its roots deep into our being, and often continues to grow green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/for-love-is-like-a-tree-it-grows-of-itself-it-send-its-roots-deep/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Blacheville smiles with the self-satisfied smugness of a man whose vanity is tickled”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/blacheville-smiles-with-the-self-satisfied-smugness-of-a-man-whose/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Loving in ignorance, she loved with all the more passion. She did not know whether it was good or evil, beneficent or dangerous, necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/loving-in-ignorance-she-loved-with-all-the-more-passion-she-did-not/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/laughter-is-the-sun-that-drives-winter-from-the-human-face/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Our joys have shadows. The perfect smile belongs to God alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/our-joys-have-shadows-the-perfect-smile-belongs-to-god-alone/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“When those we love are in question, our prudence invents every sort of madness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/when-those-we-love-are-in-question-our-prudence-invents-every-sort-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Love is a fault; so be it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/love-is-a-fault-so-be-it/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) [Explore all 2,181 Victor Hugo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Death belongs to God alone; by what right do men touch that unknown thing?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Victor Hugo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/death-belongs-to-god-alone-by-what-right-do-men-touch-that-unknown/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/death-belongs-to-god-alone-by-what-right-do-men-touch-that-unknown/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/victor-hugo-32_death_death-belongs-to-god-alone-by-what-right_2905492.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/victor-hugo-32_death_death-belongs-to-god-alone-by-what-right_2905492.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/victor-hugo-32_death_death-belongs-to-god-alone-by-what-right_2905492.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Death belongs to God alone; by what right do men touch that unknown thing?” — Victor Hugo", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Victor Hugo", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Death belongs to God alone; by...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/death-belongs-to-god-alone-by-what-right-do-men-touch-that-unknown/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/death-belongs-to-god-alone-by-what-right-do-men-touch-that-unknown/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```