--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Doing nothing is happiness for children…" description: "\"Doing nothing is happiness for children and misery for old men.\" — Victor Hugo" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c09/victor-hugo-32_children_doing-nothing-is-happiness-for-children_2032736.jpg" --- # Doing nothing is happiness for children and misery for old… ![“Doing nothing is happiness for children and misery for old men.” quote by Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c09/victor-hugo-32_children_doing-nothing-is-happiness-for-children_2032736.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c09/victor-hugo-32_children_doing-nothing-is-happiness-for-children_2032736.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c09/victor-hugo-32_children_doing-nothing-is-happiness-for-children_2032736.jpg) > “Doing nothing is happiness for children and misery for old men.” [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. Children thrive when unburdened, while adults suffer when they lose freedom and purpose. **In simple terms:** Freedom brings joy to kids, misery to the old. Key Takeaway Preserve autonomy at any age. Themes generational freedom purpose Mood melancholic thoughtful inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - education - elder care - mental health - social policy - family dynamics Key Concepts psychology aging childhood development Questions to Reflect On - How can elders reclaim purpose? - What freedoms matter most for children? A Different Perspective Adults can find meaning beyond freedom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery/) [Old men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-men/) ## Related quotes > [“The misery of a child is interesting to a mother, the misery of a young man is interesting to a young woman, the misery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-misery-of-a-child-is-interesting-to-a-mother-the-misery-of-a/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“If you misuse your youth, you get misery when you are old.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/if-you-misuse-your-youth-you-get-misery-when-you-are-old/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [I'm constantly tortured, and that's why I say happiness is irrelevant. Happiness is for children and yuppies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-zorn/i-m-constantly-tortured-and-that-s-why-i-say-happiness-is-irrelevant/) [John Zorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-zorn/) > [I view the tea-drinking as a destroyer of health, an enfeebler of the frome, an engender of effeminacy and laziness, a debaucher of youth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cobbett/i-view-the-tea-drinking-as-a-destroyer-of-health-an-enfeebler-of-the/) [William Cobbett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cobbett/) > [World is brighter with the happiness of children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/world-is-brighter-with-the-happiness-of-children/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I view tea drinking as a destroyer of health, an enfeebler of the frame, an en-genderer of effeminancy and laziness, a debaucher of youth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cobbett/i-view-tea-drinking-as-a-destroyer-of-health-an-enfeebler-of-the/) [William Cobbett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cobbett/) > [As I give thought to the matter, I find four causes for the apparent misery of old age; first, it withdraws us from active…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/as-i-give-thought-to-the-matter-i-find-four-causes-for-the-apparent-2/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [The misery of a child is interesting to a mother, the misery of a young man is interesting to a young woman, the misery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-misery-of-a-child-is-interesting-to-a-mother-the-misery-of-a-2/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“We find these joys to be self evident: That all children are created whole, endowed with innate intelligence, with dignity and wonder, worthy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raffi/we-find-these-joys-to-be-self-evident-that-all-children-are-created/) Raffi > [As I give thought to the matter, I find four causes for the apparent misery of old age; first it withdraws us from active…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/as-i-give-thought-to-the-matter-i-find-four-causes-for-the-apparent/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [We find delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-find-delight-in-the-beauty-and-happiness-of-children-that-makes/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Indeed, nothing is more critically connected to happiness�both our own and that of our children�than how well we love and support one another within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/indeed-nothing-is-more-critically-connected-to-happiness-both-our-own/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Children are blank sheets of paper. They are the hope of all good things. Write on them with pure ink of love, joy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumelo-boitumelo/children-are-blank-sheets-of-paper-they-are-the-hope-of-all-good/) Tumelo Boitumelo > [“The happiness of children is based on their ignorance of what their parents are really thinking”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sebag-montefiore/the-happiness-of-children-is-based-on-their-ignorance-of-what-their/) [Simon Sebag Montefiore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sebag-montefiore/) > [“Old men need affection as they need the sun.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/old-men-need-affection-as-they-need-the-sun/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## 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 Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/) [Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) [Browse all 62,396 Children quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Doing nothing is happiness for children and misery for old men.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Victor Hugo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/doing-nothing-is-happiness-for-children-and-misery-for-old-men/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Children" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/doing-nothing-is-happiness-for-children-and-misery-for-old-men/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c09/victor-hugo-32_children_doing-nothing-is-happiness-for-children_2032736.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c09/victor-hugo-32_children_doing-nothing-is-happiness-for-children_2032736.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c09/victor-hugo-32_children_doing-nothing-is-happiness-for-children_2032736.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Doing nothing is happiness for children and misery for old men.” — 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": "Doing nothing is happiness for children...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/doing-nothing-is-happiness-for-children-and-misery-for-old-men/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/doing-nothing-is-happiness-for-children-and-misery-for-old-men/#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 } } ] } ```