--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If he had had all Peru in his pocket, he…" description: "\"If he had had all Peru in his pocket, he would certainly have given it to this dancer; but Gringoire had not Peru in his pocket; and besides, America w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a01/victor-hugo-32_america_if-he-had-had-all-peru-in-his-pocket-he_1335203.jpg" --- # If he had had all Peru in his pocket, he would certainly… ![“If he had had all Peru in his pocket, he would certainly have given it to this dancer; but Gringoire had not Peru in his pocket; and besides, America was not yet discovered. (p. 66)” quote by Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a01/victor-hugo-32_america_if-he-had-had-all-peru-in-his-pocket-he_1335203.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a01/victor-hugo-32_america_if-he-had-had-all-peru-in-his-pocket-he_1335203.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a01/victor-hugo-32_america_if-he-had-had-all-peru-in-his-pocket-he_1335203.jpg) > “If he had had all Peru in his pocket, he would certainly have given it to this dancer; but Gringoire had not Peru in his pocket; and besides, America was not yet discovered. (p. 66)” [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. The quote sat absurdity of wealth and discovery, contrasting imagined riches with the unknown lands yet to be found. **In simple terms:** We often imagine having everything, yet true riches remain undiscovered. Key Takeaway Recognize unseen opportunities beyond imagined wealth. Themes wealth discovery imaginary reality exploration Mood ironic reflective Type literary historical philosophical When to use this quote - travel planning - investment decisions - historical analysis - creative writing Key Concepts colonialism economic disparity historical context Questions to Reflect On - What "wealth" have you assumed exists? - How do unknown possibilities shape your choices? A Different Perspective The analogy may oversimplify complex socio-economic realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [America Discovered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-discovered-1280948/) [Columbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/columbus/) [Dancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dancer/) [Dancer Gringoire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dancer-gringoire-4493151/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Gringoire Peru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gringoire-peru-4493150/) [Love at first sight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-at-first-sight/) [Peru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/per-2/) [Peru Pocket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peru-pocket-4493149/) [Pockets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pockets/) ## Related quotes > [America had often been discovered before Columbus, but it had always been hushed up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/america-had-often-been-discovered-before-columbus-but-it-had-always/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [If America had been discovered as many times as I have, no one would remember Columbus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/if-america-had-been-discovered-as-many-times-as-i-have-no-one-would/) [Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) > [“Perhaps, after all, America never has been discovered,” said Mr. Erskine; “I myself would say that it had merely been detected.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/perhaps-after-all-america-never-has-been-discovered-said-mr-erskine-i/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [When America has been discovered in America it will be discovered in Europe. They are looking for America now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/when-america-has-been-discovered-in-america-it-will-be-discovered-in/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) > [America was discovered by Amerigo Vespucci and was named after him, until people got tired of living in a place called "Vespuccia" and changed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-harding/america-was-discovered-by-amerigo-vespucci-and-was-named-after-him/) [Mike Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-harding/) > [Perhaps, after all, America never has been discovered. I myself would say that it has merely been detected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/perhaps-after-all-america-never-has-been-discovered-i-myself-would/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [In 1492, the natives discovered they were indians, discovered they lived in America, discovered they were naked, discovered that the Sin existed, discovered they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/in-1492-the-natives-discovered-they-were-indians-discovered-they/) [Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/) > [America was discovered accidentally by a great seaman who was looking for something else; when discovered it was not wanted; and most of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-eliot-morison/america-was-discovered-accidentally-by-a-great-seaman-who-was-looking/) [Samuel Eliot Morison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-eliot-morison/) > [It is a vulgar error to suppose that America was ever discovered. It was merely detected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/it-is-a-vulgar-error-to-suppose-that-america-was-ever-discovered-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [On Friday noon, July the twentieth, 1714, the finest bridge in all Peru broke and precipitated five travelers into the gulf below.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/on-friday-noon-july-the-twentieth-1714-the-finest-bridge-in-all-peru/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [I have discovered the secrets of the pyramids, and have found out how the Egyptians and the ancient builders in Peru, Yucatan and Asia,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-leedskalnin/i-have-discovered-the-secrets-of-the-pyramids-and-have-found-out-how/) [Edward Leedskalnin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-leedskalnin/) > [I follow my own nose. So I read things that are different. People will always say to me, "Have you read Robert S. Bosco's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/i-follow-my-own-nose-so-i-read-things-that-are-different-people-will/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [I've been to Mongolia, Peru, Argentina, India.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stana-katic/i-ve-been-to-mongolia-peru-argentina-india/) [Stana Katic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stana-katic/) > [I couldn't imagine being in Slipknot and not going to Peru or Argentina or Moscow or St. Petersburg.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-crahan/i-couldn-t-imagine-being-in-slipknot-and-not-going-to-peru-or/) [Shawn Crahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-crahan/) > [Peru was the Incas; it has 3,000 to 4,000 years of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nobu-matsuhisa/peru-was-the-incas-it-has-3-000-to-4-000-years-of-history/) [Nobu Matsuhisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nobu-matsuhisa/) ## 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 America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. 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