--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is possible to conceive of something…" description: "\"“It is possible to conceive of something even more terrible than a hell of suffering, and that is a hell of boredom.”\" — Victor Hugo" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/victor-hugo-32_suffering_it-is-possible-to-conceive-of-something_1958938.jpg" --- # It is possible to conceive of something even more terrible… ![“It is possible to conceive of something even more terrible than a hell of suffering, and that is a hell of boredom.” quote by Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/victor-hugo-32_suffering_it-is-possible-to-conceive-of-something_1958938.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/victor-hugo-32_suffering_it-is-possible-to-conceive-of-something_1958938.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/victor-hugo-32_suffering_it-is-possible-to-conceive-of-something_1958938.jpg) > ““It is possible to conceive of something even more terrible than a hell of suffering, and that is a hell of boredom.”” [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. Extreme boredom can be as tormenting as intense suffering. **In simple terms:** Boredom is a hell of its own. Key Takeaway Seek meaningful engagement. Themes meaning existence psychology boredom suffering Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - workplace - education - personal growth Key Concepts mental health purpose creativity Questions to Reflect On - How does boredom affect your life? - What activities break monotony? A Different Perspective May downplay genuine pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Hell Boredom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell-boredom-3222664/) [Hell Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell-suffering-3222662/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Suffering Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering-hell-3222663/) ## Related quotes > [There is something more terrible than a hell of suffering--a hell of boredom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/there-is-something-more-terrible-than-a-hell-of-suffering-a-hell-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Human life is reduced to real suffering, to hell, only when two ages, two cultures and religions overlap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/human-life-is-reduced-to-real-suffering-to-hell-only-when-two-ages/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Take care of the problems now, or else you'll just have to suffer again later when you scew everything up the next time. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/take-care-of-the-problems-now-or-else-you-ll-just-have-to-suffer/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Every age, every culture, every custom and tradition has its own character, its own weakness and its own strength, its beauties and cruelties; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/every-age-every-culture-every-custom-and-tradition-has-its-own/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“There is no miserable place waiting for you, no hell realm, sitting and waiting like Alaska—waiting to turn you into ice cream. But whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-yeshe/there-is-no-miserable-place-waiting-for-you-no-hell-realm-sitting-and/) [Lama Yeshe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lama-yeshe/) > [“Karma and hell and suffering aren’t things in their own right but disturbances in this flimsy substance of false self. The problem isn’t in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-mckenna/karma-and-hell-and-suffering-aren-t-things-in-their-own-right-but/) [Jed McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-mckenna/) > [Hell is the suffering of being unable to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/hell-is-the-suffering-of-being-unable-to-love/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [What is hell?...The suffering that comes from the consciousness that one is no longer able to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/what-is-hell-the-suffering-that-comes-from-the-consciousness-that-one/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [But should we continue to linger amid a scene so featureless and wild, or venture adown some yawning opening into the abyss beneath, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-miller/but-should-we-continue-to-linger-amid-a-scene-so-featureless-and-wild/) [Hugh Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-miller/) > [“what can man do in hell, they sang; for song lingers where there is no longer any hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/what-can-man-do-in-hell-they-sang-for-song-lingers-where-there-is-no/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [You have suffered greatly, poor mother. Oh! do not lament, you have now the portion of the elect. It is in this way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/you-have-suffered-greatly-poor-mother-oh-do-not-lament-you-have-now/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [In short, I am doing what I can, I suffer with the same universal suffering, and I try to assuage it, I possess only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/in-short-i-am-doing-what-i-can-i-suffer-with-the-same-universal/) [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/) > [“Fathers and teachers, I ponder, "What is hell?" I maintain that it is the suffering of being unable to love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/fathers-and-teachers-i-ponder-what-is-hell-i-maintain-that-it-is-the/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/beware-of-self-indulgence-the-romance-surrounding-the-writing/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) ## 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 Hell quotes > [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/) > [Some people give you that motivation to work harder simply to get the hell away from wherever they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/some-people-give-you-that-motivation-to-work-harder-simply-to-get-the/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. He hates it so much that He was willing to take on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-minton/god-hates-hell-he-hates-the-idea-of-people-going-there-he-hates-it-so/) [Evan Minton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-minton/) > [“Hell is only loneliness, a place without play for the soul, a place without God. How could there be God in loneliness when God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-thayer-hamann/hell-is-only-loneliness-a-place-without-play-for-the-soul-a-place/) [Hilary Thayer Hamann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-thayer-hamann/) > [Just when I thought that I was gtting better, boy was I wrong.. Things just turned to hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cupecake/just-when-i-thought-that-i-was-gtting-better-boy-was-i-wrong-things/) [Cupecake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cupecake/) > [I believe that on any trip to heaven, there are always detours through hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-finney/i-believe-that-on-any-trip-to-heaven-there-are-always-detours-through/) [Richard Finney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-finney/) > [Every saved person this side of heaven owes the gospel to every lost person this side of hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/every-saved-person-this-side-of-heaven-owes-the-gospel-to-every-lost/) [David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/) > [I'm what is known as gradually disintegrating. I don't fear the next world, or anything. I don't fear hell, and I don't look forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hepburn/i-m-what-is-known-as-gradually-disintegrating-i-don-t-fear-the-next/) [Katharine Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hepburn/) > [Hey...Hey...What's up?. Nothing much, you? Nothing. K!..What the hell was the point of this communication?...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hey-hey-what-s-up-nothing-much-you-nothing-k-what-the-hell-was-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Except in these latter-day songs, \[Bob\] Dylan is a grizzled old prophet who's already been to hell and back. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/except-in-these-latter-day-songs-bob-dylan-is-a-grizzled-old-prophet/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [...it was a huge creature, luminous, ghastly, and spectral. I have cross-examined these men, one of them a hard-headed countryman, one a farrier, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/it-was-a-huge-creature-luminous-ghastly-and-spectral-i-have-cross/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“ALAS, IF ALL HUMANS WERE WISE AND HAD MORE GOOD WILL THE WORLD WOULD BE A PARADISE NOW IT IS MOSTLY A HELL”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/alas-if-all-humans-were-wise-and-had-more-good-will-the-world-would/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [It is through suppression that hells are formed in us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-glaspell/it-is-through-suppression-that-hells-are-formed-in-us/) [Susan Glaspell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-glaspell/) > [Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/beware-of-self-indulgence-the-romance-surrounding-the-writing/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) [Browse all 8,212 Hell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is possible to conceive of something even more terrible than a hell of suffering, and that is a hell of boredom.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Victor Hugo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/it-is-possible-to-conceive-of-something-even-more-terrible-than-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hell" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/it-is-possible-to-conceive-of-something-even-more-terrible-than-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/victor-hugo-32_suffering_it-is-possible-to-conceive-of-something_1958938.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/victor-hugo-32_suffering_it-is-possible-to-conceive-of-something_1958938.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/victor-hugo-32_suffering_it-is-possible-to-conceive-of-something_1958938.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is possible to conceive of something even more terrible than a hell of suffering, and that is a hell of…” — 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": "“It is possible to conceive of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/it-is-possible-to-conceive-of-something-even-more-terrible-than-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/it-is-possible-to-conceive-of-something-even-more-terrible-than-a/#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 } } ] } ```