--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Success is an ugly thing. Men are…" description: "\"Success is an ugly thing. Men are deceived by its false resemblances to merit… They confound the brilliance of the firmament with the star-shaped footp..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40b/victor-hugo-32_brilliance_success-is-an-ugly-thing-men-are-deceive_2111249.jpg" --- # Success is an ugly thing. Men are deceived by its false… ![“Success is an ugly thing. Men are deceived by its false resemblances to merit… They confound the brilliance of the firmament with the star-shaped footprints of a duck in the mud.” quote by Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40b/victor-hugo-32_brilliance_success-is-an-ugly-thing-men-are-deceive_2111249.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40b/victor-hugo-32_brilliance_success-is-an-ugly-thing-men-are-deceive_2111249.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40b/victor-hugo-32_brilliance_success-is-an-ugly-thing-men-are-deceive_2111249.jpg) > “Success is an ugly thing. Men are deceived by its false resemblances to merit… They confound the brilliance of the firmament with the star-shaped footprints of a duck in the mud.” [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. Success often appears admirable but can mask lack of true merit, leading people to value appearances over genuine achievement. **In simple terms:** Success can be deceptive. Key Takeaway Look beyond appearances. Themes merit appearance deception Mood cynical reflective Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - career advancement - political ambition - public recognition - media portrayal Key Concepts social perception authenticity Questions to Reflect On - What true merits are overlooked? - How do you verify genuine achievement? A Different Perspective Success may still be built on false premises. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brilliance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brilliance/) [Ducks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ducks/) [Firmament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firmament/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) ## Related quotes > [“It may be remarked in passing that success is an ugly thing. Men are deceived by its false resemblances to merit. To the crowd,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/it-may-be-remarked-in-passing-that-success-is-an-ugly-thing-men-are-2/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [It may be remarked in passing that success is an ugly thing. Men are deceived by its false resemblences to merit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/it-may-be-remarked-in-passing-that-success-is-an-ugly-thing-men-are-3/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“It may be remarked in passing that success is an ugly thing. Men are deceived by its false resemblances to merit. To the crowd,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/it-may-be-remarked-in-passing-that-success-is-an-ugly-thing-men-are/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Key to the success of ugly leisure is that it keeps those who participate in it in the dark about how little it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-munson-joshua-farris-drake/key-to-the-success-of-ugly-leisure-is-that-it-keeps-those-who/) Paul Munson & Joshua Farris Drake > [Yes, it is the precepts of men versus the revealed word of God. The more we follow the word of God the less we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/yes-it-is-the-precepts-of-men-versus-the-revealed-word-of-god-the/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [It is necessary for men to be deceived in religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-terentius-varro/it-is-necessary-for-men-to-be-deceived-in-religion/) [Marcus Terentius Varro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-terentius-varro/) > [“It was the men I deceived the most I loved the most.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/it-was-the-men-i-deceived-the-most-i-loved-the-most/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [It was the men I deceived the most that I loved the most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/it-was-the-men-i-deceived-the-most-that-i-loved-the-most/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [Large, heavy, ragged black clouds hung like crape hammocks beneath the starry cope of the night. You would have said that they were the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/large-heavy-ragged-black-clouds-hung-like-crape-hammocks-beneath-the/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Today the brightest light in the Scottish political firmament has gone out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-sillars/today-the-brightest-light-in-the-scottish-political-firmament-has/) Jim Sillars > [Just as the line of astronomical thinkers from Copernicus to Newton had destroyed the old astronomy, in which the earth was the center, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dickson-white/just-as-the-line-of-astronomical-thinkers-from-copernicus-to-newton/) [Andrew Dickson White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dickson-white/) > [The firmament of the Bible is ablaze with answers to prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-l-cuyler/the-firmament-of-the-bible-is-ablaze-with-answers-to-prayer/) [Theodore L. Cuyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-l-cuyler/) > [To one who has been long in city pent, ’Tis very sweet to look into the fair And open face of heaven, — to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-one-who-has-been-long-in-city-pent-tis-very-sweet-to-look-into-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Love is a condition so powerful; it may be that which pulls the stars in the firmament. It may be that which pushes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/love-is-a-condition-so-powerful-it-may-be-that-which-pulls-the-stars/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [And really, the reason we think of death in celestial terms is that the visible firmament, especially at night (above our blacked-out Paris with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/and-really-the-reason-we-think-of-death-in-celestial-terms-is-that/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) ## 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 Brilliance quotes > [Asanas bring perfection in body, beauty in form, grace, strength, compactness, and the hardness and brilliance of a diamond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patanjali/asanas-bring-perfection-in-body-beauty-in-form-grace-strength/) [Patanjali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patanjali/) > [Evil may mar the divine image and cloud its brilliance, but it cannot destroy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/evil-may-mar-the-divine-image-and-cloud-its-brilliance-but-it-cannot/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [Knowledge is merely brilliance in organization of ideas and not wisdom. The truly wise person goes beyond knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/knowledge-is-merely-brilliance-in-organization-of-ideas-and-not/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Sensual pleasures have the fleeting brilliance of a comet; a happy marriage has the tranquillity of a lovely sunset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-landers/sensual-pleasures-have-the-fleeting-brilliance-of-a-comet-a-happy/) [Ann Landers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-landers/) > [What is writing, no matter how lavish the pieces, if it says nothing of the truth, cares little for the heart, and is merely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/what-is-writing-no-matter-how-lavish-the-pieces-if-it-says-nothing-of/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [I love the idea of a movie hero in a thriller who is able to get ahead by just his brilliance, and not with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-strong/i-love-the-idea-of-a-movie-hero-in-a-thriller-who-is-able-to-get/) [Danny Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-strong/) > [Most brilliance arises from ordinary people working together in extraordinary ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-von-oech/most-brilliance-arises-from-ordinary-people-working-together-in/) [Roger von Oech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-von-oech/) > [A man doesn't need brilliance or genius, all he needs is energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-m-greenfield/a-man-doesn-t-need-brilliance-or-genius-all-he-needs-is-energy/) Albert M. Greenfield > [We aren't suggesting that mental instability or unhappiness makes one a better poet, or a poet at all; and contrary to the romantic notion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorianne-laux/we-aren-t-suggesting-that-mental-instability-or-unhappiness-makes-one/) [Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) > [Enlightenment is like witnessing the brilliant sun for the first time in the morning. It is like seeing the beautiful flowers that grow in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/enlightenment-is-like-witnessing-the-brilliant-sun-for-the-first-time/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [Too much brilliance has its disadvantages, and misplaced wit may raise a laugh, but often beheads a topic of profound interest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-asquith/too-much-brilliance-has-its-disadvantages-and-misplaced-wit-may-raise/) [Margot Asquith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-asquith/) > [It is not brilliance or facility that is necessary, but the determination to bear and even enjoy the dull process of wading into one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/it-is-not-brilliance-or-facility-that-is-necessary-but-the/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [Our humanity is trapped by moral adolescents. We have too many men of science, too few men of God. The world has achieved brilliance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-n-bradley/our-humanity-is-trapped-by-moral-adolescents-we-have-too-many-men-of/) [Omar N. Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-n-bradley/) > [Here is just emptiness. There is no getting my ego out of the way, and all that stuff. There is just the seeing, shining…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-harding/here-is-just-emptiness-there-is-no-getting-my-ego-out-of-the-way-and/) [Douglas Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-harding/) > [“You can't stop the future. All you can do is pick a side”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-sakey/you-can-t-stop-the-future-all-you-can-do-is-pick-a-side/) Markus Sakey [Browse all 411 Brilliance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brilliance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Success is an ugly thing. 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