--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The sewer is the conscience of the city." description: "\"The sewer is the conscience of the city.\" — Victor Hugo" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b30/victor-hugo-32_cities_the-sewer-is-the-conscience-of-the-city_1110350.jpg" --- # The sewer is the conscience of the city. ![“The sewer is the conscience of the city.” quote by Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b30/victor-hugo-32_cities_the-sewer-is-the-conscience-of-the-city_1110350.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b30/victor-hugo-32_cities_the-sewer-is-the-conscience-of-the-city_1110350.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b30/victor-hugo-32_cities_the-sewer-is-the-conscience-of-the-city_1110350.jpg) > “The sewer is the conscience of the city.” [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. He likens the sewer to the city’s conscience, suggesting hidden truths surface **In simple terms:** Urban infrastructure reflects societal morals Key Takeaway Consider hidden systems that reveal collective conscience Themes social critique urban life morality Mood thoughtful critical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - public health policy - city governance - community activism - infrastructure projects Key Concepts environmental ethics urban planning Questions to Reflect On - What modern systems act as a city’s conscience? - How can we improve the moral health of urban environments? A Different Perspective Sewers are literal, not metaphorical, limiting the analogy ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city/) [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [Conscience City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience-city-2954537/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Sewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sewer/) [Sewer Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sewer-conscience-2954536/) [Sewers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sewers/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [A sewer is a cynic. It tells All.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/a-sewer-is-a-cynic-it-tells-all/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [History - that little sewer where man loves to wallow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-ponge/history-that-little-sewer-where-man-loves-to-wallow/) [Francis Ponge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-ponge/) > [As we say in the sewer, time and tide wait for no man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-norton/as-we-say-in-the-sewer-time-and-tide-wait-for-no-man/) [Edward Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-norton/) > [As we say in the sewer, if you're not prepared to go all the way, don't put your boots on in the first place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-norton/as-we-say-in-the-sewer-if-you-re-not-prepared-to-go-all-the-way-don-t/) [Edward Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-norton/) > [God is, as it were, the sewer into which all contradictions flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/god-is-as-it-were-the-sewer-into-which-all-contradictions-flow/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [I was down in the sewer with some little lover.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-was-down-in-the-sewer-with-some-little-lover/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Wal-Mart is the sewer pipe through which good jobs are being flushed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-stern/wal-mart-is-the-sewer-pipe-through-which-good-jobs-are-being-flushed/) [Andy Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-stern/) > [Woman is a temple built over a sewer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tertullian/woman-is-a-temple-built-over-a-sewer/) [Tertullian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tertullian/) > [Persons who undertake to pry into, or cleanse out all the filth of a common sewer, either cannot have very nice noses, or will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/persons-who-undertake-to-pry-into-or-cleanse-out-all-the-filth-of-a/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [You aim for the palace and get drowned in the sewer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-aim-for-the-palace-and-get-drowned-in-the-sewer/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A tree root won't get into your sewer line unless there's something already wrong with your sewer line. I know most people don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-j-hylton/a-tree-root-won-t-get-into-your-sewer-line-unless-there-s-something/) [Thomas J. Hylton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-j-hylton/) > [I hope we're not just human garbage drifting toward a big sewer. But I think so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-hope-we-re-not-just-human-garbage-drifting-toward-a-big-sewer-but-i/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [If you need someone to come out of the sewer with a wire you don't hire someone who needs laborious collective instruction. You let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/if-you-need-someone-to-come-out-of-the-sewer-with-a-wire-you-don-t/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [“The history of men is reflected in the history of sewers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-history-of-men-is-reflected-in-the-history-of-sewers/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [You are so full of shit that the city should charge your mouth a sewer tax.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-so-full-of-shit-that-the-city-should-charge-your-mouth-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## 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. 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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 Cities quotes > [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. 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Revolutionaries seized power in the cities of Munich, Hanover and Cologne. One regional German government after another was toppled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cross-giblin/all-germany-was-in-turmoil-revolutionaries-seized-power-in-the-cities/) [James Cross Giblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cross-giblin/) > [Nice is a city of ghosts and specters, but I hope not to become one of them right away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/nice-is-a-city-of-ghosts-and-specters-but-i-hope-not-to-become-one-of/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [I know of not one Republican candidate that would not appear publicly with Mitt Romney and I know many Democrats that don't even want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-sessions/i-know-of-not-one-republican-candidate-that-would-not-appear-publicly/) [Pete Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-sessions/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [We will neglect our cities to our peril, for in neglecting them we neglect the nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/we-will-neglect-our-cities-to-our-peril-for-in-neglecting-them-we/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [I didn't know the city at all, but I was so happy to be in New York I cried. I was so excited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-gerwig/i-didn-t-know-the-city-at-all-but-i-was-so-happy-to-be-in-new-york-i/) [Greta Gerwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-gerwig/) > [Outside of Paris, there is no hope for the cultured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/outside-of-paris-there-is-no-hope-for-the-cultured/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Vienna is a handsome, lively city, and pleases me exceedingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/vienna-is-a-handsome-lively-city-and-pleases-me-exceedingly/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [“We have grace of strength to work, to clear our cities of any dirt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-have-grace-of-strength-to-work-to-clear-our-cities-of-any-dirt/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I was too tired to think. I merely felt the town as a unique unreality. What was it? I knew -- the moon's picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-too-tired-to-think-i-merely-felt-the-town-as-a-unique-unreality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 7,153 Cities quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The sewer is the conscience of the city.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Victor Hugo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-sewer-is-the-conscience-of-the-city/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cities" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-sewer-is-the-conscience-of-the-city/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b30/victor-hugo-32_cities_the-sewer-is-the-conscience-of-the-city_1110350.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b30/victor-hugo-32_cities_the-sewer-is-the-conscience-of-the-city_1110350.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b30/victor-hugo-32_cities_the-sewer-is-the-conscience-of-the-city_1110350.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The sewer is the conscience of the city.” — 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": "The sewer is the conscience of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-sewer-is-the-conscience-of-the-city/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-sewer-is-the-conscience-of-the-city/#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 } } ] } ```