--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a sacred horror about everything…" description: "\"“There is a sacred horror about everything grand. It is easy to admire mediocrity and hills; but whatever is too lofty, a genius as well as a mountain,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/victor-hugo-32_hatred_there-is-a-sacred-horror-about-everythin_416669.jpg" --- # There is a sacred horror about everything grand. It is… ![“There is a sacred horror about everything grand. It is easy to admire mediocrity and hills; but whatever is too lofty, a genius as well as a mountain, an assembly as well as a masterpiece, seen too near, is appalling. Every summit seems an exaggeration. Climbing wearies. The steepnesses take away…” quote by Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/victor-hugo-32_hatred_there-is-a-sacred-horror-about-everythin_416669.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/victor-hugo-32_hatred_there-is-a-sacred-horror-about-everythin_416669.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/victor-hugo-32_hatred_there-is-a-sacred-horror-about-everythin_416669.jpg) > ““There is a sacred horror about everything grand. It is easy to admire mediocrity and hills; but whatever is too lofty, a genius as well as a mountain, an assembly as well as a masterpiece, seen too near, is appalling. Every summit seems an exaggeration. Climbing wearies. The steepnesses take away one's breath; we slip on the slopes, we are hurt by the sharp points which are its beauty; the foaming torrents betray the precipices, clouds hide the mountain tops; mounting is full of terror, as well as a fall. Hence, there is more dismay than admiration. People have a strange feeling of aversion to anything grand. They see abysses, they do not see sublimity; they see the monster, they do not see the prodigy.”” [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. Greatness often terrifies; people prefer the familiar over the awe‑inspiring, fearing the overwhelming. **In simple terms:** Grand things can scare us more than they inspire. Key Takeaway Embrace awe, not aversion. Themes awe fear grandiosity human nature Mood introspective melancholy Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - art criticism - mountain climbing - career ambition - personal growth Key Concepts existential dread beauty in danger psychology of admiration Questions to Reflect On - What fears arise when you confront something truly magnificent? - How can you transform awe into motivation? A Different Perspective Grand achievements can cause paralysis, not just inspiration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hatred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred/) [Prodigy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prodigy/) [Strange feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-feeling/) ## Related quotes > [I was never a prodigy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-davenport/i-was-never-a-prodigy/) [Lindsay Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-davenport/) > [I never thought of myself as special or particularly good at anything. But once I started ballet, suddenly I had a new identity: prodigy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misty-copeland/i-never-thought-of-myself-as-special-or-particularly-good-at-anything/) [Misty Copeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misty-copeland/) > [There are lots of different interpretations of the word 'prodigy.' My own is of someone who is talented and tries to help other children.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/there-are-lots-of-different-interpretations-of-the-word-prodigy-my/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [In the career of a prodigy there invariably comes a time when it is compelled to relinquish being very clever for a child, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-franklin/in-the-career-of-a-prodigy-there-invariably-comes-a-time-when-it-is/) [Miles Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-franklin/) > [A man does not wonder at what he sees frequently, even though he be ignorant of the reason. If anything happens which he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/a-man-does-not-wonder-at-what-he-sees-frequently-even-though-he-be/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [I've heard that, but since I'm computer illiterate I don't know how it all works. But since I'm on Prodigy tonight, I'm learning a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-sherman/i-ve-heard-that-but-since-i-m-computer-illiterate-i-don-t-know-how-it/) [Bobby Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-sherman/) > [“Now, Jack, is there anything you would like?" The youth pondered for a moment. "I'd like a shillin'," said he. "Nothing you would like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/now-jack-is-there-anything-you-would-like-the-youth-pondered-for-a/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [I have never considered myself a prodigy. Others have used that term, but I never bought in to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-waitzkin/i-have-never-considered-myself-a-prodigy-others-have-used-that-term/) [Joshua Waitzkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-waitzkin/) > [I think it's fair to say that Nina Simone was a prodigy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-martin/i-think-it-s-fair-to-say-that-nina-simone-was-a-prodigy/) [Michel Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-martin/) > [I'm not a prodigy - or a 'wonderboy,' as some have put it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-pulisic/i-m-not-a-prodigy-or-a-wonderboy-as-some-have-put-it/) [Christian Pulisic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-pulisic/) > [ “Everyone loves a prodigy \[...\]. Prodigies get us off the hook for living ordinary lives. We can tell ourselves we're not special because we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-hill/everyone-loves-a-prodigy-prodigies-get-us-off-the-hook-for-living/) [Nathan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-hill/) > [A child prodigy is one with highly imaginative parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-child-prodigy-is-one-with-highly-imaginative-parents/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He has the personality of a child prodigy, but no discernable talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/he-has-the-personality-of-a-child-prodigy-but-no-discernable-talent/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [The word "prodigy" was thrown around a lot, but I didn't understand what that meant, or the weight of it. It didn't really mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misty-copeland/the-word-prodigy-was-thrown-around-a-lot-but-i-didn-t-understand-what/) [Misty Copeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misty-copeland/) > [Many people used to call me a child prodigy, but I never thought that. I knew that I had learned everything, that I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michala-petri/many-people-used-to-call-me-a-child-prodigy-but-i-never-thought-that/) [Michala Petri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michala-petri/) ## 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 Hatred quotes > [There has certainly been ugly, right-wing hatred targeting Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/there-has-certainly-been-ugly-right-wing-hatred-targeting-barack-obama/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Only those who hate the Negro see hatred in the Negro.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-marti/only-those-who-hate-the-negro-see-hatred-in-the-negro/) [Jose Marti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-marti/) > [We witness anti-Semitic attacks in the heart of Europe. We hear anti-Semitic slanders in European media. We feel anti-Semitic hatred in the continent that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-shaked/we-witness-anti-semitic-attacks-in-the-heart-of-europe-we-hear-anti/) [Ayelet Shaked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-shaked/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [If the mind is dominated by hatred, the best part of the brain, which is used to judge right and wrong, does not function…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/if-the-mind-is-dominated-by-hatred-the-best-part-of-the-brain-which/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Our attitude towards evil must be freed from hatred, and has itself need to be enlightened in character...Satan rejoices when he succeeds in inspiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/our-attitude-towards-evil-must-be-freed-from-hatred-and-has-itself/) [Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/) > [The hatred of those who are near to us is the most violent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publius-cornelius-tacitus/the-hatred-of-those-who-are-near-to-us-is-the-most-violent/) [Publius Cornelius Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publius-cornelius-tacitus/) > [“Their Love Is Average, Seeks Average But There Is Genius In Their Hatred”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/their-love-is-average-seeks-average-but-there-is-genius-in-their/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [Enough for this bow & arrow. It caused me nothing but sorrow. No need for another tomorrow. In your heart, I will never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louaiq8/enough-for-this-bow-arrow-it-caused-me-nothing-but-sorrow-no-need-for/) Louaiq8 > [Too many years of feeling degraded now hatred's the only feeling that comes~~~](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/too-many-years-of-feeling-degraded-now-hatred-s-the-only-feeling-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Benefits received are a delight to us as long as we think we can requite them; when that possibility is far exceeded, they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/benefits-received-are-a-delight-to-us-as-long-as-we-think-we-can/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [“It’s a continual revelation when you come to understand that the only thing you can expect in return for your own dignity is hatred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/it-s-a-continual-revelation-when-you-come-to-understand-that-the-only/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [Hate is a lack of imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/hate-is-a-lack-of-imagination/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Everybody loves to talk about calmness and peace, whether in a family, national, or international context, but without inner peace how can we make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/everybody-loves-to-talk-about-calmness-and-peace-whether-in-a-family/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [The terrorists-those nineteen people, with hundreds or maybe thousands behind them-did the worst thing you can possibly imagine. But tens of millions people did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-terrorists-those-nineteen-people-with-hundreds-or-maybe-thousands/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) [Browse all 3,825 Hatred quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There is a sacred horror about everything grand. It is easy to admire mediocrity and hills; but whatever is too lofty, a genius as well as a mountain, an assembly as well as a masterpiece, seen too near, is appalling. Every summit seems an exaggeration. Climbing wearies. The steepnesses take away one's breath; we slip on the slopes, we are hurt by the sharp points which are its beauty; the foaming torrents betray the precipices, clouds hide the mountain tops; mounting is full of terror, as well as a fall. Hence, there is more dismay than admiration. 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