--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is one of those rare moments when…" description: "\"“This is one of those rare moments when, while doing that which it is one's duty to do, one feels something which disconcerts one, and which would diss..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8df/victor-hugo-32_conscience_this-is-one-of-those-rare-moments-when-w_350327.jpg" --- # This is one of those rare moments when, while doing that… ![“This is one of those rare moments when, while doing that which it is one's duty to do, one feels something which disconcerts one, and which would dissuade one from proceeding further; one persists, it is necessary, but conscience, though satisfied, is sad, and the accomplishment of duty is…” quote by Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8df/victor-hugo-32_conscience_this-is-one-of-those-rare-moments-when-w_350327.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8df/victor-hugo-32_conscience_this-is-one-of-those-rare-moments-when-w_350327.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8df/victor-hugo-32_conscience_this-is-one-of-those-rare-moments-when-w_350327.jpg) > ““This is one of those rare moments when, while doing that which it is one's duty to do, one feels something which disconcerts one, and which would dissuade one from proceeding further; one persists, it is necessary, but conscience, though satisfied, is sad, and the accomplishment of duty is complicated with a pain at the heart.”” [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. Fulfilling duty can be painful and disheartening, yet perseverance is required despite sorrow. **In simple terms:** Duty brings pain but must be continued. Key Takeaway Accept hardship while honoring responsibility. Themes duty pain perseverance Mood somber determined Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - caregiving - public service - personal sacrifice Key Concepts moral conflict emotional resilience ethics Questions to Reflect On - What sustains you when duty feels heavy? - How can one reconcile sorrow with obligation? A Different Perspective Pain may lead to burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Duty Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty-feels-3237197/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Feels Disconcerts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels-disconcerts-3237198/) [Necessary Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessary-conscience-3237199/) [Rare moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rare-moments/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [Sad Accomplishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad-accomplishment-3237200/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I have examined the death penalty under each of its two aspects: as a direct action, and as an indirect one. 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You're in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-broderick/there-can-be-moments-onstage-but-sometimes-in-a-movie-too-where-you/) [Matthew Broderick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-broderick/) > [In some situations I was difficult, in odd moments impossible, in rare moments loathsome, but at my best unapproachably great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-levant/in-some-situations-i-was-difficult-in-odd-moments-impossible-in-rare/) [Oscar Levant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-levant/) > [The rare moment is not the moment when there is something worth looking at, but the moment when we are capable of seeing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/the-rare-moment-is-not-the-moment-when-there-is-something-worth/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) > [She opened her mouth but did not immediately speak, and I felt, simultaneously, the impulse to coax the words from her and the impulse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/she-opened-her-mouth-but-did-not-immediately-speak-and-i-felt/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) > [In those rare moments, when such a person comes along, we need to put aside our plans and reach for what we know is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-kennedy/in-those-rare-moments-when-such-a-person-comes-along-we-need-to-put/) [Caroline Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-kennedy/) > [“There are not many people who work according to the law of virtue, but this small minority is the pride of mankind and every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alija-izetbegovic/there-are-not-many-people-who-work-according-to-the-law-of-virtue-but/) [Alija Izetbegović](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alija-izetbegovic/) ## 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. 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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. 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So I feel bad about spending excess amount of money on things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/my-conscience-is-really-active-so-i-feel-bad-about-spending-excess/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) > [Let us be thankful for health and competence, and, above all, for a quiet conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/let-us-be-thankful-for-health-and-competence-and-above-all-for-a/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [Making money doesn't oblige people to forfeit their honor or their conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-rothschild/making-money-doesn-t-oblige-people-to-forfeit-their-honor-or-their/) [Guy de Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-rothschild/) > [“If we cannot be happy and powerful and prey on others, we invent conscience and prey on ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-we-cannot-be-happy-and-powerful-and-prey-on-others-we-invent/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The God in whose hands are all our days and ways, did cast into my hand one day a book of Martin Luthers; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/the-god-in-whose-hands-are-all-our-days-and-ways-did-cast-into-my/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [My morals are important to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-parrish/my-morals-are-important-to-me/) [Hunter Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-parrish/) > [Being tolerant does not mean that I share another ones belief. 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