--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: to arrive at this flourishing condition…" description: "\"“to arrive at this flourishing condition had required years. He had undergone everything, in the shape of privation; he had done everything, except get..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a9/victor-hugo-32_poverty_to-arrive-at-this-flourishing-condition_1963092.jpg" --- # to arrive at this flourishing condition had required… ![“to arrive at this flourishing condition had required years. He had undergone everything, in the shape of privation; he had done everything, except get into debt. Rather than borrow, he did not eat.” quote by Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a9/victor-hugo-32_poverty_to-arrive-at-this-flourishing-condition_1963092.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a9/victor-hugo-32_poverty_to-arrive-at-this-flourishing-condition_1963092.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a9/victor-hugo-32_poverty_to-arrive-at-this-flourishing-condition_1963092.jpg) > ““to arrive at this flourishing condition had required years. He had undergone everything, in the shape of privation; he had done everything, except get into debt. Rather than borrow, he did not eat.”” [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. Enduring hardship without resorting to debt shows true self‑reliance and moral strength. **In simple terms:** Hardship can be faced without borrowing. Key Takeaway Choose discipline over debt. Themes self‑reliance morality hardship frugality Mood reflective serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - surviving poverty - building character - avoiding debt - maintaining integrity Key Concepts ethical resilience personal sacrifice financial independence Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance self‑reliance with realistic needs? - What limits should be set on personal sacrifice? A Different Perspective May not be realistic for everyone; extreme self‑denial can harm health. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flourishing Condition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flourishing-condition-558646/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Privation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privation/) [Privation Debt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privation-debt-3253001/) [Undergone Shape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/undergone-shape-3253003/) [Years Undergone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-undergone-3253002/) ## Related quotes > [The increasing importance of Sydney must in some measure be attributed to the flourishing condition of the colony itself, to the industry of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sturt/the-increasing-importance-of-sydney-must-in-some-measure-be/) [Charles Sturt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sturt/) > [“An odd thing about beauty, however, is that it's absence tends not to arouse our sympathy as much as other forms of privation do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/an-odd-thing-about-beauty-however-is-that-it-s-absence-tends-not-to/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [But I do not remember ever having seen a newspaper in the house; and, most certainly, that privation did not render us less industrious,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cobbett/but-i-do-not-remember-ever-having-seen-a-newspaper-in-the-house-and/) [William Cobbett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cobbett/) > [“If you are rich and full-fed, don’t laugh at the impulsiveness of the poor. 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Our necessities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/nature-has-provided-for-the-exigency-of-privation-by-putting-the/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [The real scientist is ready to bear privation and, if need be, starvation rather than let anyone dictate to him which direction his work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-szent-gyorgyi/the-real-scientist-is-ready-to-bear-privation-and-if-need-be/) [Albert Szent-Gyorgyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-szent-gyorgyi/) > [“The place suggested a convent with the modern improvements—an asylum in which privacy, though unbroken, might be not quite identical with privation, and meditation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/the-place-suggested-a-convent-with-the-modern-improvements-an-asylum/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“Take the case (to use an easy example) of a river, carrying boats and communicating to them its own velocity, yet limited by their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/take-the-case-to-use-an-easy-example-of-a-river-carrying-boats-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Economic privation proceeds by easy stages, and so long as men suffer it patiently the outside world cares little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/economic-privation-proceeds-by-easy-stages-and-so-long-as-men-suffer/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [Where there is a question of economy, I prefer privation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/where-there-is-a-question-of-economy-i-prefer-privation/) [Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/) > [“It is one of the great ironies of Mormon history that Smith, who set the polygamous movement in motion, never experienced it in practical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-m-compton/it-is-one-of-the-great-ironies-of-mormon-history-that-smith-who-set/) [Todd M. Compton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-m-compton/) ## 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. 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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 Poverty quotes > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. 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