---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To contemplate is to look at shadows."
description: "\"To contemplate is to look at shadows.\" — Victor Hugo"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/victor-hugo-32_contemplate_to-contemplate-is-to-look-at-shadows-278_2780844.jpg"
---

#  To contemplate is to look at shadows.

![“To contemplate is to look at shadows.” quote by Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/victor-hugo-32_contemplate_to-contemplate-is-to-look-at-shadows-278_2780844.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/victor-hugo-32_contemplate_to-contemplate-is-to-look-at-shadows-278_2780844.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/victor-hugo-32_contemplate_to-contemplate-is-to-look-at-shadows-278_2780844.jpg)

> “To contemplate is to look at shadows.”

[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.

Contemplation involves examining the unseen or hidden aspects of reality.

**In simple terms:** Thinking reveals hidden truths.

Key Takeaway

Look beyond the obvious.

Themes

reflection depth perception

Mood

introspective calm

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- problem solving
- creative brainstorming
- self‑analysis

Key Concepts

philosophy psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- What shadows are you ignoring?
- How can you balance thought and action?

A Different Perspective

Over‑contemplation can cause paralysis.

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[Contemplate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplate/) [Contemplate Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplate-look-3309590/) [Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look/) [Look Shadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look-shadows-2880193/) [Shadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadows/)

## Related quotes

> [“Don’t look at the shadows too long or a demon might look back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosamund-hodge/don-t-look-at-the-shadows-too-long-or-a-demon-might-look-back/)

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> [To think of shadows is a serious thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/to-think-of-shadows-is-a-serious-thing/)

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> [Contemplate nature with the eyes of the soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soljeannette-acevedo/contemplate-nature-with-the-eyes-of-the-soul/)

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> [“Contemplate for a moment hiking up a wild and rugged mountain. The mountain itself is a challenge, as well as the experience of beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-sanchez/contemplate-for-a-moment-hiking-up-a-wild-and-rugged-mountain-the/)

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> [Like most musicians, Im good at becoming immersed in the music that I am currently working on. We seldom lift up our heads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-levin/like-most-musicians-im-good-at-becoming-immersed-in-the-music-that-i/)

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> [ \[When nature appears complicated:\] The moment we contemplate it as it is, and attain a position from which we can take a commanding view,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/when-nature-appears-complicated-the-moment-we-contemplate-it-as-it-is/)

[John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/)

> [Nothing makes the future look so rosy as to contemplate it through a glass of Chambertin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/nothing-makes-the-future-look-so-rosy-as-to-contemplate-it-through-a/)

[Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/)

> [ \[The lion\] began to contemplate me with a kind of quiet premeditation, like that of a slow-witted man fondling an unaccustomed thought. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/the-lion-began-to-contemplate-me-with-a-kind-of-quiet-premeditation/)

[Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/)

> [“The value of anything is only relative in the moment of contemplating it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/the-value-of-anything-is-only-relative-in-the-moment-of-contemplating/)

[Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/)

> [It is truly bracing and instructive to contemplate the End Times - at least at safe remove, in the pages of fiction - especially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-di-filippo/it-is-truly-bracing-and-instructive-to-contemplate-the-end-times-at/)

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> [So many hours must I take my rest; So many hours must I contemplate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/so-many-hours-must-i-take-my-rest-so-many-hours-must-i-contemplate/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Did you ever notice when you contemplate suicide, the hardest things to remember are why you've come this far to begin with? me either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/did-you-ever-notice-when-you-contemplate-suicide-the-hardest-things/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The two hardest things to contemplate in life ... are failure and age; those are one and the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-two-hardest-things-to-contemplate-in-life-are-failure-and-age/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I have actually seen people contemplate their navels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-heilpern/i-have-actually-seen-people-contemplate-their-navels/)

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> [“Those who contemplate never escape the doubt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/those-who-contemplate-never-escape-the-doubt/)

[Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/)

## More by Victor Hugo

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> [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/)

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> [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/)

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> [“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/)

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> [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/)

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[Explore all 2,181 Victor Hugo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/)

## More Contemplate quotes

> [“Those who contemplate never escape the doubt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/those-who-contemplate-never-escape-the-doubt/)

[Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/)

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[John Heilpern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-heilpern/)

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> [Did you ever notice when you contemplate suicide, the hardest things to remember are why you've come this far to begin with? me either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/did-you-ever-notice-when-you-contemplate-suicide-the-hardest-things/)

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> [ \[The lion\] began to contemplate me with a kind of quiet premeditation, like that of a slow-witted man fondling an unaccustomed thought. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/the-lion-began-to-contemplate-me-with-a-kind-of-quiet-premeditation/)

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