--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To live a life which is a perpetual…" description: "\"To live a life which is a perpetual falsehood is to suffer unknown tortures.\" — Victor Hugo" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/victor-hugo-32_falsehood_to-live-a-life-which-is-a-perpetual-fals_1493198.jpg" --- # To live a life which is a perpetual falsehood is to suffer… ![“To live a life which is a perpetual falsehood is to suffer unknown tortures.” quote by Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/victor-hugo-32_falsehood_to-live-a-life-which-is-a-perpetual-fals_1493198.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/victor-hugo-32_falsehood_to-live-a-life-which-is-a-perpetual-fals_1493198.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/victor-hugo-32_falsehood_to-live-a-life-which-is-a-perpetual-fals_1493198.jpg) > “To live a life which is a perpetual falsehood is to suffer unknown tortures.” [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. Living a life of continual falsehood leads to hidden suffering, as self‑deception creates inner torment. **In simple terms:** Falsehood brings hidden pain. Key Takeaway Choose honesty over illusion. Themes integrity truth suffering Mood thoughtful somber Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - public speaking - leadership - conflict resolution Key Concepts existentialism psychology moral philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What falsehoods are you holding? - How can honesty transform your relationships? A Different Perspective Truth may cause immediate discomfort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Falsehood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falsehood/) [Hypocrisy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypocrisy/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Torture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torture/) [Tortures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tortures/) ## Related quotes > [“Man is at the mercy of events. Life is a perpetual succession of events, and we must submit to it. We never know from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/man-is-at-the-mercy-of-events-life-is-a-perpetual-succession-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Life is a perpetual mixtape of surprises and changes, unplanned pit stops and unfathomable road blocks. never knowing if to hold or fold because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-miers/life-is-a-perpetual-mixtape-of-surprises-and-changes-unplanned-pit/) Casey Miers > [Life is a perpetual yesterday for us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/life-is-a-perpetual-yesterday-for-us/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“Why, if one wants to compare life to anything, one must liken it to being blown through the Tube at fifty miles an hour--landing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/why-if-one-wants-to-compare-life-to-anything-one-must-liken-it-to-2/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [If it were a real effort to live in the Middle Ages, your life would be one perpetual prevarication.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/if-it-were-a-real-effort-to-live-in-the-middle-ages-your-life-would/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [“Imminent death didn't terrify her as much as did the prospect of having lived a life in perpetual retreat, a life that would amount…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/imminent-death-didn-t-terrify-her-as-much-as-did-the-prospect-of/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“To regard all things and principles of things as inconstant modes or fashions has more and more become the tendency of modern thought. Let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-pater/to-regard-all-things-and-principles-of-things-as-inconstant-modes-or-2/) [Walter Pater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-pater/) > [“Life is perpetual. Though, it is ourselves which harvest these energies that perpetuate us in a positive direction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ogawa/life-is-perpetual-though-it-is-ourselves-which-harvest-these-energies/) Robert Ogawa > [There was no such thing as perfect privacy, life was a perpetual concert-hall recital with a captive audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/there-was-no-such-thing-as-perfect-privacy-life-was-a-perpetual/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [When one reaches this state of harmony between things and one's self, one reaches a state of perfect freedom and peace-which makes everything possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-braque/when-one-reaches-this-state-of-harmony-between-things-and-one-s-self/) [Georges Braque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-braque/) > [whatever San Francisco is or is not, it is never dull. Life there is in a perpetual ferment. It is as though the city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inez-haynes-irwin/whatever-san-francisco-is-or-is-not-it-is-never-dull-life-there-is-in/) [Inez Haynes Irwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inez-haynes-irwin/) > [“I guess I could say that I have lived my life in a perpetual flinch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakesh-satayal/i-guess-i-could-say-that-i-have-lived-my-life-in-a-perpetual-flinch/) Rakesh Satayal > [Life is a perpetual instruction in cause and effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/life-is-a-perpetual-instruction-in-cause-and-effect/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A Conscious Life is perpetual death, perhaps preparation for the inescapable point on every Path.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marrett-green/a-conscious-life-is-perpetual-death-perhaps-preparation-for-the/) [Marrett Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marrett-green/) > [. . . this life is a perpetual chequer-work of good and evil, pleasure and pain. When in possession of what we desire, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-de-rabutin-chantal-marquise-de-sevigne/this-life-is-a-perpetual-chequer-work-of-good-and-evil-pleasure-and/) [Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sevigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-de-rabutin-chantal-marquise-de-sevigne/) ## 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 Falsehood quotes > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [falsehood is not more unjustifiable than unsafe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-burney/falsehood-is-not-more-unjustifiable-than-unsafe/) [Fanny Burney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fanny-burney/) > [THE ART OF PEACE is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morihei-ueshiba/the-art-of-peace-is-not-easy-it-is-a-fight-to-the-finish-the-slaying/) [Morihei Ueshiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morihei-ueshiba/) > [ A mind conscious of right laughs at the falsehoods of rumour. \[Lat., Conscia mens recti famae mendacia risit.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/a-mind-conscious-of-right-laughs-at-the-falsehoods-of-rumour-lat/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“Falsehood of a good man is better than truth of a bad one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/falsehood-of-a-good-man-is-better-than-truth-of-a-bad-one/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [So true is it that all transactions of preeminent importance are wrapt in doubt and obscurity; while some hold for certain facts the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/so-true-is-it-that-all-transactions-of-preeminent-importance-are/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught in falsehood's school, and the one man that dares to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/strange-times-are-these-in-which-we-live-when-old-and-young-are/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Tangible language, which often tells more falsehoods than truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/tangible-language-which-often-tells-more-falsehoods-than-truths/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Whether statistics be an art or a science... or a scientific art, we concern ourselves little. It is the basis of social and political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolphe-quetelet/whether-statistics-be-an-art-or-a-science-or-a-scientific-art-we/) [Adolphe Quetelet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolphe-quetelet/) > [Falsehood, like the dry-rot, flourishes the more in proportion as air and light are excluded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/falsehood-like-the-dry-rot-flourishes-the-more-in-proportion-as-air/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [“God is not as a man.” He thus shows that all men are indeed guilty of falsehood, inasmuch as they change from one thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-church-fathers/god-is-not-as-a-man-he-thus-shows-that-all-men-are-indeed-guilty-of/) The Church Fathers > [People who do not know the Bible well have been gulled into thinking it is a good guide to morality. This mistaken view may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/people-who-do-not-know-the-bible-well-have-been-gulled-into-thinking/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [One of the reasons, surely, why women have been credited with less perfect veracity than men is that the burden of conventional falsehood falls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-reasons-surely-why-women-have-been-credited-with-less/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He had the unlucky capacity many men have of seeing and believing in the possibility of goodness and truth, but of seeing the evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-had-the-unlucky-capacity-many-men-have-of-seeing-and-believing-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) [Browse all 724 Falsehood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falsehood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To live a life which is a perpetual falsehood is to suffer unknown tortures.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Victor Hugo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/to-live-a-life-which-is-a-perpetual-falsehood-is-to-suffer-unknown/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Falsehood" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/to-live-a-life-which-is-a-perpetual-falsehood-is-to-suffer-unknown/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/victor-hugo-32_falsehood_to-live-a-life-which-is-a-perpetual-fals_1493198.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/victor-hugo-32_falsehood_to-live-a-life-which-is-a-perpetual-fals_1493198.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/victor-hugo-32_falsehood_to-live-a-life-which-is-a-perpetual-fals_1493198.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To live a life which is a perpetual falsehood is to suffer unknown tortures.” — 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": "To live a life which is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/to-live-a-life-which-is-a-perpetual-falsehood-is-to-suffer-unknown/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/to-live-a-life-which-is-a-perpetual-falsehood-is-to-suffer-unknown/#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 } } ] } ```