---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To rove about, musing, that is to say…"
description: "\"To rove about, musing, that is to say loitering, is, for a philosopher, a good way of spending time, especially in that kind of mock rurality, ugly but..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3f/victor-hugo-32_certain_to-rove-about-musing-that-is-to-say-loit_768299.jpg"
---

#  To rove about, musing, that is to say loitering, is, for a…

![“To rove about, musing, that is to say loitering, is, for a philosopher, a good way of spending time, especially in that kind of mock rurality, ugly but odd, and partaking of two natures, which surrounds certain large cities, particularly Paris.” quote by Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3f/victor-hugo-32_certain_to-rove-about-musing-that-is-to-say-loit_768299.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3f/victor-hugo-32_certain_to-rove-about-musing-that-is-to-say-loit_768299.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3f/victor-hugo-32_certain_to-rove-about-musing-that-is-to-say-loit_768299.jpg)

> “To rove about, musing, that is to say loitering, is, for a philosopher, a good way of spending time, especially in that kind of mock rurality, ugly but odd, and partaking of two natures, which surrounds certain large cities, particularly Paris.”

[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.

Philosophical wandering through urban and rural spaces offers insight into human nature and societal contrasts.

**In simple terms:** Wandering reveals city and countryside differences.

Key Takeaway

Explore diverse environments for deeper understanding.

Themes

philosophy urbanism nature

Mood

thoughtful observational

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- travel writing
- city planning
- nature retreats

Key Concepts

existentialism social observation

Questions to Reflect On

- How does setting shape thought?
- What can modern cities learn from rural simplicity?

A Different Perspective

Wandering can become aimless without purpose.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Large cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/large-cities/) [Musing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musing/) [Musings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musings/) [Paris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paris/) [Philosopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosopher/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Spending time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spending-time/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [To rove about, musing, that is to say loitering, is, for a philosopher, a good way of spending time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/to-rove-about-musing-that-is-to-say-loitering-is-for-a-philosopher-a-2/)

[Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/)

> [Oh what can ail thee, knight-at-arms, Alone and palely loitering?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/oh-what-can-ail-thee-knight-at-arms-alone-and-palely-loitering/)

[John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/)

> [“loitering under the shady lee of yonder warehouses”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/loitering-under-the-shady-lee-of-yonder-warehouses/)

[Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/)

> [I'm in East L.A., like Mount Washington, Highland Park. There's a little strip that they're gentrifying, trying to make a hip spot, but you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-tuff/i-m-in-east-l-a-like-mount-washington-highland-park-there-s-a-little/)

[King Tuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-tuff/)

> [Experience must be guidence,It hould not use for loitering .Then experience wiil be a burden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumesh-nair/experience-must-be-guidence-it-hould-not-use-for-loitering-then/)

[Sumesh Nair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumesh-nair/)

> [For summer there, bear in mind, is a loitering gossip, that only begins to talk of leaving when September rises to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington-cable/for-summer-there-bear-in-mind-is-a-loitering-gossip-that-only-begins/)

[George Washington Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington-cable/)

> [The foundation of all civilization is loitering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-renoir/the-foundation-of-all-civilization-is-loitering/)

[Jean Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-renoir/)

> [“No sooner were these shared resources up and running before people were pulling up chairs, watching YouTube or pornography, and loitering for hours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-dannen/no-sooner-were-these-shared-resources-up-and-running-before-people/)

[Chris Dannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-dannen/)

> [“To look out the window, it might be the 1980s still, the height of the heroin plague, the police doing nothing, the politicians doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-murray/to-look-out-the-window-it-might-be-the-1980s-still-the-height-of-the/)

[Paul Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-murray/)

> [“I am not loitering" said the Major. "I am simply indulging in a few moments of pastoral solitude"...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-simonson/i-am-not-loitering-said-the-major-i-am-simply-indulging-in-a-few/)

[Helen Simonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-simonson/)

> [Pardon me for loitering in front of an orchestra.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-goodman/pardon-me-for-loitering-in-front-of-an-orchestra/)

[John Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-goodman/)

> [You’re loitering, citizen.” “Actually, I was hesitating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/you-re-loitering-citizen-actually-i-was-hesitating/)

[Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/)

> [ In fact, he \[George Michael\] was loitering in public loos like some pre-war homosexual. It's one thing to keep quiet. It's another to pretend… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-george/in-fact-he-george-michael-was-loitering-in-public-loos-like-some-pre/)

[Boy George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boy-george/)

> [Reformers have long observed city people loitering on busy corners, hanging around in candy stores and bars and drinking soda popon stoops, and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/reformers-have-long-observed-city-people-loitering-on-busy-corners/)

[Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/)

> [ I think the book \[Straight to the Heart: Political Cantos\] has meaning for any large city with urban problems. There are political machines in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-alioto/i-think-the-book-straight-to-the-heart-political-cantos-has-meaning/)

[Angela Alioto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-alioto/)

## 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 Certain quotes

> [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/)

[Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/)

> [One can put some trust in the gratitude of a sovereign, and also in that of his family; under certain conditions, one can even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/one-can-put-some-trust-in-the-gratitude-of-a-sovereign-and-also-in/)

[Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/)

> [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/)

[Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/)

> [People don't always realize that a record is forever. It'll always be there under your name. You've got to be certain that it's right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-iero/people-don-t-always-realize-that-a-record-is-forever-it-ll-always-be/)

[Frank Iero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-iero/)

> [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/)

Riffat Hassan

> [I started out dancing on a reality TV show, but always with the intention of making my way over to film. I transitioned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-hough/i-started-out-dancing-on-a-reality-tv-show-but-always-with-the/)

[Julianne Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-hough/)

> [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/)

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

> [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/)

[Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/)

> [I mean those people who are interested in good government will certainly contribute in order to make certain there's some counter-balance to those whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-breyer/i-mean-those-people-who-are-interested-in-good-government-will/)

[Stephen Breyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-breyer/)

> [Why do we love certain homes, and why do they seem to love us? It is the warmth of our individual hearts reflected in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-h-robsjohn-gibbings/why-do-we-love-certain-homes-and-why-do-they-seem-to-love-us-it-is/)

T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings

> [Human life consists of doing certain things ... to take part in the life of the community; to be able to talk about subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/human-life-consists-of-doing-certain-things-to-take-part-in-the-life/)

[Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/)

> [We've all seen talented young players who get to a certain level but there comes a point where that talent will only take you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-gatland/we-ve-all-seen-talented-young-players-who-get-to-a-certain-level-but/)

[Warren Gatland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-gatland/)

> [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/)

[Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/)

> [I think that at a certain age, say fifteen or sixteen, poetry is like masturbation. But later in life good poets burn their early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/i-think-that-at-a-certain-age-say-fifteen-or-sixteen-poetry-is-like/)

[Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/)

> [If a person does not listen to the demands of their own spiritual and heart life and insists on a certain program, you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/if-a-person-does-not-listen-to-the-demands-of-their-own-spiritual-and/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

Browse all 13,673 Certain quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "To rove about, musing, that is to say loitering, is, for a philosopher, a good way of spending time, especially in that kind of mock rurality, ugly but odd, and partaking of two natures, which surrounds certain large cities, particularly Paris.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Victor Hugo"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/to-rove-about-musing-that-is-to-say-loitering-is-for-a-philosopher-a/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Certain"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/to-rove-about-musing-that-is-to-say-loitering-is-for-a-philosopher-a/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3f/victor-hugo-32_certain_to-rove-about-musing-that-is-to-say-loit_768299.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3f/victor-hugo-32_certain_to-rove-about-musing-that-is-to-say-loit_768299.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3f/victor-hugo-32_certain_to-rove-about-musing-that-is-to-say-loit_768299.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“To rove about, musing, that is to say loitering, is, for a philosopher, a good way of spending time…” — 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 rove about, musing, that is...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/to-rove-about-musing-that-is-to-say-loitering-is-for-a-philosopher-a/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/to-rove-about-musing-that-is-to-say-loitering-is-for-a-philosopher-a/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
