--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have just said that the scaffold is…" description: "\"“We have just said that the scaffold is the only edifice which revolutions do not demolish. It is rare indeed that revolutions are temperate in spillin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/236/victor-hugo-32_death_we-have-just-said-that-the-scaffold-is-t_2378952.jpg" --- # We have just said that the scaffold is the only edifice… ![“We have just said that the scaffold is the only edifice which revolutions do not demolish. It is rare indeed that revolutions are temperate in spilling blood; and although they are sent to prune, to lop, to reform society, the punishment of death is a branch which they have never removed!” quote by Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/236/victor-hugo-32_death_we-have-just-said-that-the-scaffold-is-t_2378952.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/236/victor-hugo-32_death_we-have-just-said-that-the-scaffold-is-t_2378952.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/236/victor-hugo-32_death_we-have-just-said-that-the-scaffold-is-t_2378952.jpg) > ““We have just said that the scaffold is the only edifice which revolutions do not demolish. It is rare indeed that revolutions are temperate in spilling blood; and although they are sent to prune, to lop, to reform society, the punishment of death is a branch which they have never removed!”” [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. Revolutions preserve their own structures, rarely removing the ultimate penalty of death, showing that change often retains old harshness. **In simple terms:** Revolutions keep some brutal elements like death. Key Takeaway Recognize that deep change may still be violent. Themes revolution violence political change human nature Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - political activism - policy reform - historical analysis Key Concepts power dynamics ethical limits social upheaval Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of power persist after revolutions? - Can change be truly non‑violent? A Different Perspective Idealistic reforms may overlook entrenched brutality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Edifice Revolutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edifice-revolutions-5886283/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Revolutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutions/) [Revolutions Demolish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutions-demolish-5886284/) [Said Scaffold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said-scaffold-5886286/) [Scaffold Edifice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scaffold-edifice-5886285/) ## Related quotes > [Fashions have done more harm than revolutions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/fashions-have-done-more-harm-than-revolutions/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [The brutalities of progress are called revolutions. When they are over we realize this: that the human race has been roughly handled, but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-brutalities-of-progress-are-called-revolutions-when-they-are-over/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Yes, the brutalities of progress are called revolutions. When they are done, we recognize one thing: that the human race has been badly manhandled,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/yes-the-brutalities-of-progress-are-called-revolutions-when-they-are-3/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Yes, the brutalities of progress are called revolutions. When they are over, this fact is recognized,—that the human race has been treated harshly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/yes-the-brutalities-of-progress-are-called-revolutions-when-they-are-2/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Revolutions spring not from an accident, but from necessity. A revolution is a return from the fictitious to the real. It is because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/revolutions-spring-not-from-an-accident-but-from-necessity-a/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [The wind of revolutions is not tractable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-wind-of-revolutions-is-not-tractable/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Yes, the brutalities of progress are called revolutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/yes-the-brutalities-of-progress-are-called-revolutions/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Revolutions spring not from accident, but from necessity. A revolution is a return from the factitious to the real. It takes place because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/revolutions-spring-not-from-accident-but-from-necessity-a-revolution/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Yes, the brutalities of progress are called revolutions. When they are over, this is recognized: that the human race has been harshly treated, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/yes-the-brutalities-of-progress-are-called-revolutions-when-they-are/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Revolutions are not born of chance but of necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/revolutions-are-not-born-of-chance-but-of-necessity/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [The danger to which the success of revolutions is most exposed, is that of attempting them before the principles on which they proceed, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-danger-to-which-the-success-of-revolutions-is-most-exposed-is/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Conservatism is the worship of dead revolutions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clinton-rossiter/conservatism-is-the-worship-of-dead-revolutions/) [Clinton Rossiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clinton-rossiter/) > [The revolutions of thought which shape the basic outlook of an age are not disseminated through text-books- they spread like epidemics, through contamination by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-revolutions-of-thought-which-shape-the-basic-outlook-of-an-age/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [Music used to cause revolutions and I'm not seeing much revolution anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-d/music-used-to-cause-revolutions-and-i-m-not-seeing-much-revolution/) [Chuck D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-d/) > [History respects revolutions; and yet, if a revolution is progressive, support it; if it is reactionary, resist it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/history-respects-revolutions-and-yet-if-a-revolution-is-progressive/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) ## 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 Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) [J. Anthony Torino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-anthony-torino/) > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) [Alan W. Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-powers/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We have just said that the scaffold is the only edifice which revolutions do not demolish. It is rare indeed that revolutions are temperate in spilling blood; and although they are sent to prune, to lop, to reform society, the punishment of death is a branch which they have never removed!”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Victor Hugo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/we-have-just-said-that-the-scaffold-is-the-only-edifice-which/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/we-have-just-said-that-the-scaffold-is-the-only-edifice-which/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/236/victor-hugo-32_death_we-have-just-said-that-the-scaffold-is-t_2378952.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/236/victor-hugo-32_death_we-have-just-said-that-the-scaffold-is-t_2378952.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/236/victor-hugo-32_death_we-have-just-said-that-the-scaffold-is-t_2378952.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We have just said that the scaffold is the only edifice which revolutions do not demolish. It is rare indeed…” — 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": "“We have just said that the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/we-have-just-said-that-the-scaffold-is-the-only-edifice-which/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/we-have-just-said-that-the-scaffold-is-the-only-edifice-which/#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 } } ] } ```