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Nothing renders one so adventurous as not being able to feel the place where one’s pocket is situated.
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“Nothing renders one so adventurous as not being able to feel the place where one’s pocket is situated.”

Victor Hugo

Source
Notre-Dame de Paris
Date
1831
English wording
Isabel F. Hapgood — Translator · from French
Meaning

Meaning of “Nothing renders one so adventurous as not being…”

Hugo’s narrator jokes that having nothing left to lose can make Gringoire unexpectedly bold as he ventures farther into danger.

Source context

Where does it come from?

Notre-Dame de Paris, represented by Project Gutenberg #2610 in an English translation. The narrator makes the comic remark while the penniless Gringoire moves through Paris; the English wording is translation-layer text, not Hugo’s original French phrasing.

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Courage Quotes About Acting Despite FearFunnyMoneyThought-Provoking Quotes That Invite Reflection
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“Good morning to the day; and next, my gold: Open the shrine, that I may see my Saint.”

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Source details

Volpone, Act I, Scene 1, Project Gutenberg #4039. Volpone opens the comedy by greeting his gold as a saint while Mosca reveals the hoard; the religious imagery establishes his avarice. It is fictional dramatic speech, not Ben Jonson autobiography, financial advice or a literal religious claim.

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“I can't but admire Sable's nice discerning on the superfluous cares of mankind, that could lead them to the thought of raising an estate by providing horses, equipage, and furniture, for those that no longer need 'em.”

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Source details

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“All art is quite useless.”

Oscar Wilde · The Picture of Dorian Gray — 1891 edition · 1891
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Meaning & context

The deliberately shocking ending to the preface argues for art’s independence from practical utility, forcing the reader to ask what aesthetic value means.

Source details

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Source details

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Meaning & context

Jonson argues that loyalty should attach to what is true rather than to a teacher, sect or personal faction.

Source details

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