Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake
The thought is confirmed in Hugo’s March 1841 letter to Savinien Lapointe. This precise English rendering has not been tied to an inspected translation edition.
“Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake” — After Victor Hugo’s letter to Savinien Lapointe (March 1841); exact English translator and edition unconfirmed.
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Provenance
The source
Source
Letter to Savinien Lapointe, March 1841
Status
Wikisource transcribes the French letter with the relevant passage, recipient and month. Perisho identifies an 1898 English edition, but the linked scan did not expose readable text; exact displayed English remains unverified.
Translation
English translator of the displayed wording not independently identified
Courage pour les grandes douleurs de la vie, et patience pour les petites.
The French letter contains the advice and names its recipient and month. Read the French letter ↗
Perisho gives an English edition reference; we did not recover readable text from that scan. Translation lead ↗
The exact wording has not been tied to a dated original edition. No public-domain status is asserted; the excerpt is used briefly for attribution and criticism.
Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.
Fact-check
Often misattributed
A genuine French source does not identify every circulating English translation.
✕
Popular creditExact English wording
The French is verified; this precise translation was not matched to a readable dated edition. Original letter ↗
✓Keep Hugo’s authorship of the thought separate from the unresolved translation. French letter ↗
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Victor Hugo was a French novelist, poet and dramatist. Here he was encouraging Savinien Lapointe in a letter, rather than offering a free-floating motivational slogan.
For writers & researchers
Cite this
The primary source (Chicago)
Letter to Savinien Lapointe, March 1841. See the linked research; a primary edition of the displayed wording has not been independently confirmed.
This verification page
Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake’?” Last verified 9 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/have-courage-for-the-great-sorrows-of-life-and-patience-for/