Our acts make or mar us, we are the children of our own deeds.

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French writer

(Attributed)

Not confirmed or found in Hugo's writings.

The most common citation is is used in Henry Southgate, Things A Lady Would Like To Know, "November 18," epigraph (1875). However, I found a number of earlier references:

• 1874: Eugene Crowell, The Identity of Primitive Christianity and Modern Spiritualism (no attribution to Hugo).
• 1873: Maria Westmoreland, Clifford Troup: A Georgia Story, ch. 23.
• 1872-05-09: Massillon Independent, Vol. 9, No. 49 (column filler, no attribution to Hugo).
• 1872: Maturin Ballou, Treasury of Thought.

A similar quotation, attributed (similarly without citation) to Miguel de Cervantes or Jean Paul Richter, reads: "Good actions ennoble us, and we are sons of our own deeds."