How glorious it is — and also how painful — to be an exception.

The line captures the double-edged experience of standing apart from the crowd. To be “an exception” can feel glorious because it confers distinction—talent, originality, moral courage, or a singular destiny. Yet the same difference can be painful: exceptions are exposed to scrutiny, loneliness, misunderstanding, and the pressure of living up to an identity that separates them from ordinary consolations. Musset’s phrasing holds these emotions in tension rather than resolving them, suggesting that exceptional status is not a pure triumph but a condition that exacts a personal cost. The quote resonates with Romantic-era ideals of the singular individual, while also acknowledging the suffering that often accompanies that ideal.