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Futility


Futility

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Quotations

Steve JobsRemembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

—  Steve Jobs, 1955-2011, American businessman

9 likes
Carl SaganWe are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.

—  Carl Sagan, 1934-1996, American astronomer

8 likes
Harry TrumanIt doesn't matter how big a ranch you own or how many cows you brand, the size of your funeral is still gonna depend on the weather.

—  Harry Truman, 1884-1972, American President [1945-1953]

7 likes
Stefan ZweigLife is futile unless it be directed towards a definite goal.

—  Stefan Zweig, 1881-1942, Austrian writer

5 likes
Emile M. CioranSince the only things we remember are humiliations and defeats, what is the use of all the rest?

—  Emile M. Cioran, 1911-1995, French-Romanian philosopher

4 likes
Jean-Paul SartreNothingness haunts being.

—  Jean-Paul Sartre, 1905-1980, French philosopher

4 likes
Mahatma GandhiWhatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.

—  Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948, Indian leader of independence

3 likes
Gertrude Stein– Alice, Alice, what is the answer?
– There is no answer.
– Well, then, what is the question?

—  Gertrude Stein, 1874-1946, American writer

     (coming out of a coma to her partner Alice Toklas –the last words before her death)

Nikos KazantzakisI once saw a bee drowned in honey and then I understood.

—  Nikos Kazantzakis, 1883-1957, Greek writer

Remy de GourmontTears flow and smiles fade to the same rhythm of life, to disappear together in the bottomless abyss.

—  Remy de Gourmont, 1858-1915, French poet

Robert Louis Stevenson Old and young, we are all on our last cruise.

—  Robert Louis Stevenson, 1850-1894, Scottish writer

Henry MillerThe frantic desire to Live, to live at any cost, is not a result of the life rhythm in us, but of the death rhythm.

—  Henry Miller, 1891-1980, American writer

Maurice ChapelanHappiness is sand between the fingers in the wind.

—  Maurice Chapelan, 1906-1992, French author of maxims & journalist

James BarrieOur life is a book to which we add daily, until suddenly we are finished, and then the manuscript is burned.

—  James Barrie, 1860-1937, English writer

Latin Quotes

Latin phraseRemember death.

Memento mori.

—  Latin phrase

151 likes
OvidNothing is certain to men.

Nil homini certum est.

—  Ovid, 43 BC-17 AD, Roman poet

19 likes
The life of a human being is like a shadow.

Umbra sicut hominis vita.

—  Medieval Sundial motto

18 likes
Latin phraseEven in Arcadia was I.

Et in Arcadia ego.

—  Latin phrase

—  Tomb inscription in the painting of Nicolas Poussin “Shepherds of Arcadia”

     (Arcadia, in Peloponnese, symbolizes Utopia)

13 likes

Quotes in Verse

Constantine KavafyOur efforts are those of men prone to disaster;
our efforts are like those of the Trojans.

—  Constantine Kavafy, 1868-1933, Greek poet ‐ Trojans

3 likes
Emily DickinsonFutile—the winds—
To a heart in port—
Done with the compass—
Done with the chart!

—  Emily Dickinson, 1830-1886, American poet

2 likes

Ancient Greek

PindarMan is the dream of a shadow.

Σκιάς όναρ άνθρωπος.

—  Pindar, 522-438 BC, Ancient Greek lyric poet

47 likes
DemocritusThe world is a stage, life is a passage. You came, you saw, you departed.

Ο κόσμος σκηνή, ο βίος πάροδος. Ήλθες, είδες, απήλθες.

—  Democritus, 470-370 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher

37 likes
Marcus AureliusSoon, you will forget everything, and soon everybody will forget you.

Εγγύς μεν η ση περί πάντων λήθη, εγγύς δε η πάντων περί σού λήθη.

—  Marcus Aurelius, 121-180 AD, Roman Emperor ‐ Meditations VII, 21

22 likes
EpictetusYou are a little soul, carrying a corpse.

Ψυχάριον εί, βαστάζον νεκρόν.

—  Epictetus, 50-120 AD, Ancient Greek Stoic philosopher

19 likes
EuripidesIn death all men are earth and shadow. Naught come to naught.

Κατθανών δε πας ανήρ γη και σκιά, το μηδέν εις ουδέν ρέπει.

—  Euripides, 480-406 BC, Ancient Greek tragedian ‐ Meleager

9 likes
Ancient Greek phraseA deer picks up a fight with the lion.

Προς λέοντα δορκάς άπτεται μάχης.

—  Ancient Greek phrase

8 likes
EuripidesEarth breeds all and takes back all.

Άπαντα τίκτει χθών πάλιν τε και λαμβάνειν.

—  Euripides, 480-406 BC, Ancient Greek tragedian ‐ Antioppe

7 likes
HerodotusCircumstances rule men; men do not rule circumstances.

Μάθε ότι αι συμφοραί των ανθρώπων άρχουσι και ουχί άνθρωποι των συμφορέων.

—  Herodotus, 480-420 BC, Ancient Greek historian, the “ father of History”

7 likes

Proverbs

French proverbAll pass, all fade, all break.

Tout passe, tout lasse, tout casse.

—  French proverb

9 likes
International proverbShrouds have no pockets.

—  International proverb

3 likes

Special Quotes

Life is but a shadow: the shadow of a bird on the wing.

—  Sundial motto

5 likes



Similar categories & topics of Quotations






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Transience

Ineffectiveness

Inevitable

Indifference

Despair

Cause & Effect

Disappointment

Inevitable

Vain Effort

Indifference

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Goals

Hope

Enthusiasm

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 Popular Topics
1 Friendship
2 Victory & Defeat
3 Solitude
4 Seduction
5 Self-reliance
6 Ego
7 Drinking
8 Cunning
9 Eroticism
10 Nudity
11 Vanity
12 Self-deprecation
13 Incompetence
14 Sex
15 Religion
16 Meaning of Life
17 Life
18 Death
19 Corruption
20 Democracy
 

2024: Manolis Papathanassiou