--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A belief in hell and the knowledge that…" description: "\"A belief in hell and the knowledge that every ambition is doomed to frustration at the hands of a skeleton have never prevented the majority of human b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f77/aldous-huxley-97_ambition_a-belief-in-hell-and-the-knowledge-that_1079096.jpg" --- # A belief in hell and the knowledge that every ambition is… ![“A belief in hell and the knowledge that every ambition is doomed to frustration at the hands of a skeleton have never prevented the majority of human beings from behaving as though death were no more than an unfounded rumor.” quote by Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f77/aldous-huxley-97_ambition_a-belief-in-hell-and-the-knowledge-that_1079096.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f77/aldous-huxley-97_ambition_a-belief-in-hell-and-the-knowledge-that_1079096.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f77/aldous-huxley-97_ambition_a-belief-in-hell-and-the-knowledge-that_1079096.jpg) > “A belief in hell and the knowledge that every ambition is doomed to frustration at the hands of a skeleton have never prevented the majority of human beings from behaving as though death were no more than an unfounded rumor.” [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People ignore death's reality, pursuing ambitions despite inevitable frustration. **In simple terms:** Denial of death fuels reckless ambition. Key Takeaway Recognize mortality to temper goals. Themes mortality ambition illusion Mood cautious philosophical Type reflective critical When to use this quote - career planning - risk assessment - ethical decision‑making Key Concepts existential dread human folly Questions to Reflect On - What ambitions might be tempered by mortality? - How does acknowledging death change priorities? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can lead to catastrophic failure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Frustration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frustration/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Rumor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rumor/) ## Related quotes > [If it is not strong upon your heart to practice what you read, to what end do you read? To increase your own condemnation?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-brooks/if-it-is-not-strong-upon-your-heart-to-practice-what-you-read-to-what/) [Thomas Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-brooks/) > [Perhaps the thought of going to hell doesn't alarm you, because you don't believe in it. That may be your belief, but if hell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-cameron/perhaps-the-thought-of-going-to-hell-doesn-t-alarm-you-because-you/) [Kirk Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-cameron/) > [If memory survived eternally, then indeed there might be justification for a belief in hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-aumonier/if-memory-survived-eternally-then-indeed-there-might-be-justification/) [Stacy Aumonier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-aumonier/) > [Every Gag I tell must be based on truth. No matter how much I may exaggerate it, it must have a certain amount of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/every-gag-i-tell-must-be-based-on-truth-no-matter-how-much-i-may/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [I think people start rumors because it creates interest and it makes people look at things and become more interested in what they're looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-carradine/i-think-people-start-rumors-because-it-creates-interest-and-it-makes/) [Keith Carradine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-carradine/) > [On Rumor's tongue continual slanders ride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/on-rumor-s-tongue-continual-slanders-ride/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The biggest journalistic game-changer of our time has been the rise of social media and the overgrowth of faux news sources - league- and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lipsyte/the-biggest-journalistic-game-changer-of-our-time-has-been-the-rise/) [Robert Lipsyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lipsyte/) > [The world of rumor and gossip is like a privileged world with which a social scientist or an anthropologist can take the temperature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-scott/the-world-of-rumor-and-gossip-is-like-a-privileged-world-with-which-a/) [James C. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-scott/) > [I heard a rumor that I had...left the earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-simpson/i-heard-a-rumor-that-i-had-left-the-earth/) [Cody Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-simpson/) > [“The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last for ever. Even on the most beautiful days in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-crickets-felt-it-was-their-duty-to-warn-everybody-that-summertime/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Rumor does not always err; it sometimes even elects a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/rumor-does-not-always-err-it-sometimes-even-elects-a-man/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [I read the rumors, and I know there is a cottage industry of meanness out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-lauer/i-read-the-rumors-and-i-know-there-is-a-cottage-industry-of-meanness/) [Matt Lauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-lauer/) > [“I'll be back quick as a rumor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geralyn-dawson/i-ll-be-back-quick-as-a-rumor/) Geralyn Dawson > [As much as I want to stay on the team -- I love Chicago, I love the Bulls -- at the same time, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luol-deng/as-much-as-i-want-to-stay-on-the-team-i-love-chicago-i-love-the-bulls/) [Luol Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luol-deng/) > [“She was the goddess of gossip and rumor, not the goddess of thoroughly fact-checked information. Some people, Principal Zeus included, didn't seem to realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-holub-suzanne-williams/she-was-the-goddess-of-gossip-and-rumor-not-the-goddess-of-thoroughly/) Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams ## More by Aldous Huxley > [“Unorthodoxy threatens more than the life of a mere individual; it strikes at Society itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/unorthodoxy-threatens-more-than-the-life-of-a-mere-individual-it/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Man has an almost infinite capacity for taking things and people for granted and thereby missing out on the pleasure of being grateful that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/man-has-an-almost-infinite-capacity-for-taking-things-and-people-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [My fate cannot be mastered; it can only be collaborated with and thereby, to some extent, directed. Nor am I the captain of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/my-fate-cannot-be-mastered-it-can-only-be-collaborated-with-and/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Impulse arrested spills over, and the flood is feeling, the flood is passion, the flood is even madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/impulse-arrested-spills-over-and-the-flood-is-feeling-the-flood-is/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Of course the Dharma-body of the Buddha was the hedge at the bottom of the garden. At the same time, and no less obviously,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/of-course-the-dharma-body-of-the-buddha-was-the-hedge-at-the-bottom/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“The question for the man of sense is: Do we or do we not want to go to hell? And his answer is: No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-question-for-the-man-of-sense-is-do-we-or-do-we-not-want-to-go-to/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“I’ll MAKE you be free whether you want to or not.’ -The Savage”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/i-ll-make-you-be-free-whether-you-want-to-or-not-the-savage/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Thought of the incomprehensible sequence of changes and chances that make up a life, all the beauties and horrors and absurdities whose conjunctions create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/thought-of-the-incomprehensible-sequence-of-changes-and-chances-that/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [The third petition of the Lord's Prayer is repeated daily by millions who have not the slightest intention of letting anyone's will be done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-third-petition-of-the-lord-s-prayer-is-repeated-daily-by-millions/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“Then what’s time for?” asked Lenina in some astonishment. Apparently, for going on walks in the Lake District; for that was what he now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/then-what-s-time-for-asked-lenina-in-some-astonishment-apparently-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [All right then," said the Savage defiantly, "I'm claiming the right to be unhappy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/all-right-then-said-the-savage-defiantly-i-m-claiming-the-right-to-be/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Speed, it seems to me, provides the one genuinely modern pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/speed-it-seems-to-me-provides-the-one-genuinely-modern-pleasure/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“What you need is a gramme of soma.” “All the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/what-you-need-is-a-gramme-of-soma-all-the-advantages-of-christianity/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [To be enlightened is to be aware, always, of total reality in its immanent otherness - to be aware of it and yet remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/to-be-enlightened-is-to-be-aware-always-of-total-reality-in-its/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“Quote of the day:Quote of the day: A democracy which makes or even effectively prepares for modern, scientific war must necessarily cease to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/quote-of-the-day-quote-of-the-day-a-democracy-which-makes-or-even/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) [Explore all 1,291 Aldous Huxley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) ## More Ambition quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-s-worth-is-no-greater-than-the-worth-of-his-ambitions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [Work towards your goal and dont watch the post size,its either they hate,or like you.there is no room for both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-buabeng/work-towards-your-goal-and-dont-watch-the-post-size-its-either-they/) [Isaac Buabeng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-buabeng/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There's nothing worse than a leader who lacks ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-leader-who-lacks-ambition/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If i can't even protect my captain's dream, then whatever ambition i have is nothing but talk..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoro/if-i-can-t-even-protect-my-captain-s-dream-then-whatever-ambition-i/) [Zoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoro/) > [It may seem unattainable but if you put actions, your heart and your mind into it, you will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/it-may-seem-unattainable-but-if-you-put-actions-your-heart-and-your/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) [Browse all 4,601 Ambition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A belief in hell and the knowledge that every ambition is doomed to frustration at the hands of a skeleton have never prevented the majority of human beings from behaving as though death were no more than an unfounded rumor.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aldous Huxley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/a-belief-in-hell-and-the-knowledge-that-every-ambition-is-doomed-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/a-belief-in-hell-and-the-knowledge-that-every-ambition-is-doomed-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f77/aldous-huxley-97_ambition_a-belief-in-hell-and-the-knowledge-that_1079096.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f77/aldous-huxley-97_ambition_a-belief-in-hell-and-the-knowledge-that_1079096.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f77/aldous-huxley-97_ambition_a-belief-in-hell-and-the-knowledge-that_1079096.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A belief in hell and the knowledge that every ambition is doomed to frustration at the hands of a skeleton…” — Aldous Huxley", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Aldous Huxley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A belief in hell and the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/a-belief-in-hell-and-the-knowledge-that-every-ambition-is-doomed-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/a-belief-in-hell-and-the-knowledge-that-every-ambition-is-doomed-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```