--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And out of that hopeless attempt has come…" description: "\"And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history—money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery—..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c0/anonymous-1_ambition_and-out-of-that-hopeless-attempt-has-com_1902796.jpg" --- # And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that… ![“And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history—money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery—the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c0/anonymous-1_ambition_and-out-of-that-hopeless-attempt-has-com_1902796.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c0/anonymous-1_ambition_and-out-of-that-hopeless-attempt-has-com_1902796.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c0/anonymous-1_ambition_and-out-of-that-hopeless-attempt-has-com_1902796.jpg) > “And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history—money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery—the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote laments humanity’s endless quest for fulfillment through material and social constructs, suggesting they replace divine purpose. **In simple terms:** Human history seeks happiness in worldly things, not God. Key Takeaway Recognize the emptiness of material pursuits. Themes materialism spirituality history human nature Mood cynical reflective Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - political activism - personal reflection - academic study - religious discourse Key Concepts existentialism philosophy critique of capitalism Questions to Reflect On - What drives societies to replace spiritual meaning with material systems? - Can material achievements ever provide lasting fulfillment? A Different Perspective It may overlook positive aspects of progress and human creativity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Empires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empires/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Human history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-history/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Prostitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prostitution/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [ “\[N\]early all that we call human history—money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery—\[is\] the long terrible story of man trying to find something… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/n-early-all-that-we-call-human-history-money-poverty-ambition-war/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [ “\[A\]ll that we call human history—money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery—\[is\] the long terrible story of man trying to find something other… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/a-ll-that-we-call-human-history-money-poverty-ambition-war/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [It would, of course, be hopeless to attempt to crowd into an international language all those local overtones of meaning which are so dear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-sapir/it-would-of-course-be-hopeless-to-attempt-to-crowd-into-an/) [Edward Sapir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-sapir/) > [“Addiction is only a hopeless attempt to deal with the pain of living cutoff from who we really are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/addiction-is-only-a-hopeless-attempt-to-deal-with-the-pain-of-living/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [Nothing can be more hopeless than to attempt to explain this similarity of pattern in members of the same class, by utility or by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/nothing-can-be-more-hopeless-than-to-attempt-to-explain-this/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Always try your best, even if you fail keep trying. God sees your work, your passion and persistence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/always-try-your-best-even-if-you-fail-keep-trying-god-sees-your-work/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Stop living your life trying to please everyone, please God and let the chips fall where they may!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stop-living-your-life-trying-to-please-everyone-please-god-and-let/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Someone who is determinedly trying to show God how good he or she is is likely to become an insufferable prig.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/someone-who-is-determinedly-trying-to-show-god-how-good-he-or-she-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some few, and I am one of them, even wish to God, though at the loss of millions of lives, that the North would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/some-few-and-i-am-one-of-them-even-wish-to-god-though-at-the-loss-of/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“Although slavery has long been a part of human history, American chattel slavery represents a case of human trauma incomparable in scope, duration and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-degruy-leary/although-slavery-has-long-been-a-part-of-human-history-american/) Joy Degruy Leary > [“Banning the institution of slavery itself long remained only a distant hope in much of Africa and the Middle East, even after it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/banning-the-institution-of-slavery-itself-long-remained-only-a/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Slavery is a long slow process of dulling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/slavery-is-a-long-slow-process-of-dulling/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [“It was not until the year 1808 that Great Britain abolished the slave trade. Up to that time her judges, sitting upon the bench…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-g-ingersoll/it-was-not-until-the-year-1808-that-great-britain-abolished-the-slave/) [Robert G. Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-g-ingersoll/) > [Some few, & I am one, even wish to God, though at the loss of millions of lives, that the North would proclaim a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/some-few-i-am-one-even-wish-to-god-though-at-the-loss-of-millions-of/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I do think that some form of reparations for the descendants of American slavery would go a long way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chatterton-williams/i-do-think-that-some-form-of-reparations-for-the-descendants-of/) [Thomas Chatterton Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chatterton-williams/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## 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": "And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history—money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery—the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-out-of-that-hopeless-attempt-has-come-nearly-all-that-we-call/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-out-of-that-hopeless-attempt-has-come-nearly-all-that-we-call/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c0/anonymous-1_ambition_and-out-of-that-hopeless-attempt-has-com_1902796.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c0/anonymous-1_ambition_and-out-of-that-hopeless-attempt-has-com_1902796.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c0/anonymous-1_ambition_and-out-of-that-hopeless-attempt-has-com_1902796.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history—money, poverty, ambition…” — Anonymous", "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": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "And out of that hopeless attempt...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-out-of-that-hopeless-attempt-has-come-nearly-all-that-we-call/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-out-of-that-hopeless-attempt-has-come-nearly-all-that-we-call/#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 } } ] } ```