--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But there are no absolutes in human…" description: "\"But there are no absolutes in human misery and things can always get worse\" — Cormac McCarthy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/853/cormac-mccarthy-181_humans_but-there-are-no-absolutes-in-human-mise_720075.jpg" --- # But there are no absolutes in human misery and things can… ![“But there are no absolutes in human misery and things can always get worse” quote by Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/853/cormac-mccarthy-181_humans_but-there-are-no-absolutes-in-human-mise_720075.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/853/cormac-mccarthy-181_humans_but-there-are-no-absolutes-in-human-mise_720075.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/853/cormac-mccarthy-181_humans_but-there-are-no-absolutes-in-human-mise_720075.jpg) > “But there are no absolutes in human misery and things can always get worse” [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human suffering is never absolute; conditions can deteriorate further, reminding us to stay vigilant and compassionate. **In simple terms:** Misery can worsen; nothing is permanent. Key Takeaway Remain aware of worsening conditions and act with empathy. Themes suffering human condition hope resilience uncertainty Mood somber reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - disaster relief - mental health support - social services - personal crises Key Concepts existentialism psychology ethics Questions to Reflect On - What can individuals do to mitigate worsening misery? - How does hope persist amid suffering? A Different Perspective The statement may be overly pessimistic, ignoring potential for recovery. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolutes Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes-human-5661383/) [Human Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-misery/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery/) [Misery Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery-things-3016942/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Things Worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-worse/) [Worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worse/) ## Related quotes > [“since pain and misery are among the few things that, when shared, always multiply. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-padura/since-pain-and-misery-are-among-the-few-things-that-when-shared/) [Leonardo Padura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-padura/) > [You know, the camera is not meant just to show misery. You can show things that you like about the universe, things that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-parks/you-know-the-camera-is-not-meant-just-to-show-misery-you-can-show/) [Gordon Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-parks/) > [I never believe much in happiness. I never believe in misery either. Those are things you see on the stage or the screen or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-never-believe-much-in-happiness-i-never-believe-in-misery-either/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [ Far from being the crown of human thought and religion as its supporters have claimed for several bloody millennia, \[monotheism\] is in fact a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-bonewits/far-from-being-the-crown-of-human-thought-and-religion-as-its/) [Isaac Bonewits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-bonewits/) > [“Wherever you find human misery, you find lawyers, either causing it or making a profit from it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wherever-you-find-human-misery-you-find-lawyers-either-causing-it-or/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My world of human beings had perished. I was utterly alone in the world and for friends I had the streets, and the streets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/my-world-of-human-beings-had-perished-i-was-utterly-alone-in-the/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [There’s no democratic state that’s not compromised to the very core by its part in generating human misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilles-deleuze/there-s-no-democratic-state-that-s-not-compromised-to-the-very-core/) [Gilles Deleuze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-deleuze/) > [There's never any ebb in human misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/there-s-never-any-ebb-in-human-misery/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [“The need for gain, and advantage over others, is one of the chief driving forces behind all human misery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/the-need-for-gain-and-advantage-over-others-is-one-of-the-chief/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [Human misery is too great for men to do without faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-heine/human-misery-is-too-great-for-men-to-do-without-faith/) [Heinrich Heine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-heine/) > [“religion is a paramount contributor to human misery. It is not merely the opium of the masses, it is the cyanide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/religion-is-a-paramount-contributor-to-human-misery-it-is-not-merely/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > ["Spirituality" wrongly understood or pursued is a major source of human misery and rebellion against God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/spirituality-wrongly-understood-or-pursued-is-a-major-source-of-human/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [There are a lot of things worse to be than the 'Pharrell girl.' I hope that'll wear off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-rogers/there-are-a-lot-of-things-worse-to-be-than-the-pharrell-girl-i-hope/) [Maggie Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-rogers/) > [Being negative about everything doesn't change anything & in my opinion it only makes things worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-negative-about-everything-doesn-t-change-anything-in-my-opinion/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [An optimist in Canada is someone who think things could be worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/preston-manning/an-optimist-in-canada-is-someone-who-think-things-could-be-worse/) [Preston Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/preston-manning/) ## More by Cormac McCarthy > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“The events of the world can have no separate life from the world. And yet the world itself can have no temporal view of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-events-of-the-world-can-have-no-separate-life-from-the-world-and/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“I had two dreams about him after he died. I dont remember the first one all that well but it was about meetin him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/i-had-two-dreams-about-him-after-he-died-i-dont-remember-the-first/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You think people was meaner then than they are now? the deputy said. The old man was looking out at the flooded town. No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-think-people-was-meaner-then-than-they-are-now-the-deputy-said/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“They set forth in a crimson dawn where sky and earth closed in a razorous plane. Out there dark little archipelagos of cloud and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-set-forth-in-a-crimson-dawn-where-sky-and-earth-closed-in-a/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Nothing. Where all was burnt to ash before them no fires were to be had and the nights were long and dark and cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/nothing-where-all-was-burnt-to-ash-before-them-no-fires-were-to-be/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [He said that whether a man's life was writ in a book someplace or whether it took its form day by day was one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-said-that-whether-a-man-s-life-was-writ-in-a-book-someplace-or/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“He lives in a room above a courtyard behind a tavern and he comes down at night like some fairybook beast to fight with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-lives-in-a-room-above-a-courtyard-behind-a-tavern-and-he-comes/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Ultimo hombre. Last man standing, must've been one. Where'd he go?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/ultimo-hombre-last-man-standing-must-ve-been-one-where-d-he-go/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“To seek out the upright. No fall but preceded by a declination. He took great marching steps into the nothingness, counting them against his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/to-seek-out-the-upright-no-fall-but-preceded-by-a-declination-he-took/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“They went through the last of the cars and then walked up the track to the locomotive and climbed up to the catwalk. Rust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-went-through-the-last-of-the-cars-and-then-walked-up-the-track/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Night fell upon them dark and starblown and the wagon grew swollen near mute with dew. On their chairs in such black immobility these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/night-fell-upon-them-dark-and-starblown-and-the-wagon-grew-swollen/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“When I was in school I studied biology. I learned that in making their experiments scientists will take some group - bacteria, mice, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/when-i-was-in-school-i-studied-biology-i-learned-that-in-making-their/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [ “We none of us knew him to speak \[Dutch\]. Asked him where he'd learned it you know what he said? What did he say.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/we-none-of-us-knew-him-to-speak-dutch-asked-him-where-he-d-learned-it/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You know that the things you put it your head stay there, right?' 'Yeah. But you remember some things, don't you?' 'Yeah. You remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-know-that-the-things-you-put-it-your-head-stay-there-right-yeah/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) [Explore all 927 Cormac McCarthy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## More Humans quotes > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) [Kenan Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenan-malik/) > [Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/human-beings-have-an-innate-inner-drive-to-be-autonomous-self/) [Daniel H. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/) > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) [Browse all 32,126 Humans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But there are no absolutes in human misery and things can always get worse", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cormac McCarthy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/but-there-are-no-absolutes-in-human-misery-and-things-can-always-get/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Humans" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/but-there-are-no-absolutes-in-human-misery-and-things-can-always-get/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/853/cormac-mccarthy-181_humans_but-there-are-no-absolutes-in-human-mise_720075.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/853/cormac-mccarthy-181_humans_but-there-are-no-absolutes-in-human-mise_720075.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/853/cormac-mccarthy-181_humans_but-there-are-no-absolutes-in-human-mise_720075.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But there are no absolutes in human misery and things can always get worse” — Cormac McCarthy", "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": "Cormac McCarthy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "But there are no absolutes in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/but-there-are-no-absolutes-in-human-misery-and-things-can-always-get/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/but-there-are-no-absolutes-in-human-misery-and-things-can-always-get/#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 } } ] } ```