--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He said that even the damned in hell have…" description: "\"“He said that even the damned in hell have the community of their suffering and he thought that he’d guessed out likewise for the living a nominal grie..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/cormac-mccarthy-181_justice_he-said-that-even-the-damned-in-hell-hav_687967.jpg" --- # He said that even the damned in hell have the community of… ![“He said that even the damned in hell have the community of their suffering and he thought that he’d guessed out likewise for the living a nominal grief like a grange from which disaster and ruin are proportioned by laws of equity too subtle for divining.” quote by Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/cormac-mccarthy-181_justice_he-said-that-even-the-damned-in-hell-hav_687967.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/cormac-mccarthy-181_justice_he-said-that-even-the-damned-in-hell-hav_687967.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/cormac-mccarthy-181_justice_he-said-that-even-the-damned-in-hell-hav_687967.jpg) > ““He said that even the damned in hell have the community of their suffering and he thought that he’d guessed out likewise for the living a nominal grief like a grange from which disaster and ruin are proportioned by laws of equity too subtle for divining.”” [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. Suffering binds both the damned and the living, suggesting shared pain is governed by subtle, unseen laws **In simple terms:** Pain is a common, hidden force shaping lives Key Takeaway Acknowledge shared suffering to foster empathy Themes suffering justice human condition Mood somber thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - grief counseling - conflict resolution - community support - legal theory Key Concepts philosophy of morality existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What does shared pain reveal about fairness? - How can we address hidden inequities? A Different Perspective Assuming universal suffering may overlook individual agency ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Even the damned in hell have the community of their suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/even-the-damned-in-hell-have-the-community-of-their-suffering/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [He's an angel. Isn't he supposed to love everyone, even the damned? Especially when said damned are his drinking buddies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/he-s-an-angel-isn-t-he-supposed-to-love-everyone-even-the-damned/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [“... and he looked at me and I looked at him and he said," What's happening here, mister? " and I said," I'm damned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/and-he-looked-at-me-and-i-looked-at-him-and-he-said-what-s-happening/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“To hell with all that, began the Sheriff, and was again interrupted by Mrs. Buster, who said that under no circumstances would she tolerate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/to-hell-with-all-that-began-the-sheriff-and-was-again-interrupted-by/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [“Because if Styx was damned to hell, so was I. I would follow him into the fire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tillie-cole/because-if-styx-was-damned-to-hell-so-was-i-i-would-follow-him-into/) [Tillie Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tillie-cole/) > [When I was a young man, barely 18, I discovered Jesus Christ as my personal saviour, and for six months I told my mother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-rhinehart/when-i-was-a-young-man-barely-18-i-discovered-jesus-christ-as-my/) [Luke Rhinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-rhinehart/) > [I tell you the groans of the damned in hell are the deep bass of the universal anthem of praise that shall ascend to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/i-tell-you-the-groans-of-the-damned-in-hell-are-the-deep-bass-of-the/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [“I live at the end of some interminable corridor which the lucky damned can call hell but which the much unluckier atheists - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/i-live-at-the-end-of-some-interminable-corridor-which-the-lucky/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [“His lips pulled back from his teeth. "This then, shall be my singular consolation, my bitter solace: that when you die - and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tosca-lee/his-lips-pulled-back-from-his-teeth-this-then-shall-be-my-singular/) [Tosca Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tosca-lee/) > [I have nothing but contempt for you idiotic chosen ones who have the heart to rejoice when there are the damned in Hell and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/i-have-nothing-but-contempt-for-you-idiotic-chosen-ones-who-have-the/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [When I'm killed, don't think of me Buried there in Cambrin Wood, Nor as in Zion think of me With the Intolerable Good. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/when-i-m-killed-don-t-think-of-me-buried-there-in-cambrin-wood-nor-as/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [“ If I'd ever taken the time to wonder about my soul being as black as this town seemed to believe, I knew the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbi-glines/if-i-d-ever-taken-the-time-to-wonder-about-my-soul-being-as-black-as/) [Abbi Glines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbi-glines/) > [That the saints may enjoy their beatitude and the grace of God more abundantly they are permitted to see the punishment of the damned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/that-the-saints-may-enjoy-their-beatitude-and-the-grace-of-god-more/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [The same fire" (which he decides to be material) " torments the damned in hell and the just in purgatory...The least pain in purgatory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/the-same-fire-which-he-decides-to-be-material-torments-the-damned-in/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [“If this is what heaven feels like, then I've been damned to hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-aleman/if-this-is-what-heaven-feels-like-then-i-ve-been-damned-to-hell/) [Tiffany Aleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-aleman/) ## 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 Justice quotes > [Never fight on the wrong side; you might win but the burden of guilt is more than a loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilian-salan/never-fight-on-the-wrong-side-you-might-win-but-the-burden-of-guilt/) [Lilian Salan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilian-salan/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [“Crime and punishment can be summed up in two classifications: there are bad people and there are people who get into bad situations. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-dent-jr/crime-and-punishment-can-be-summed-up-in-two-classifications-there/) [Johnnie Dent Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-dent-jr/) > [In the battle for police reform, accountability and justice, Americans don't have to re-invent the wheel. We just have to revoke the thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-johnson/in-the-battle-for-police-reform-accountability-and-justice-americans/) [Jason Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-johnson/) > [“Why do so many people do nothing? I think it’s because most of us look at the evils and injustice around us, and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/why-do-so-many-people-do-nothing-i-think-it-s-because-most-of-us-look/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [“The jailers, the Court, everyone in that building – it wasn’t about justice; it was about obedience and intimidation…about maintaining order. Fear accomplished that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-allan/the-jailers-the-court-everyone-in-that-building-it-wasn-t-about/) [Jay Allan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-allan/) > [Civilized nations are ones that simply can't endure wrongs or injustice except at home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-anderson/civilized-nations-are-ones-that-simply-can-t-endure-wrongs-or/) Joseph Anderson > [Time often serves to justify a deed which seems at first unjustifiable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-p-ryan/time-often-serves-to-justify-a-deed-which-seems-at-first-unjustifiable/) Donald P. Ryan > [This cold weather has set all the young Folks to providing Bedfellows. I have signed two or three Licences every Day \[as a Fairfax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young-folks-to-providing-bedfellows/) [George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [At minimum, we must recognize that there are legitimate, unanswered questions about whether the Obama Justice Department involved themselves in a political project targeting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-meadows/at-minimum-we-must-recognize-that-there-are-legitimate-unanswered/) [Mark Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-meadows/) > [We need to incorporate that age-old concept of redemption into the work that we do in the criminal justice system in California.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamala-harris/we-need-to-incorporate-that-age-old-concept-of-redemption-into-the/) [Kamala Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamala-harris/) > [There is no freedom without justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/there-is-no-freedom-without-justice/) [Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/) > [“The absence of judgment becomes a catalyst and an enabler for greater injustice. Contrary to popular thought, judgment is a GOOD thing when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-chace-gordon/the-absence-of-judgment-becomes-a-catalyst-and-an-enabler-for-greater/) [J. Chace Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-chace-gordon/) > [The function of the law is not to provide justice or to preserve freedom. The function of the law is to keep those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/the-function-of-the-law-is-not-to-provide-justice-or-to-preserve/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) [Browse all 13,527 Justice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He said that even the damned in hell have the community of their suffering and he thought that he’d guessed out likewise for the living a nominal grief like a grange from which disaster and ruin are proportioned by laws of equity too subtle for divining.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cormac McCarthy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-said-that-even-the-damned-in-hell-have-the-community-of-their/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Justice" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-said-that-even-the-damned-in-hell-have-the-community-of-their/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/cormac-mccarthy-181_justice_he-said-that-even-the-damned-in-hell-hav_687967.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/cormac-mccarthy-181_justice_he-said-that-even-the-damned-in-hell-hav_687967.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/cormac-mccarthy-181_justice_he-said-that-even-the-damned-in-hell-hav_687967.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He said that even the damned in hell have the community of their suffering and he thought that he’d guessed…” — 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": "“He said that even the damned...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-said-that-even-the-damned-in-hell-have-the-community-of-their/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-said-that-even-the-damned-in-hell-have-the-community-of-their/#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 } } ] } ```