--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing's the same for anyone. That's why…" description: "\"“Nothing's the same for anyone. That's why life's this Hell, if you do a thing you're damned, and if you don't you're damned . . . .”\" — E.M. Forster" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a6/e-m-forster-2-1148_life_nothing-s-the-same-for-anyone-that-s-why_922167.jpg" --- # Nothing's the same for anyone. That's why life's this… ![“Nothing's the same for anyone. That's why life's this Hell, if you do a thing you're damned, and if you don't you're damned . . . .” quote by E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a6/e-m-forster-2-1148_life_nothing-s-the-same-for-anyone-that-s-why_922167.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a6/e-m-forster-2-1148_life_nothing-s-the-same-for-anyone-that-s-why_922167.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a6/e-m-forster-2-1148_life_nothing-s-the-same-for-anyone-that-s-why_922167.jpg) > ““Nothing's the same for anyone. That's why life's this Hell, if you do a thing you're damned, and if you don't you're damned . . . .”” [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life feels like a hell where any action leads to condemnation, and inaction does too, highlighting existential dread. **In simple terms:** Every choice seems damned. Key Takeaway Accept life's paradoxes. Themes existentialism choice guilt hell Mood dark thoughtful Type existential literary When to use this quote - moral dilemmas - career decisions - creative pursuits - personal relationships Key Concepts philosophy literature Questions to Reflect On - How do you find meaning amid inevitable guilt? - Can inaction ever be a positive choice? A Different Perspective Some find meaning despite the paradox; not all see life as hell. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Damned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damned/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Hell Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell-thing-1357275/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-hell/) [Thing Damned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-damned-1436411/) ## Related quotes > [“Life is a hell of a thing to happen to someone”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rossi/life-is-a-hell-of-a-thing-to-happen-to-someone/) [David Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rossi/) > [“Life is a hell of a thing to happen to a person”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-a-hell-of-a-thing-to-happen-to-a-person/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just live that life. It doesn't matter whether it is life or hell, life of the hungry ghost, life of the animal, it's okay;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taizan-maezumi/just-live-that-life-it-doesn-t-matter-whether-it-is-life-or-hell-life/) [Taizan Maezumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taizan-maezumi/) > [I draw a weekly comic strip called Life in Hell, which is syndicated in about 250 newspapers. That's what I did before The Simpsons,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-groening/i-draw-a-weekly-comic-strip-called-life-in-hell-which-is-syndicated/) [Matt Groening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-groening/) > [The whole difficulty of understanding Hell is that the thing to be understood is so nearly nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-whole-difficulty-of-understanding-hell-is-that-the-thing-to-be/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“It's a hell of a thing, killin' a man. You take away all he's got and all he's ever gonna have.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-munny/it-s-a-hell-of-a-thing-killin-a-man-you-take-away-all-he-s-got-and/) [Will Munny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-munny/) > [“That was a hell of a thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/engineer-fred-kwan-galaxy-quest/that-was-a-hell-of-a-thing/) [Engineer Fred Kwan Galaxy Quest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/engineer-fred-kwan-galaxy-quest/) > [“It's a hell of a thing; killin' a man. You take away everything he ever had and ever would have.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/it-s-a-hell-of-a-thing-killin-a-man-you-take-away-everything-he-ever/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [It's a hell of a thing, killing a man. You take away all he's got and all he's ever gonna have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/it-s-a-hell-of-a-thing-killing-a-man-you-take-away-all-he-s-got-and/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [“Hell of a thing to have to experience, hell of a thing to have to see, to be reminded you're a human being and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/hell-of-a-thing-to-have-to-experience-hell-of-a-thing-to-have-to-see/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“It’s a hell of a thing to say good-bye to your whole life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-scalzi/it-s-a-hell-of-a-thing-to-say-good-bye-to-your-whole-life/) [John Scalzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-scalzi/) > [It is a hell of a thing to be hungry in your own house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-is-a-hell-of-a-thing-to-be-hungry-in-your-own-house/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [You have told me, O God, to believe in hell. But you have forbidden me to think...of any man as damned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/you-have-told-me-o-god-to-believe-in-hell-but-you-have-forbidden-me/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [“I know the truth about life. It's a hell I'll never get out of alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idk-sorry/i-know-the-truth-about-life-it-s-a-hell-i-ll-never-get-out-of-alive/) [Idk sorry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idk-sorry/) > [“Life is hell, but there are prizes. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/life-is-hell-but-there-are-prizes/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) ## More by E.M. Forster > [“She gave up trying to understand herself, and the vast armies of the benighted, who follow neither the heart nor the brain, and march…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/she-gave-up-trying-to-understand-herself-and-the-vast-armies-of-the/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“They had tried to reproduce their own attitude to life upon the stage, and to dress up as the middle-class English people they actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/they-had-tried-to-reproduce-their-own-attitude-to-life-upon-the-stage/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“I believe in aristocracy, though -- if that is the right word, and if a democrat may use it. Not an aristocracy of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/i-believe-in-aristocracy-though-if-that-is-the-right-word-and-if-a/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Oh, what's the use of your fairmindedness if you never decide for yourself? Anyone gets hold of you and makes you do what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/oh-what-s-the-use-of-your-fairmindedness-if-you-never-decide-for/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“You mean that a Frenchman could share with a friend and yet not go to prison?’ ‘Share? Do you mean unite? If both are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/you-mean-that-a-frenchman-could-share-with-a-friend-and-yet-not-go-to/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Margaret realized the chaotic nature of our daily life, and its difference from the orderly sequence that has been fabricated by historians. Actual life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/margaret-realized-the-chaotic-nature-of-our-daily-life-and-its/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Everything seems just alike in these days.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/everything-seems-just-alike-in-these-days/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“He had said it bravely, and that is why one can trust Beethoven when he says other things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-had-said-it-bravely-and-that-is-why-one-can-trust-beethoven-when/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“He whispered: ‘Is it this? Is this possible? I’ll put a marvel to you. That your cousin has always hoped. That from the very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-whispered-is-it-this-is-this-possible-i-ll-put-a-marvel-to-you/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Perhaps anything that he did would have pleased Lucy, but his awkwardness went straight to her heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/perhaps-anything-that-he-did-would-have-pleased-lucy-but-his/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Because a thing is going strong now, it need not go strong for ever,' she said. 'This craze for motion has only set in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/because-a-thing-is-going-strong-now-it-need-not-go-strong-for-ever/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“England was alive, throbbing through all her estuaries, crying for joy through the mouths of all her gulls, and the north wind, with contrary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/england-was-alive-throbbing-through-all-her-estuaries-crying-for-joy/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“But the poetry of that kiss, the wonder of it, the magic that there was in life for hours after it--who can describe that?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/but-the-poetry-of-that-kiss-the-wonder-of-it-the-magic-that-there-was/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“But that some sonatas of Beethoven are written tragic no one can gainsay; yet they can triumph or despair as the player decides, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/but-that-some-sonatas-of-beethoven-are-written-tragic-no-one-can/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“He chanced to be in a lucid critical mood, and would not sympathize with exaltation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-chanced-to-be-in-a-lucid-critical-mood-and-would-not-sympathize/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) [Explore all 274 E.M. Forster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) ## More Damned quotes > [Sir, my friend John Baynes used to say that the man who published a book without an index ought to be damned ten miles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-douce/sir-my-friend-john-baynes-used-to-say-that-the-man-who-published-a/) [Francis Douce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-douce/) > [“The future be damned. Because right here, right now, I almost lost you. I won’t waste another moment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renea-mason/the-future-be-damned-because-right-here-right-now-i-almost-lost-you-i/) [Renea Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renea-mason/) > [People are no damned good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-steig/people-are-no-damned-good/) [William Steig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-steig/) > [Let them impeach and be damned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-johnson/let-them-impeach-and-be-damned/) [Andrew Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-johnson/) > [Life is a paradox, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-cartwright/life-is-a-paradox-you-re-damned-if-you-do-and-damned-if-you-don-t/) [Nancy Cartwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-cartwright/) > [The human race consists of the damned and the ought-to-be damned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-human-race-consists-of-the-damned-and-the-ought-to-be-damned/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Dead star shine Light up the sky I'm all out of breath My walls are closing in Days go by Give me a sign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proudlesbian/dead-star-shine-light-up-the-sky-i-m-all-out-of-breath-my-walls-are/) [ProudLesbian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/proudlesbian/) > [You have told me, O God, to believe in hell. But you have forbidden me to think...of any man as damned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/you-have-told-me-o-god-to-believe-in-hell-but-you-have-forbidden-me/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [“Jonathan Edwards, the dear old soul, who, if his doctrine is true, is now in heaven rubbing his holy hands with glee, as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-g-ingersoll/jonathan-edwards-the-dear-old-soul-who-if-his-doctrine-is-true-is-now/) [Robert G. Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-g-ingersoll/) > [“With thousands of roads before us that lead nowhere, going in circles. There really are only two roads we will either travel, one going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/with-thousands-of-roads-before-us-that-lead-nowhere-going-in-circles/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [What rage for fame attends both great and small! Better be damned than mentioned not at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wolcot/what-rage-for-fame-attends-both-great-and-small-better-be-damned-than/) [John Wolcot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wolcot/) > [Those who think of freedom in this country as one long, broad path leading ever onward and upward are dead damned wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/those-who-think-of-freedom-in-this-country-as-one-long-broad-path/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Take what's yours and be damned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genesis/take-what-s-yours-and-be-damned/) [Genesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genesis/) > [I'm damned if I do, but I'm only darned if I don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king/i-m-damned-if-i-do-but-i-m-only-darned-if-i-don-t/) [John Alejandro King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king/) > [“Basically, if you're a woman, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-steven/basically-if-you-re-a-woman-you-re-damned-if-you-do-and-damned-if-you/) [Laura Steven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-steven/) [Browse all 219 Damned quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damned/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Nothing's the same for anyone. That's why life's this Hell, if you do a thing you're damned, and if you don't you're damned . . . .”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E.M. Forster" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/nothing-s-the-same-for-anyone-that-s-why-life-s-this-hell-if-you-do-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Damned" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/nothing-s-the-same-for-anyone-that-s-why-life-s-this-hell-if-you-do-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a6/e-m-forster-2-1148_life_nothing-s-the-same-for-anyone-that-s-why_922167.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a6/e-m-forster-2-1148_life_nothing-s-the-same-for-anyone-that-s-why_922167.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a6/e-m-forster-2-1148_life_nothing-s-the-same-for-anyone-that-s-why_922167.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nothing's the same for anyone. That's why life's this Hell, if you do a thing you're damned, and if you…” — E.M. Forster", "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": "E.M. Forster", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Nothing's the same for anyone. That's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/nothing-s-the-same-for-anyone-that-s-why-life-s-this-hell-if-you-do-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/nothing-s-the-same-for-anyone-that-s-why-life-s-this-hell-if-you-do-a/#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 } } ] } ```