--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: those who despair of life are not long…" description: "\"those who despair of life are not long for it.\" — Elizabeth Janeway" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f25/elizabeth-janeway-12505_despair_those-who-despair-of-life-are-not-long-f_93716.jpg" --- # those who despair of life are not long for it. ![“those who despair of life are not long for it.” quote by Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f25/elizabeth-janeway-12505_despair_those-who-despair-of-life-are-not-long-f_93716.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f25/elizabeth-janeway-12505_despair_those-who-despair-of-life-are-not-long-f_93716.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f25/elizabeth-janeway-12505_despair_those-who-despair-of-life-are-not-long-f_93716.jpg) > “those who despair of life are not long for it.” [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Despair signals a loss of purpose, often preceding the end of one's life or a profound change. **In simple terms:** Despair as a predictor of mortality or transformation. Key Takeaway Loss of hope can foreshadow death or a radical shift. Themes mortality hope psychology existence transformation Mood somber reflective Type proverb philosophical When to use this quote - terminal illness counseling - grief support groups - philosophical debates Key Concepts existential dread mental health Practical Applications - mental‑health interventions - existential therapy Questions to Reflect On - When can despair become a catalyst rather than a verdict? - What signs indicate despair is leading to self‑destruction? A Different Perspective Some individuals find renewed purpose through despair, using it as a catalyst for change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Despair Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair-life-1088903/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-long/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) ## Related quotes > [There is not love of life without despair about life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/there-is-not-love-of-life-without-despair-about-life/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The doctrine of the utter vanity of life is a doctrine of despair, and life is hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/the-doctrine-of-the-utter-vanity-of-life-is-a-doctrine-of-despair-and/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [“Despair? I don't despair. I have never once in my life despaired anything. I make a point not to go further than resignation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-derr/despair-i-don-t-despair-i-have-never-once-in-my-life-despaired/) [Megan Derr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-derr/) > [What moments of despair that life would ever be made precious to me by the consciousness that I lived to some good purpose! It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/what-moments-of-despair-that-life-would-ever-be-made-precious-to-me/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Do not despair of life. Think of the fox, prowling in a winter night to satisfy his hunger. His race survives; I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/do-not-despair-of-life-think-of-the-fox-prowling-in-a-winter-night-to/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“We are but skin about a wind, with muscles clenched against mortality. We sleep in a long reproachful dust against ourselves. We are full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/we-are-but-skin-about-a-wind-with-muscles-clenched-against-mortality/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [This can't last. This misery can't last. I must remember that and try to control myself. Nothing lasts really. Neither happiness nor despair. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celia-johnson/this-can-t-last-this-misery-can-t-last-i-must-remember-that-and-try/) [Celia Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celia-johnson/) > [Do not despair of life. You have no doubt force enough to overcome your obstacles. Think of the fox prowling through wood and field…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/do-not-despair-of-life-you-have-no-doubt-force-enough-to-overcome/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Do not despair of your life. You have force enough to overcome your obstacles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/do-not-despair-of-your-life-you-have-force-enough-to-overcome-your/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [There is no love of life without despair of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/there-is-no-love-of-life-without-despair-of-life/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“life can seem either very long or very short, according to how you live it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/life-can-seem-either-very-long-or-very-short-according-to-how-you/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Give life long enough and it will solve all your problems, including the one of being alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/give-life-long-enough-and-it-will-solve-all-your-problems-including/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [Life is not long, and too much of it must not pass in idle deliberation how it shall be spent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/life-is-not-long-and-too-much-of-it-must-not-pass-in-idle/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“Whatever they may think and say about their "egoism", the great majority nonetheless do nothing for their ego their whole life long: what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/whatever-they-may-think-and-say-about-their-egoism-the-great-majority/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More by Elizabeth Janeway > [If every nation gets the government it deserves, every generation writes the history which corresponds with its view of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/if-every-nation-gets-the-government-it-deserves-every-generation/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [television. It has changed the way that we perceive the world out there, and though we know that - have indeed been bombarded with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/television-it-has-changed-the-way-that-we-perceive-the-world-out/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [Like their personal lives, women's history is fragmented, interrupted; a shadow history of human beings whose existence has been shaped by the efforts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/like-their-personal-lives-women-s-history-is-fragmented-interrupted-a/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [Mythology is like gravity, inconvenient at times, but necessary for cohesion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/mythology-is-like-gravity-inconvenient-at-times-but-necessary-for/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [Creeds and causal systems have argued with each other for millennia, and even so we and our ancestors have managed to live in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/creeds-and-causal-systems-have-argued-with-each-other-for-millennia/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [Power is the ability not to have to please.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/power-is-the-ability-not-to-have-to-please/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [Love between women is seen as a paradigm of love between equals, and that is perhaps its greatest attraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/love-between-women-is-seen-as-a-paradigm-of-love-between-equals-and/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [Unless I am what I am and feel what I feel - as hard as I can and as honestly and truly as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/unless-i-am-what-i-am-and-feel-what-i-feel-as-hard-as-i-can-and-as/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [We don't get offered crises, they arrive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/we-don-t-get-offered-crises-they-arrive/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [We older women who know we aren't heroines can offer our younger sisters, at the very least, an honest report of what we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/we-older-women-who-know-we-aren-t-heroines-can-offer-our-younger/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [Individual advances turn into social change when enough of them occur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/individual-advances-turn-into-social-change-when-enough-of-them-occur/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [Poets are the leaven in the lump of civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/poets-are-the-leaven-in-the-lump-of-civilization/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [Man's world' and 'woman's place' have confronted each other since Scylla first faced Charybdis. ... if women have only a place, clearly the rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/man-s-world-and-woman-s-place-have-confronted-each-other-since-scylla/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [Art is a framework, a kind of living trellis, on which public dreaming can shape itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/art-is-a-framework-a-kind-of-living-trellis-on-which-public-dreaming/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [The idea of power as a possession, whose asset can be banked and drawn on when needed, comes easy to a society whose rules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/the-idea-of-power-as-a-possession-whose-asset-can-be-banked-and-drawn/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) [Explore all 54 Elizabeth Janeway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) ## More Despair quotes > [“As ofttimes as it rains on my little spot of earth, you'd think I'd grow accustomed to the gloom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/as-ofttimes-as-it-rains-on-my-little-spot-of-earth-you-d-think-i-d/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“She searched her mind for a single day when it had felt good to be alive. There must have been one, surely?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-abbott/she-searched-her-mind-for-a-single-day-when-it-had-felt-good-to-be/) [Rachel Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-abbott/) > [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [Your spirit is the part of you that seeks meaning and purpose. It's the part drawn to hope, that will not give in to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/your-spirit-is-the-part-of-you-that-seeks-meaning-and-purpose-it-s/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The skin and shell of things Though fair are not Thy wish nor prayer but got My meer despair of wings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-vaughan/the-skin-and-shell-of-things-though-fair-are-not-thy-wish-nor-prayer/) [Henry Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-vaughan/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Enough for this bow & arrow. It caused me nothing but sorrow. No need for another tomorrow. In your heart, I will never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louaiq8/enough-for-this-bow-arrow-it-caused-me-nothing-but-sorrow-no-need-for/) [Louaiq8](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louaiq8/) > [True repentance never leads to despair. Its leads home. It leads to grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/true-repentance-never-leads-to-despair-its-leads-home-it-leads-to/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [Do not consider despair as a thick and high wall standing on your way; it is just a darkness and you can still walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/do-not-consider-despair-as-a-thick-and-high-wall-standing-on-your-way/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Despair is the price one pays for setting oneself an impossible aim. It is, one is told, the unforgivable sin, but it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/despair-is-the-price-one-pays-for-setting-oneself-an-impossible-aim/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [A speculative despair is unpardonable where it our duty to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-where-it-our-duty-to-act/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I have noticed that there is no dissatisfaction like that of the rich. Feed a man, clothe him, put him in a good house,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-noticed-that-there-is-no-dissatisfaction-like-that-of-the-rich/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) [Browse all 3,181 Despair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "those who despair of life are not long for it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Janeway" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/those-who-despair-of-life-are-not-long-for-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Despair" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/those-who-despair-of-life-are-not-long-for-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f25/elizabeth-janeway-12505_despair_those-who-despair-of-life-are-not-long-f_93716.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f25/elizabeth-janeway-12505_despair_those-who-despair-of-life-are-not-long-f_93716.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f25/elizabeth-janeway-12505_despair_those-who-despair-of-life-are-not-long-f_93716.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“those who despair of life are not long for it.” — Elizabeth Janeway", "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": "Elizabeth Janeway", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "those who despair of life are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/those-who-despair-of-life-are-not-long-for-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/those-who-despair-of-life-are-not-long-for-it/#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 } } ] } ```