--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But everything is absurd, and dreaming…" description: "\"“But everything is absurd, and dreaming least of all.”\" — Fernando Pessoa" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25c/fernando-pessoa-177_absurd_but-everything-is-absurd-and-dreaming-le_835685.jpg" --- # But everything is absurd, and dreaming least of all. ![“But everything is absurd, and dreaming least of all.” quote by Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25c/fernando-pessoa-177_absurd_but-everything-is-absurd-and-dreaming-le_835685.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25c/fernando-pessoa-177_absurd_but-everything-is-absurd-and-dreaming-le_835685.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25c/fernando-pessoa-177_absurd_but-everything-is-absurd-and-dreaming-le_835685.jpg) > ““But everything is absurd, and dreaming least of all.”” [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## 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 absurd, and the most absurd thing is dreaming. **In simple terms:** Dreaming is the ultimate absurdity. Key Takeaway Question the value of dreams. Themes absurdity existentialism dreams Mood melancholic contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - daily life - creative work - goal setting - mental health Key Concepts philosophical nihilism Questions to Reflect On - Do you view dreams as futile? - Can absurdity coexist with purpose? A Different Perspective Dreams can inspire despite absurdity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Dreaming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreaming/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Existentialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existentialism/) ## Related quotes > [“To dream, for example, that I’m simultaneously, separately, severally the man and the woman on a stroll that a man and woman are taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/to-dream-for-example-that-i-m-simultaneously-separately-severally-the/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [There's no end to the absurd things people will do trying to make life mean something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wharton/there-s-no-end-to-the-absurd-things-people-will-do-trying-to-make/) [William Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wharton/) > [“The irrational, the human nostalgia, and the absurd that is born of their encounter - these are the three characters in the drama that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-irrational-the-human-nostalgia-and-the-absurd-that-is-born-of/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I am an absurd idealist. But I believe that all that must come true. For, unless it comes true, the world will be laid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-charteris/i-am-an-absurd-idealist-but-i-believe-that-all-that-must-come-true/) [Leslie Charteris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-charteris/) > [The world in which we were called to exist was an absurd world, and there was no other in which we could take refuge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-world-in-which-we-were-called-to-exist-was-an-absurd-world-and/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The absurd man will not commit suicide; he wants to live, without relinquishing any of his certainty, without a future, without hope, without illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-absurd-man-will-not-commit-suicide-he-wants-to-live-without/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The feeling of absurdity does not spring from the mere scrutiny of a fact or an impression, but that it bursts from the comparison…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-feeling-of-absurdity-does-not-spring-from-the-mere-scrutiny-of-a/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [There is nothing so absurd that some philosopher has not already said it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/there-is-nothing-so-absurd-that-some-philosopher-has-not-already-said/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Only man can be absurd: for only man can be dignified.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/only-man-can-be-absurd-for-only-man-can-be-dignified/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Yes it’s me, I myself, what I turned out to be, (…) I’m the one here in myself, it’s me. (…) Whatever I was,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/yes-it-s-me-i-myself-what-i-turned-out-to-be-i-m-the-one-here-in/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Absurdity is what I like most in life, and there's humor in struggling in ignorance. If you saw a man repeatedly running into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lynch/absurdity-is-what-i-like-most-in-life-and-there-s-humor-in-struggling/) [David Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lynch/) > [“We call love what binds us to certain creatures only by reference to a collective way of seeing for which books and legends are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/we-call-love-what-binds-us-to-certain-creatures-only-by-reference-to/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [When people conclude that all is futile, then the absurd becomes the norm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-crouch/when-people-conclude-that-all-is-futile-then-the-absurd-becomes-the/) [Stanley Crouch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-crouch/) > [“Today, suddenly, I reached an absurd but unerring conclusion. In a moment of enlightenment, I realized that I'm nobody, absolutely nobody. When the lightning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/today-suddenly-i-reached-an-absurd-but-unerring-conclusion-in-a/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“The sweetness of the past? Our memory of it, since to remember it is to make it present, and it isn't present nor ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/the-sweetness-of-the-past-our-memory-of-it-since-to-remember-it-is-to/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## More by Fernando Pessoa > [Everything interests me, but nothing holds me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-interests-me-but-nothing-holds-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“If only, I feel now, if only I could be someone able to see all this as if he had no other relation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/if-only-i-feel-now-if-only-i-could-be-someone-able-to-see-all-this-as/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [What's given, in fact, always depends on the person or thing it's given to. A minor incident in the street brings the cook to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/what-s-given-in-fact-always-depends-on-the-person-or-thing-it-s-given/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Smell is a strange sight. It evokes sentimental landscapes through a sudden sketching of the subconscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/smell-is-a-strange-sight-it-evokes-sentimental-landscapes-through-a/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Tudo vale a pena quando a alma não é pequena”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/tudo-vale-a-pena-quando-a-alma-n-o-pequena/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“no nostalgia hurts as much as nostalgia for things that never existed!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-nostalgia-hurts-as-much-as-nostalgia-for-things-that-never-existed/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [pg.9 "In my heart there's a peaceful anguish, and my calm is made of resignation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/pg-9-in-my-heart-there-s-a-peaceful-anguish-and-my-calm-is-made-of/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“The feelings that hurt most, the motions that sting most, are those that are absurd; the longing for impossible things, precisely because they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/the-feelings-that-hurt-most-the-motions-that-sting-most-are-those/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“I try to say what I feel Without thinking about what I feel. I try to place words right next to my idea So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-try-to-say-what-i-feel-without-thinking-about-what-i-feel-i-try-to/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Have you ever considered, beloved other, how invisible we are to each other? We look at each other without seeing. We listen to each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/have-you-ever-considered-beloved-other-how-invisible-we-are-to-each/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“To associate is to die. Only my consciousness of myself is real for me; other people are hazy phenomena in this consciousness, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/to-associate-is-to-die-only-my-consciousness-of-myself-is-real-for-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“When it comes to dreams, I’m no different from the errand boy and the seamstress. The only thing that distinguishes me from them is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/when-it-comes-to-dreams-i-m-no-different-from-the-errand-boy-and-the/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“No intelligent idea can gain general acceptance unless some stupidity is mixed in with it. Collective thought is stupid because it’s collective. Nothing passes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-intelligent-idea-can-gain-general-acceptance-unless-some-stupidity/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [God gave the sea the danger and the abyss, but it was in it that He mirrored the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/god-gave-the-sea-the-danger-and-the-abyss-but-it-was-in-it-that-he/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Everything that surrounds us becomes part of us, it seeps into us with every experience of the flesh and of life and, like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-that-surrounds-us-becomes-part-of-us-it-seeps-into-us-with/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) [Explore all 781 Fernando Pessoa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But everything is absurd, and dreaming least of all.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fernando Pessoa" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/but-everything-is-absurd-and-dreaming-least-of-all/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absurd" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/but-everything-is-absurd-and-dreaming-least-of-all/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25c/fernando-pessoa-177_absurd_but-everything-is-absurd-and-dreaming-le_835685.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25c/fernando-pessoa-177_absurd_but-everything-is-absurd-and-dreaming-le_835685.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25c/fernando-pessoa-177_absurd_but-everything-is-absurd-and-dreaming-le_835685.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But everything is absurd, and dreaming least of all.” — Fernando Pessoa", "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": "Fernando Pessoa", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“But everything is absurd, and dreaming...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/but-everything-is-absurd-and-dreaming-least-of-all/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/but-everything-is-absurd-and-dreaming-least-of-all/#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 } } ] } ```