--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They were such seriously futile people…" description: "\"“They were such seriously futile people that she found herself wanting to cry out against their ready-made justifications for pointless lives.”\" — Fran..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/frank-herbert-262_futile_they-were-such-seriously-futile-people-t_591707.jpg" --- # They were such seriously futile people that she found… ![“They were such seriously futile people that she found herself wanting to cry out against their ready-made justifications for pointless lives.” quote by Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/frank-herbert-262_futile_they-were-such-seriously-futile-people-t_591707.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/frank-herbert-262_futile_they-were-such-seriously-futile-people-t_591707.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/frank-herbert-262_futile_they-were-such-seriously-futile-people-t_591707.jpg) > ““They were such seriously futile people that she found herself wanting to cry out against their ready-made justifications for pointless lives.”” [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques people who cling to shallow, pre‑made excuses, leading empty lives, prompting frustration and empathy. **In simple terms:** People making pointless excuses frustrate observers. Key Takeaway Question shallow justifications. Themes criticism empathy existential meaninglessness conformity Mood disappointed reflective Type observational critical When to use this quote - personal relationships - community activism - mental health discussions - literary analysis Key Concepts Existentialism social critique Questions to Reflect On - What drives people to adopt superficial justifications? - How can we encourage deeper self‑reflection? A Different Perspective Not all people are intentionally shallow; some may lack awareness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“Where's my life gone? Where's it going? 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Audette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-r-audette/) > [“...I've known damnable beauty - the turgid pull of swirling blackness - but in the end, it's futile - purity alone redeems...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/i-ve-known-damnable-beauty-the-turgid-pull-of-swirling-blackness-but/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [...it is human nature, I suppose, to be futile and ridiculous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-sabatini/it-is-human-nature-i-suppose-to-be-futile-and-ridiculous/) [Rafael Sabatini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-sabatini/) > [“This mountain of a man was learning that his considerable might- which he'd clearly relied on for everything - was futile with her. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/this-mountain-of-a-man-was-learning-that-his-considerable-might-which/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [“Across the river he could see the burnt and crushed buildings of Fredericksburg, the debris piled along the streets, the scattered ruins of people's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-shaara/across-the-river-he-could-see-the-burnt-and-crushed-buildings-of/) [Jeff Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-shaara/) > [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/) > [Nothing is so exhausting as indecision, and nothing is so futile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/nothing-is-so-exhausting-as-indecision-and-nothing-is-so-futile/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [I pledge that the personal safety of Israeli citizens will not be futile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benny-gantz/i-pledge-that-the-personal-safety-of-israeli-citizens-will-not-be/) [Benny Gantz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benny-gantz/) > [All I will say is that there are particular features of the American constitutional system that renders a third party futile - at best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/all-i-will-say-is-that-there-are-particular-features-of-the-american/) [Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/) > [When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-brett/when-it-comes-to-chocolate-resistance-is-futile/) [Regina Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-brett/) > [Anyone who tries to diss me in comparison to Queen, it just renders all their criticisms completely futile. That's quite pleasurable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mika/anyone-who-tries-to-diss-me-in-comparison-to-queen-it-just-renders/) [Mika](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mika/) > [“Interacting with a corrupt government judge is futile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/interacting-with-a-corrupt-government-judge-is-futile/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“If you’re waiting for my good looks to fade... it’s a futile waste of time. Give up at once. - (Christian Wright)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-delucy/if-you-re-waiting-for-my-good-looks-to-fade-it-s-a-futile-waste-of/) [Jennifer DeLucy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-delucy/) > [We know life is futile. A man who considers that his life is of very wonderful importance is awfully close to a padded cell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/we-know-life-is-futile-a-man-who-considers-that-his-life-is-of-very/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) ## More by Frank Herbert > [“He who can destroy a thing has the real control of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/he-who-can-destroy-a-thing-has-the-real-control-of-it/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [“A leader, you see, is one of the things that distinguishes a mob from a people. He maintains the level of individuals. Too few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/a-leader-you-see-is-one-of-the-things-that-distinguishes-a-mob-from-a/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [“I will tell you this only once. Homosexuals have been among the best warriors in our history, the berserkers of last resort. They were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/i-will-tell-you-this-only-once-homosexuals-have-been-among-the-best/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [“Between depriving a man of one hour from his life and depriving him of his life there exists only a difference of degree.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/between-depriving-a-man-of-one-hour-from-his-life-and-depriving-him/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [The surest way to keep a secret is to make someone think they already know the answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/the-surest-way-to-keep-a-secret-is-to-make-someone-think-they-already/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [“how inevitable it was that the aristocrat would refuse his final duty—which was to step aside and vanish into history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/how-inevitable-it-was-that-the-aristocrat-would-refuse-his-final-duty/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [“What we should have done was test the gift first. We should have probed for dangers. We were too bedazzled by it, though.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/what-we-should-have-done-was-test-the-gift-first-we-should-have/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [“Have you noticed, Stil, how beautiful the young women are this year?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/have-you-noticed-stil-how-beautiful-the-young-women-are-this-year/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [“Humans are born with a susceptibility to that most persistent and debilitating disease of intellect: self-deception. The best of all possible worlds and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/humans-are-born-with-a-susceptibility-to-that-most-persistent-and/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [Face your fears or they will climb over your back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/face-your-fears-or-they-will-climb-over-your-back/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [Many have marked the speed with which Muad'Dib learned the necessities of Arrakis. The Bene Gesserit, of course, know the basis of this speed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/many-have-marked-the-speed-with-which-muad-dib-learned-the/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [“The assumption that a whole system can be made to work better through an assault on its conscious elements betrays a dangerous ignorance. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/the-assumption-that-a-whole-system-can-be-made-to-work-better-through/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [The power to destroy a thing is the absolute control over it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/the-power-to-destroy-a-thing-is-the-absolute-control-over-it/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [Providence and Manifest Destiny are synonyms often invoked to support arguments based on wishful thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/providence-and-manifest-destiny-are-synonyms-often-invoked-to-support/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [If you ask "Should we be in space?" you ask a nonsense question. We are in space. We will be in space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/if-you-ask-should-we-be-in-space-you-ask-a-nonsense-question-we-are/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) [Explore all 776 Frank Herbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) ## More Futile quotes > [We know life is futile. A man who considers that his life is of very wonderful importance is awfully close to a padded cell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/we-know-life-is-futile-a-man-who-considers-that-his-life-is-of-very/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [“If you’re waiting for my good looks to fade... it’s a futile waste of time. Give up at once. - (Christian Wright)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-delucy/if-you-re-waiting-for-my-good-looks-to-fade-it-s-a-futile-waste-of/) [Jennifer DeLucy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-delucy/) > [“Interacting with a corrupt government judge is futile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/interacting-with-a-corrupt-government-judge-is-futile/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Anyone who tries to diss me in comparison to Queen, it just renders all their criticisms completely futile. That's quite pleasurable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mika/anyone-who-tries-to-diss-me-in-comparison-to-queen-it-just-renders/) [Mika](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mika/) > [When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-brett/when-it-comes-to-chocolate-resistance-is-futile/) [Regina Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-brett/) > [All I will say is that there are particular features of the American constitutional system that renders a third party futile - at best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/all-i-will-say-is-that-there-are-particular-features-of-the-american/) [Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/) > [I pledge that the personal safety of Israeli citizens will not be futile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benny-gantz/i-pledge-that-the-personal-safety-of-israeli-citizens-will-not-be/) [Benny Gantz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benny-gantz/) > [Nothing is so exhausting as indecision, and nothing is so futile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/nothing-is-so-exhausting-as-indecision-and-nothing-is-so-futile/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [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/) > [“Across the river he could see the burnt and crushed buildings of Fredericksburg, the debris piled along the streets, the scattered ruins of people's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-shaara/across-the-river-he-could-see-the-burnt-and-crushed-buildings-of/) [Jeff Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-shaara/) > [“This mountain of a man was learning that his considerable might- which he'd clearly relied on for everything - was futile with her. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/this-mountain-of-a-man-was-learning-that-his-considerable-might-which/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [...it is human nature, I suppose, to be futile and ridiculous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-sabatini/it-is-human-nature-i-suppose-to-be-futile-and-ridiculous/) [Rafael Sabatini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-sabatini/) > [“...I've known damnable beauty - the turgid pull of swirling blackness - but in the end, it's futile - purity alone redeems...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/i-ve-known-damnable-beauty-the-turgid-pull-of-swirling-blackness-but/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [Abstraction is an exercise in a pre-assured failure. It is a futile attempt to communicate the non-communicable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-r-audette/abstraction-is-an-exercise-in-a-pre-assured-failure-it-is-a-futile/) [Derek R. Audette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-r-audette/) > [It is not futile to do what we do. We wake up with energy and we do something. And we make, of course, failures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/it-is-not-futile-to-do-what-we-do-we-wake-up-with-energy-and-we-do/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) Browse all 162 Futile quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They were such seriously futile people that she found herself wanting to cry out against their ready-made justifications for pointless lives.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frank Herbert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/they-were-such-seriously-futile-people-that-she-found-herself-wanting/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Futile" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/they-were-such-seriously-futile-people-that-she-found-herself-wanting/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/frank-herbert-262_futile_they-were-such-seriously-futile-people-t_591707.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/frank-herbert-262_futile_they-were-such-seriously-futile-people-t_591707.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/frank-herbert-262_futile_they-were-such-seriously-futile-people-t_591707.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“They were such seriously futile people that she found herself wanting to cry out against their ready-made…” — Frank Herbert", "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": "Frank Herbert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“They were such seriously futile people...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/they-were-such-seriously-futile-people-that-she-found-herself-wanting/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/they-were-such-seriously-futile-people-that-she-found-herself-wanting/#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 } } ] } ```