--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was just that all the hope had been so…" description: "\"“It was just that all the hope had been so empty, so meaningless. And if you prove to a man how vain his hope is, how vain his hoping was, you kill the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d77/gregory-david-roberts-1039_hope_it-was-just-that-all-the-hope-had-been-s_2570402.jpg" --- # It was just that all the hope had been so empty, so… ![“It was just that all the hope had been so empty, so meaningless. And if you prove to a man how vain his hope is, how vain his hoping was, you kill the bright, believing part of him that wants to be loved.” quote by Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d77/gregory-david-roberts-1039_hope_it-was-just-that-all-the-hope-had-been-s_2570402.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d77/gregory-david-roberts-1039_hope_it-was-just-that-all-the-hope-had-been-s_2570402.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d77/gregory-david-roberts-1039_hope_it-was-just-that-all-the-hope-had-been-s_2570402.jpg) > ““It was just that all the hope had been so empty, so meaningless. And if you prove to a man how vain his hope is, how vain his hoping was, you kill the bright, believing part of him that wants to be loved.”” [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Empty hope feels meaningless; exposing someone's vain hope destroys their yearning for love. **In simple terms:** False hope kills love. Key Takeaway Cultivate realistic hope. Themes hope love illusion Mood melancholic thoughtful Type philosophical emotional When to use this quote - relationship counseling - personal growth workshops Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What gives your hope meaning? - How can you balance hope and realism? A Different Perspective Hope can motivate positively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Hope Meaningless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope-meaningless-1685255/) [Meaningless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningless/) [Meaningless Prove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningless-prove-1685257/) [Vain Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vain-hope-1428749/) [Vain Hoping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vain-hoping-1685256/) ## Related quotes > [“Hope is meaningless. It is just a wish that you are unsure of that will happen. Now if you think that you already obtain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-g-ortiz/hope-is-meaningless-it-is-just-a-wish-that-you-are-unsure-of-that/) [Kenneth G. Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-g-ortiz/) > [“A life without hope is a meaningless life, risking demoralisation, debauchery, destitution, or even death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raja-arasa-ratnam/a-life-without-hope-is-a-meaningless-life-risking-demoralisation/) [Raja (Arasa) Ratnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raja-arasa-ratnam/) > [It's a vain hope to believe that people will voluntarily turn their back on government subsidies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/it-s-a-vain-hope-to-believe-that-people-will-voluntarily-turn-their/) [James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/) > [Do you think it is a vain hope that one day man will find joy in noble deeds of light and mercy, rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-you-think-it-is-a-vain-hope-that-one-day-man-will-find-joy-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you go on a reality show in the vain hope you might be viewed as something other than who people believe you are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrika-jonsson/if-you-go-on-a-reality-show-in-the-vain-hope-you-might-be-viewed-as/) [Ulrika Jonsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrika-jonsson/) > [Morality, thou deadly bane, Thy tens o' thousands thou hast slain! Vain is his hope, whose stay an' trust is In moral mercy, truth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/morality-thou-deadly-bane-thy-tens-o-thousands-thou-hast-slain-vain/) [Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/) > [Vain is the hope of finding pleasure in that which one has hitherto disdained; as when the warrior hopes to find pleasure in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/vain-is-the-hope-of-finding-pleasure-in-that-which-one-has-hitherto/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [It is a vain hope to make people happy by politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/it-is-a-vain-hope-to-make-people-happy-by-politics/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [It is in vain to hope to please all alike. Let a man stand with his face in what direction he will, he must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-in-vain-to-hope-to-please-all-alike-let-a-man-stand-with-his/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“...anything I do is trivial and meaningless because I'm not in a relationship and I don't have children.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-alderton/anything-i-do-is-trivial-and-meaningless-because-i-m-not-in-a/) [Dolly Alderton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-alderton/) > [“The question 'What was there before creation?' is meaningless. Time is a property of creation, therefore before creation there was no before creation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/the-question-what-was-there-before-creation-is-meaningless-time-is-a/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [The future and the past are equally meaningless because they are nebulous entities, times that do not exist, containing events which have no echo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lebbon/the-future-and-the-past-are-equally-meaningless-because-they-are/) [Tim Lebbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lebbon/) > [Without food, man at most can live but a few weeks; without it all other components of social justice are meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-borlaug/without-food-man-at-most-can-live-but-a-few-weeks-without-it-all/) [Norman Borlaug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-borlaug/) > [I don't feel I have to write deep and meaningful songs; they can be light and meaningless. It has to do with the place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-diamond/i-don-t-feel-i-have-to-write-deep-and-meaningful-songs-they-can-be/) [Neil Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-diamond/) > [“The only thing that belongs to us is our LIFE. Yet, we waste it in the pursuit of meaningless things that will never belong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rvm/the-only-thing-that-belongs-to-us-is-our-life-yet-we-waste-it-in-the/) [RVM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rvm/) ## More by Gregory David Roberts > [The simple and astonishing truth about India and Indian people is that when you go there, and deal with them, your heart always guides…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/the-simple-and-astonishing-truth-about-india-and-indian-people-is/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [I think the novel form chose me. I was a writer before I became a criminal... my first instinct was to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-think-the-novel-form-chose-me-i-was-a-writer-before-i-became-a/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [I look back, now, and I know that the naming moment, which seemed so insignificant then, which seemed to demand no more than an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-look-back-now-and-i-know-that-the-naming-moment-which-seemed-so/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [“Men are just men - it is what they do, or refuse to do, that links them to good and evil. The truth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/men-are-just-men-it-is-what-they-do-or-refuse-to-do-that-links-them/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Indians are the Italians of Asia and vice versa. Every man in both countries is a singer when he is happy, and every woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/indians-are-the-italians-of-asia-and-vice-versa-every-man-in-both/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [A lot of bad stuff in the world wasn’t really that bad until someone tried to change it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/a-lot-of-bad-stuff-in-the-world-wasn-t-really-that-bad-until-someone/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Of course I wanted to know. I was a writer. I wanted to know everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/of-course-i-wanted-to-know-i-was-a-writer-i-wanted-to-know-everything/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Sometimes we love with nothing more than hope. Sometimes we cry with everything except tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/sometimes-we-love-with-nothing-more-than-hope-sometimes-we-cry-with/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Love is the passionate search for a truth other than your own; and once you feel it, honestly and completely, love is forever..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/love-is-the-passionate-search-for-a-truth-other-than-your-own-and/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [“I know now that it's the sweet, sweating smell of hope, which is opposite of hate; and it's the sour, stifled smell of greed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-know-now-that-it-s-the-sweet-sweating-smell-of-hope-which-is/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [I don't know what frightens me more](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-don-t-know-what-frightens-me-more/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [“I hesitated. Karla once said that men reveal what they think when they look away, and what they feel when they hesitate. With women,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-hesitated-karla-once-said-that-men-reveal-what-they-think-when-they/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [you can't kill love. you can't even kill it with hate. you can kill in-love, and loving, and even loveliness. you can kill them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/you-can-t-kill-love-you-can-t-even-kill-it-with-hate-you-can-kill-in/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Some loves are like that. Your heart starts to feel like an overcrowded lifeboat. You throw your pride out to keep it afloat, &…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/some-loves-are-like-that-your-heart-starts-to-feel-like-an/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [I sometimes think that the size of our happiness is inversely proportional to the size of our house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-sometimes-think-that-the-size-of-our-happiness-is-inversely/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) [Explore all 276 Gregory David Roberts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) ## More Hope quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“What can we do in any hardship? We can hope with prayerful praise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/what-can-we-do-in-any-hardship-we-can-hope-with-prayerful-praise/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [“too—I realized that my only hope was to give up the life that had been, in order to make room for the life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/too-i-realized-that-my-only-hope-was-to-give-up-the-life-that-had/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Stop trying to give me hope ... I have no room left for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-f/stop-trying-to-give-me-hope-i-have-no-room-left-for-it/) [Jenn F](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-f/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Give me love, give me peace on earth, give me light, give me life, keep me free from birth, give me hope, help me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-me-love-give-me-peace-on-earth-give-me-light-give-me-life-keep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Pray, hope, don't worry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/pray-hope-don-t-worry/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/do-not-pray-for-tasks-equal-to-your-powers-pray-for-powers-equal-to/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [I am at a point in my life where everything I have worked for starts to look like a burden, a weight on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-abou-samra/i-am-at-a-point-in-my-life-where-everything-i-have-worked-for-starts/) [Simone Abou Samra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-abou-samra/) > [Im really happy that I met you I hope you know that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-nothing/im-really-happy-that-i-met-you-i-hope-you-know-that/) [Im Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/im-nothing/) > [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) [Browse all 24,868 Hope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was just that all the hope had been so empty, so meaningless. 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