---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My world of human beings had perished. I…"
description: "\"My world of human beings had perished. I was utterly alone in the world and for friends I had the streets, and the streets spoke to me in that sad, bit..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/henry-miller-179_bitter_my-world-of-human-beings-had-perished-i_358008.jpg"
---

#  My world of human beings had perished. I was utterly alone…

![“My world of human beings had perished. I was utterly alone in the world and for friends I had the streets, and the streets spoke to me in that sad, bitter language compounded of human misery, yearning, regret, failure, wasted effort” quote by Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/henry-miller-179_bitter_my-world-of-human-beings-had-perished-i_358008.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/henry-miller-179_bitter_my-world-of-human-beings-had-perished-i_358008.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/henry-miller-179_bitter_my-world-of-human-beings-had-perished-i_358008.jpg)

> “My world of human beings had perished. I was utterly alone in the world and for friends I had the streets, and the streets spoke to me in that sad, bitter language compounded of human misery, yearning, regret, failure, wasted effort”

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The narrator feels profound isolation after humanity's loss, hearing the streets speak in a language of sorrow and wasted effort.

**In simple terms:** He feels alone and hears the streets echo his misery.

Key Takeaway

Embrace connections to avoid existential loneliness.

Themes

loneliness despair urban solitude

Mood

melancholic reflective

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- writing
- philosophical reflection
- personal journaling

Key Concepts

existentialism human condition solitude

Questions to Reflect On

- How can one find meaning in solitude?
- What does the city represent in personal grief?

A Different Perspective

The poetic tone may romanticize loneliness, overlooking practical solutions.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Yearning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yearning/)

## Related quotes

> [“I wandered aimlessly through this muddy lane bespattered with blood, fragments of the past detached themselves and floated listlessly before my eyes, taunting me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-wandered-aimlessly-through-this-muddy-lane-bespattered-with-blood/)

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

> [“...neither fate, nor history, nor the anger of the State, nor the glory or infamy of battle has any power to affect those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/neither-fate-nor-history-nor-the-anger-of-the-state-nor-the-glory-or/)

[Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/)

> [You brain washed me to love you. You used me, like I didn't exist anymore. I thought you like me, just like the day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bigheartedperson/you-brain-washed-me-to-love-you-you-used-me-like-i-didn-t-exist/)

BigHeartedPerson

> [I saw in their eyes something I was to see over and over in every part of the nation- a burning desire to go,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-saw-in-their-eyes-something-i-was-to-see-over-and-over-in-every/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [It is human misery and not pleasure which contains the secret of the divine wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/it-is-human-misery-and-not-pleasure-which-contains-the-secret-of-the/)

[Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/)

> [As I had once done thus in my breaking away from my Parents, so I could not be content now, but I must go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/as-i-had-once-done-thus-in-my-breaking-away-from-my-parents-so-i/)

[Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/)

> [Even when they're not causing injury, human-controlled cars are often driven inefficiently, ineptly, antisocially, or in other ways additive to the sum of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-chatfield/even-when-they-re-not-causing-injury-human-controlled-cars-are-often/)

[Tom Chatfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-chatfield/)

> [ Far from being the crown of human thought and religion as its supporters have claimed for several bloody millennia, \[monotheism\] is in fact a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-bonewits/far-from-being-the-crown-of-human-thought-and-religion-as-its/)

[Isaac Bonewits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-bonewits/)

> [“Wherever you find human misery, you find lawyers, either causing it or making a profit from it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wherever-you-find-human-misery-you-find-lawyers-either-causing-it-or/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [There’s no democratic state that’s not compromised to the very core by its part in generating human misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilles-deleuze/there-s-no-democratic-state-that-s-not-compromised-to-the-very-core/)

[Gilles Deleuze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-deleuze/)

> [“The need for gain, and advantage over others, is one of the chief driving forces behind all human misery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/the-need-for-gain-and-advantage-over-others-is-one-of-the-chief/)

[Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/)

> [Human misery is too great for men to do without faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-heine/human-misery-is-too-great-for-men-to-do-without-faith/)

[Heinrich Heine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-heine/)

> [“religion is a paramount contributor to human misery. It is not merely the opium of the masses, it is the cyanide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/religion-is-a-paramount-contributor-to-human-misery-it-is-not-merely/)

[Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/)

> ["Spirituality" wrongly understood or pursued is a major source of human misery and rebellion against God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/spirituality-wrongly-understood-or-pursued-is-a-major-source-of-human/)

[Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/)

> [There's never any ebb in human misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/there-s-never-any-ebb-in-human-misery/)

[Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/)

## More by Henry Miller

> [“I reached out for something to attach myself to—and I found nothing. But in reaching out, in the effort to grasp, to attach myself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-reached-out-for-something-to-attach-myself-to-and-i-found-nothing/)

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

> [“I saw the errors I had made and assumed full responsibility for everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-saw-the-errors-i-had-made-and-assumed-full-responsibility-for/)

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

> [The monstrous thing is not that men have created roses out of this dung heap, but that, for some reason or other, they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-monstrous-thing-is-not-that-men-have-created-roses-out-of-this/)

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

> [They never opened the door which leads to the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/they-never-opened-the-door-which-leads-to-the-soul/)

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

> [“(...)I decided to let myself drift with the tide, to make not the least resistance to fate, no matter in what form it presented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-decided-to-let-myself-drift-with-the-tide-to-make-not-the-least/)

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

> [“If it be knowledge or wisdom one is seeking, then one had better go direct to the source. And the source is not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/if-it-be-knowledge-or-wisdom-one-is-seeking-then-one-had-better-go/)

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

> [“In the egocentric prism the helpless victim is walled in by the very light which he refracts. The ego dies in its own glass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/in-the-egocentric-prism-the-helpless-victim-is-walled-in-by-the-very/)

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

> [“When one spends what he has on himself, when one has a thoroughly good time with his own money, people are apt to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/when-one-spends-what-he-has-on-himself-when-one-has-a-thoroughly-good/)

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

> [Paint what you like and die happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/paint-what-you-like-and-die-happy/)

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

> [She may be lying in bed reading a book, she may be making love with a prize fighter, or she may be running like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/she-may-be-lying-in-bed-reading-a-book-she-may-be-making-love-with-a/)

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

> [“And no one sets about saving the world unless he has first experienced the miracle of personal salvation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/and-no-one-sets-about-saving-the-world-unless-he-has-first/)

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

> [“He looks about the room at the few sticks of furniture, at the dirty bed sheets and the wash basin with the dirty water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/he-looks-about-the-room-at-the-few-sticks-of-furniture-at-the-dirty/)

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

> [“Since then, of course, I have discovered what every madman in Paris discovers sooner of later; that there are no ready made infernos for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/since-then-of-course-i-have-discovered-what-every-madman-in-paris/)

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

> [“Looking back upon my career, I see myself as a person capable of undertaking almost any task, any vocation. It was the monotony and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/looking-back-upon-my-career-i-see-myself-as-a-person-capable-of/)

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

> [“The word in your mouth is anarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-word-in-your-mouth-is-anarchy/)

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

[Explore all 894 Henry Miller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

## More Bitter quotes

> [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/)

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

> [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/)

[Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/)

> [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [Troy was a sweet, good man. We just were never destined to be married. We just didn't have the same values. But I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-pleshette/troy-was-a-sweet-good-man-we-just-were-never-destined-to-be-married/)

[Suzanne Pleshette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-pleshette/)

> [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/holy-shadows-of-the-dead-i-m-not-to-blame-for-your-cruel-and-bitter/)

[Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/)

> [One may have been a fool, but there's no foolishness like being bitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/one-may-have-been-a-fool-but-there-s-no-foolishness-like-being-bitter/)

[Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/)

> [“I doubt taking in a sullen, bitter, teenage girl with more issues than National Geographic is at the center of the vision board for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katja-millay/i-doubt-taking-in-a-sullen-bitter-teenage-girl-with-more-issues-than/)

[Katja Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katja-millay/)

> [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [Life is too bitter already, without territories and wars and noble feuds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-too-bitter-already-without-territories-and-wars-and-noble/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [With every interview you feel like you lose a piece of yourself, and with every bad review you become just that little bit more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-march/with-every-interview-you-feel-like-you-lose-a-piece-of-yourself-and/)

[Jane March](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-march/)

> [“Without the bitter, the sweet ain’t as sweet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/without-the-bitter-the-sweet-ain-t-as-sweet/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I refuse to be one of those artists who, 10 years from now, they're bitter about the rise and the fall of their career.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-bryan/i-refuse-to-be-one-of-those-artists-who-10-years-from-now-they-re/)

[Luke Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-bryan/)

> [“In these days in which we live, when existence has become a thing of infinite complexity and fate, if it slips us a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/in-these-days-in-which-we-live-when-existence-has-become-a-thing-of/)

[P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/)

> [If a sudden jar can cause me to speak an impatient, unloving word, then I know nothing of Calvary love. For a cup brimful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-carmichael/if-a-sudden-jar-can-cause-me-to-speak-an-impatient-unloving-word-then/)

[Amy Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-carmichael/)

Browse all 1,923 Bitter quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "My world of human beings had perished. I was utterly alone in the world and for friends I had the streets, and the streets spoke to me in that sad, bitter language compounded of human misery, yearning, regret, failure, wasted effort",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Henry Miller"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/my-world-of-human-beings-had-perished-i-was-utterly-alone-in-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bitter"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/my-world-of-human-beings-had-perished-i-was-utterly-alone-in-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/henry-miller-179_bitter_my-world-of-human-beings-had-perished-i_358008.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/henry-miller-179_bitter_my-world-of-human-beings-had-perished-i_358008.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/henry-miller-179_bitter_my-world-of-human-beings-had-perished-i_358008.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“My world of human beings had perished. I was utterly alone in the world and for friends I had the streets…” — Henry Miller",
                "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": "Henry Miller",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "My world of human beings had...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/my-world-of-human-beings-had-perished-i-was-utterly-alone-in-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/my-world-of-human-beings-had-perished-i-was-utterly-alone-in-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
