Death and life Quote by James Thomson
““Who is most wretched in this dolorous place? I think myself; yet I would rather be My miserable self than He, than He Who formed such creatures to His own disgrace. The vilest thing must be less vile than Thou From whom it had its being, God and Lord! Creator of all woe and sin! abhorred Malignant and implacable! I vow That not for all Thy power furled and unfurled, For all the temples to Thy glory built, Would I assume the ignominious guilt Of having made such men in such a world. As if a Being, God or Fiend, could reign, At once so wicked, foolish and insane, As to produce men when He might refrain! The world rolls round for ever like a mill; It grinds out death and life and good and ill; It has no purpose, heart or mind or will. While air of Space and Time's full river flow The mill must blindly whirl unresting so: It may be wearing out, but who can know? Man might know one thing were his sight less dim; That it whirls not to suit his petty whim, That it is quite indifferent to him. Nay, does it treat him harshly as he saith? It grinds him some slow years of bitter breath, Then grinds him back into eternal death.””
About This Quote
Source Poem: "The World Is a Mill" (public domain)
The poem expresses existential despair, questioning divine purpose and the indifferent, grinding nature of the universe that subjects humanity to suffering.
In simple terms: Life feels like a relentless, purposeless grind.
Accept life's indifference, find personal meaning.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- personal crisis
- philosophical debate
- spiritual contemplation
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- Do we have agency in an indifferent universe?
- How can we find purpose amid apparent meaninglessness?
The poem assumes a monotheistic framework; alternative worldviews may differ.