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Age Quote by John Williams

“He had come to that moment in his age when there occurred to him, with increasing intensity, a question of such overwhelming simplicity that he had no means to face it. He found himself wondering if his life were worth the living; if it had ever been. It was a question, he suspected, that came to…” quote by John Williams
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““He had come to that moment in his age when there occurred to him, with increasing intensity, a question of such overwhelming simplicity that he had no means to face it. He found himself wondering if his life were worth the living; if it had ever been. It was a question, he suspected, that came to all men at one time or another; he wondered if it came to them with such impersonal force as it came to him. The question brought with it a sadness, but it was a general sadness which (he thought) had little to do with himself or with his particular fate; he was not even sure that the question sprang from the most immediate and obvious causes, from what his own life had become. It came, he believed, from the accretion of his years, from the density of accident and circumstance, and from what he had come to understand of them. He took a grim and ironic pleasure from the possibility that what little learning he had managed to acquire had led him to this knowledge: that in the long run all things, even the learning that let him know this, were futile and empty, and at last diminished into a nothingness they did not alter.””

John Williams

About This Quote

Source Novel: The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe, 1980

A man confronts an existential crisis, questioning life's purpose and the futility of knowledge, feeling a universal sadness beyond personal fate.

In simple terms: He wonders if life matters and sees learning as ultimately empty.

Key Takeaway

Accept uncertainty and seek meaning beyond intellectual achievement.

Themes

existentialism philosophy loneliness meaninglessness

Mood

melancholic contemplative

Type

philosophical literary

When to use this quote

  • midlife crisis
  • academic burnout
  • retirement contemplation
  • health crisis
  • spiritual awakening

Key Concepts

nihilism absurdity selfreflection

Questions to Reflect On

  • What gives your life meaning beyond achievements?
  • How can you find value in everyday moments?
A Different Perspective

The view may overlook the comfort and purpose some find in relationships or faith.

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