--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Work is a kind of vacuum, an emptiness…" description: "\"“Work is a kind of vacuum, an emptiness, where I just switch off everything except the scant intelligence necessary to keep me going. God, the people a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02b/philip-larkin-1822_work_work-is-a-kind-of-vacuum-an-emptiness-wh_1532290.jpg" --- # Work is a kind of vacuum, an emptiness, where I just… ![“Work is a kind of vacuum, an emptiness, where I just switch off everything except the scant intelligence necessary to keep me going. God, the people are awful - great carved monstrosities from the sponge-stone of secondratedness. Hideous.” quote by Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02b/philip-larkin-1822_work_work-is-a-kind-of-vacuum-an-emptiness-wh_1532290.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02b/philip-larkin-1822_work_work-is-a-kind-of-vacuum-an-emptiness-wh_1532290.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02b/philip-larkin-1822_work_work-is-a-kind-of-vacuum-an-emptiness-wh_1532290.jpg) > ““Work is a kind of vacuum, an emptiness, where I just switch off everything except the scant intelligence necessary to keep me going. God, the people are awful - great carved monstrosities from the sponge-stone of secondratedness. Hideous.”” [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Work feels like a void where only minimal intellect operates; people appear grotesquely flawed. **In simple terms:** Work is a void, people seem grotesque. Key Takeaway Recognize the emptiness and seek meaningful engagement. Themes work existence disillusionment humanity Mood cynical melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career burnout - social critique - mental health Key Concepts vacuum intelligence monstrosities Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of work feel empty? - How do you find purpose beyond routine? A Different Perspective May overgeneralize human nature. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) [Emptiness Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness-just-1937319/) [Hideous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hideous/) [People Awful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-awful-1898724/) [Secondratedness Hideous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secondratedness-hideous-5688652/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [There won't be emptiness. Emptiness is just another idea, another illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-won-t-be-emptiness-emptiness-is-just-another-idea-another/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“She was surprised to be alive. Yet she felt indifferent. If death was the black emptiness from which she had just woken up, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stieg-larsson/she-was-surprised-to-be-alive-yet-she-felt-indifferent-if-death-was/) [Stieg Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stieg-larsson/) > [“Even decent people can have awful friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-jarzab/even-decent-people-can-have-awful-friends/) [Anna Jarzab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-jarzab/) > [Love can make even nice people do awful things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jude-deveraux/love-can-make-even-nice-people-do-awful-things/) [Jude Deveraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jude-deveraux/) > [I don't like Los Angeles. The people are awful and terribly shallow, and everybody wants to be famous but nobody wants to play the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/i-don-t-like-los-angeles-the-people-are-awful-and-terribly-shallow/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [It's not always about winning. If you can, really, just show people - If they're being awful, be less awful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-rubin/it-s-not-always-about-winning-if-you-can-really-just-show-people-if/) [Dave Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-rubin/) > [“People are awful. Drink some beer.” Haruki”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/min-jin-lee/people-are-awful-drink-some-beer-haruki/) [Min Jin Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/min-jin-lee/) > [From being a patriotic myth, the Russian people have become an awful reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/from-being-a-patriotic-myth-the-russian-people-have-become-an-awful/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [While my season of 'The Bachelorette' was airing, people would call me awful, awful names. They'd question my integrity and character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaitlyn-bristowe/while-my-season-of-the-bachelorette-was-airing-people-would-call-me/) [Kaitlyn Bristowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaitlyn-bristowe/) > [“I know people can be awful dooms for each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-know-people-can-be-awful-dooms-for-each-other/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“People have to do awful things for money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/people-have-to-do-awful-things-for-money/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [On 'The X Factor,' they deliberately have people on that are awful just to laugh at them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-hancock/on-the-x-factor-they-deliberately-have-people-on-that-are-awful-just/) [Sheila Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-hancock/) > [The history of woman is the history of the continued and universal oppression of one sex by the other. The emancipation of woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-celeste-claflin/the-history-of-woman-is-the-history-of-the-continued-and-universal/) [Tennessee Celeste Claflin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-celeste-claflin/) > [The universe appears to me like an immense, inexorable torture-garden…Passions, greed, hatred, and lies; social institutions, justice, love, glory, heroism, and religion: these are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octave-mirbeau/the-universe-appears-to-me-like-an-immense-inexorable-torture-garden/) [Octave Mirbeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octave-mirbeau/) > [I shall pray God to send charity into this hideous world, and sympathy for the weak, and love for the unhappy and unfortunate. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/i-shall-pray-god-to-send-charity-into-this-hideous-world-and-sympathy/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) ## More by Philip Larkin > [Deprivation is for me what daffodils were for Wordsworth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/deprivation-is-for-me-what-daffodils-were-for-wordsworth/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [Only one ship is seeking us, a black-Sailed unfamiliar, towing at her backA huge and birdless silence. In her wakeNo waters breed or break.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/only-one-ship-is-seeking-us-a-black-sailed-unfamiliar-towing-at-her/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [And immediately Rather than words comes the thought of high windows: The sun-comprehending glass, And beyond it, the deep blue air, that shows Nothing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/and-immediately-rather-than-words-comes-the-thought-of-high-windows/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [“Living toys are something novel, But it soon wears off somehow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/living-toys-are-something-novel-but-it-soon-wears-off-somehow/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [“Once I am sure there's nothing going on I step inside, letting the door thud shut. Another church: matting, seats, and stone, And little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/once-i-am-sure-there-s-nothing-going-on-i-step-inside-letting-the/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [Life is first boredom, then fear. Whether or not we use it, it goes, And leaves what something hidden from us chose, age, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/life-is-first-boredom-then-fear-whether-or-not-we-use-it-it-goes-and/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [“It never worked for me. Something to do with violence A long way back, and wrong rewards, And arrogant eternity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/it-never-worked-for-me-something-to-do-with-violence-a-long-way-back/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [Seriously, I think it is a grave fault in life that so much time is wasted in social matters, because it not only takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/seriously-i-think-it-is-a-grave-fault-in-life-that-so-much-time-is/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [So many things I had thought forgotten Return to my mind with stranger pain: Like letters that arrive addressed to someone Who left the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/so-many-things-i-had-thought-forgotten-return-to-my-mind-with/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [“One of the quainter quirks of life is that we shall never know who dies on the same day as we do ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/one-of-the-quainter-quirks-of-life-is-that-we-shall-never-know-who/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [“I sit in my room like Miss Havisham, about whom I have been reading this week. Better the Dickens you know than the Dickens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/i-sit-in-my-room-like-miss-havisham-about-whom-i-have-been-reading/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [“When I throw back my head and howl People (women mostly) say But you've always done what you want, You always get your way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/when-i-throw-back-my-head-and-howl-people-women-mostly-say-but-you-ve/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [I think a young poet, or an old poet, for that matter, should try to produce something that pleases himself personally, not only when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/i-think-a-young-poet-or-an-old-poet-for-that-matter-should-try-to/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [But superstition, like belief, must die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/but-superstition-like-belief-must-die/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [“Side by side, their faces blurred, The earl and countess lie in stone, Their proper habits vaguely shown As jointed armour, stiffened pleat, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/side-by-side-their-faces-blurred-the-earl-and-countess-lie-in-stone/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) [Explore all 206 Philip Larkin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) ## More Emptiness quotes > [Tell the truth about your wound, and then you will get a truthful picture of the remedy to apply to it. Don't pack whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/tell-the-truth-about-your-wound-and-then-you-will-get-a-truthful/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) > [Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends hit him where he does not expect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/go-into-emptiness-strike-voids-bypass-what-he-defends-hit-him-where/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [I've always been a very restless person. I work hard, spend too much time looking after my son, I dance like a mad thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-always-been-a-very-restless-person-i-work-hard-spend-too-much/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“I've decided that has been the great achievement of our age: to so thoroughly flood the planet with megabits that every image and fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-ve-decided-that-has-been-the-great-achievement-of-our-age-to-so/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“ Desolation would not be the proper word to describe his feelings now; it was more the sense of emptiness he imagined he might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shusaku-endo/desolation-would-not-be-the-proper-word-to-describe-his-feelings-now/) [Shusaku Endo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shusaku-endo/) > [“those of little merit would not even have doubts about this doctrine of emptiness. even suspicion that objects are empty wrecks the seeds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aryadeva/those-of-little-merit-would-not-even-have-doubts-about-this-doctrine/) [aryadeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aryadeva/) > [Anyone whose goal is 'something higher' must expect someday to suffer vertigo. What is vertigo? Fear of falling? No, Vertigo is something other than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/anyone-whose-goal-is-something-higher-must-expect-someday-to-suffer-2/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“I close my eyes and I let my body shut itself down and I let my mind wander. It wanders to a familiar place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/i-close-my-eyes-and-i-let-my-body-shut-itself-down-and-i-let-my-mind/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) > [Buddhist words such as compassion and emptiness don't mean much until we start cultivating our innate ability simply to be there with pain with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/buddhist-words-such-as-compassion-and-emptiness-don-t-mean-much-until/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“Only the thirsty knows the real taste of water; only the lonely knows the real weight of emptiness!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/only-the-thirsty-knows-the-real-taste-of-water-only-the-lonely-knows/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [What I was trying to convey there was the kind of waste land that was left after the war. It was a bit like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-martin/what-i-was-trying-to-convey-there-was-the-kind-of-waste-land-that-was/) [George Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-martin/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [But what was there to say? Only that there were tears. Only that Quietness and Emptiness fitted together like stacked spoons. Only that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/but-what-was-there-to-say-only-that-there-were-tears-only-that/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I got this emptiness inside that got me fighting for approval because I missed out on my daddy saying, Way to Go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/i-got-this-emptiness-inside-that-got-me-fighting-for-approval-because/) [Lecrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [“As we see it, space is possible only when the primordial Being swallows emptiness. Space is born when the Being accepts emptiness, the Nonbeing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/as-we-see-it-space-is-possible-only-when-the-primordial-being/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) [Browse all 1,374 Emptiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Work is a kind of vacuum, an emptiness, where I just switch off everything except the scant intelligence necessary to keep me going. God, the people are awful - great carved monstrosities from the sponge-stone of secondratedness. Hideous.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Philip Larkin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/work-is-a-kind-of-vacuum-an-emptiness-where-i-just-switch-off/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Emptiness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/work-is-a-kind-of-vacuum-an-emptiness-where-i-just-switch-off/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02b/philip-larkin-1822_work_work-is-a-kind-of-vacuum-an-emptiness-wh_1532290.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02b/philip-larkin-1822_work_work-is-a-kind-of-vacuum-an-emptiness-wh_1532290.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02b/philip-larkin-1822_work_work-is-a-kind-of-vacuum-an-emptiness-wh_1532290.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Work is a kind of vacuum, an emptiness, where I just switch off everything except the scant intelligence…” — Philip Larkin", "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": "Philip Larkin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Work is a kind of vacuum,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/work-is-a-kind-of-vacuum-an-emptiness-where-i-just-switch-off/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/work-is-a-kind-of-vacuum-an-emptiness-where-i-just-switch-off/#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 } } ] } ```