---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no wisdom in useless and…"
description: "\"There is no wisdom in useless and hopeless sorrow.\" — Samuel Johnson"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ce/samuel-johnson-50_hopeless_there-is-no-wisdom-in-useless-and-hopele_2106993.png"
---

#  There is no wisdom in useless and hopeless sorrow.

![“There is no wisdom in useless and hopeless sorrow.” quote by Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ce/samuel-johnson-50_hopeless_there-is-no-wisdom-in-useless-and-hopele_2106993.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ce/samuel-johnson-50_hopeless_there-is-no-wisdom-in-useless-and-hopele_2106993.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ce/samuel-johnson-50_hopeless_there-is-no-wisdom-in-useless-and-hopele_2106993.png)

> “There is no wisdom in useless and hopeless sorrow.”

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

## About This Quote

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

Sorrow that is useless and hopeless offers no wisdom; it is unproductive.

**In simple terms:** Useless sorrow yields no insight.

Key Takeaway

Avoid lingering in hopeless grief.

Themes

wisdom sorrow uselessness hope

Mood

reflective somber

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- personal loss
- mental health
- spiritual crisis
- creative block

Key Concepts

philosophy psychology emotional health

Questions to Reflect On

- What sorrow has taught you something?
- How can you transform grief into meaning?

A Different Perspective

Not all sorrow leads to growth; seek purposeful reflection.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Hopeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopeless/) [Hopeless Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopeless-sorrow-4236958/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) [Useless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/useless/) [Useless Hopeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/useless-hopeless-4236959/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Wisdom Useless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom-useless-2446845/)

## Related quotes

> [There is no wisdom in useless and hopeless sorrow, but there is something in it so like virtue, that he who is wholly without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-is-no-wisdom-in-useless-and-hopeless-sorrow-but-there-is/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [You are not useless. You are not hopeless. And no matter how scared you are, you will never be alone. And deep down, somewhere,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-ceron/you-are-not-useless-you-are-not-hopeless-and-no-matter-how-scared-you/)

[Ella Ceron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-ceron/)

> [Far best is he who is himself all-wise, and he, too, good who listens to wise words; But whoso is not wise or lays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/far-best-is-he-who-is-himself-all-wise-and-he-too-good-who-listens-to/)

[Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/)

> [There are some works which the authors must consign unpublished to posterity, however uncertain be the event, however hopeless be the trust. He that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-are-some-works-which-the-authors-must-consign-unpublished-to/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [Nothing is more hopeless than a scheme of merriment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/nothing-is-more-hopeless-than-a-scheme-of-merriment/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [Attack anything that makes you feel unworthy, inadequate, hopeless, powerless and useless. That is the evidence of the enemy. All those things need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-cooke/attack-anything-that-makes-you-feel-unworthy-inadequate-hopeless/)

[Graham Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-cooke/)

> [Without you in my life am just someone useless, meanless and hopeless. I love you my life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/without-you-in-my-life-am-just-someone-useless-meanless-and-hopeless/)

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

> [No knowledge is useless, with the exception of heraldry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/no-knowledge-is-useless-with-the-exception-of-heraldry/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [Man is a transitory being, and his designs must partake of the imperfections of their author. To confer duration is not always in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/man-is-a-transitory-being-and-his-designs-must-partake-of-the/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [Conjecture as to things useful, is good; but conjecture as to what it would be useless to know, is very idle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/conjecture-as-to-things-useful-is-good-but-conjecture-as-to-what-it/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [He that hopes to look back hereafter with satisfaction upon past years must learn to know the present value of single minutes, and endeavour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/he-that-hopes-to-look-back-hereafter-with-satisfaction-upon-past/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [The great end of prudence is to give cheerfulness to those hours which splendour cannot gild, and acclamation cannot exhilarate; those soft intervals of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-great-end-of-prudence-is-to-give-cheerfulness-to-those-hours/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [Now you see,' said the turtle, drifting back into the pond, 'why it is useless to cry. Your tears do not wash away your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/now-you-see-said-the-turtle-drifting-back-into-the-pond-why-it-is/)

[Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/)

> [Sorrow is the mere rust of the soul. Activity will cleanse and brighten it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/sorrow-is-the-mere-rust-of-the-soul-activity-will-cleanse-and/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [The safe and general antidote against sorrow is employment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-safe-and-general-antidote-against-sorrow-is-employment/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

## More by Samuel Johnson

> [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [You can never be wise unless you love reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-can-never-be-wise-unless-you-love-reading/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [All theory is against free will; all experience is for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-theory-is-against-free-will-all-experience-is-for-it/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [Had I learned to fiddle, I should have done nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/had-i-learned-to-fiddle-i-should-have-done-nothing-else/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/resolve-not-to-be-poor-whatever-you-have-spend-less-poverty-is-a/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [The basis of all excellence is truth: he that professes love ought to feel its power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-basis-of-all-excellence-is-truth-he-that-professes-love-ought-to/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [Words are daughters of earth but ideas are sons of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/words-are-daughters-of-earth-but-ideas-are-sons-of-heaven/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [“The cherubim were never intended as an object of worship, because they were only the appendices to another thing. But a thing is then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-cherubim-were-never-intended-as-an-object-of-worship-because-they/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [Nobody has the right to put another under such a difficulty that he must either hurt the person by telling the truth or hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/nobody-has-the-right-to-put-another-under-such-a-difficulty-that-he/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [That kind of life is most happy which affords us most opportunities of gaining our own self-esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/that-kind-of-life-is-most-happy-which-affords-us-most-opportunities/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [The time will come to every human being when it must be known how well he can bear to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-time-will-come-to-every-human-being-when-it-must-be-known-how/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

[Explore all 1,998 Samuel Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

## More Hopeless quotes

> [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. This really came home to me once I started writing fiction, that memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memory-is-like-fiction-or-else-it-s-fiction-that-s-like-memory-this/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/)

[Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/)

> [Entrepreneurs take measured risks, not hopeless gambles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kirk/entrepreneurs-take-measured-risks-not-hopeless-gambles/)

[Charlie Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kirk/)

> [“The sky is always beautiful. Even when it's dark or rainy or cloudy, it's still beautiful to look at. It's my favourite thing because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/the-sky-is-always-beautiful-even-when-it-s-dark-or-rainy-or-cloudy-it/)

[Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/)

> [Nothing is hopeless that is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/nothing-is-hopeless-that-is-right/)

[Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/)

> [Of Course God does not consider you hopeless. If He did, He would not be moving you to seek Him (and He obviously is)...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/of-course-god-does-not-consider-you-hopeless-if-he-did-he-would-not/)

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

> [“It all suddenly seemed like a hopeless fight, but so what? I told myself. What does it cost you to pretend that the can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-j-cogswell/it-all-suddenly-seemed-like-a-hopeless-fight-but-so-what-i-told/)

[Kelly J. Cogswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-j-cogswell/)

> [“An atheist is someone who is disappointed in his search of god. He is a man who strongly needed god but couldn't find him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/an-atheist-is-someone-who-is-disappointed-in-his-search-of-god-he-is/)

[Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/)

> [I am not anxious to be the loudest voice or the most popular. But I would like to think that at a crucial moment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-not-anxious-to-be-the-loudest-voice-or-the-most-popular-but-i/)

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

> [“It’s so easy to lose faith and become lost in all of the politics of the world. That’s why we need the arts. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/it-s-so-easy-to-lose-faith-and-become-lost-in-all-of-the-politics-of/)

[Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/)

> [If God is not with us, we do not want to continue. If the Sermon on the Mount is simply impractical, our mission work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-baker/if-god-is-not-with-us-we-do-not-want-to-continue-if-the-sermon-on-the/)

[Heidi Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-baker/)

> [I'm a hopeless father. I don't know why. I don't think I was supposed to be a father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-o-neal/i-m-a-hopeless-father-i-don-t-know-why-i-don-t-think-i-was-supposed/)

[Ryan O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-o-neal/)

> [Tell me, if I confess my feelings to you, will you say you feel the same? Or am I going to have to cringe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/tell-me-if-i-confess-my-feelings-to-you-will-you-say-you-feel-the/)

[Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/)

> [I have come to think that life is a far more limited thing than those in the midst of its maelstorm realize. That light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-have-come-to-think-that-life-is-a-far-more-limited-thing-than-those/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“Hopeless. Freak. Elephant. Pitiful”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-cooner/hopeless-freak-elephant-pitiful/)

[Donna Cooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-cooner/)

[Browse all 1,202 Hopeless quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopeless/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "There is no wisdom in useless and hopeless sorrow.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Samuel Johnson"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-is-no-wisdom-in-useless-and-hopeless-sorrow/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Hopeless"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-is-no-wisdom-in-useless-and-hopeless-sorrow/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ce/samuel-johnson-50_hopeless_there-is-no-wisdom-in-useless-and-hopele_2106993.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ce/samuel-johnson-50_hopeless_there-is-no-wisdom-in-useless-and-hopele_2106993.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ce/samuel-johnson-50_hopeless_there-is-no-wisdom-in-useless-and-hopele_2106993.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“There is no wisdom in useless and hopeless sorrow.” — Samuel Johnson",
                "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": "Samuel Johnson",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "There is no wisdom in useless...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-is-no-wisdom-in-useless-and-hopeless-sorrow/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-is-no-wisdom-in-useless-and-hopeless-sorrow/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
