--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A sad spectacle. If they be inhabited…" description: "\"A sad spectacle. If they be inhabited, what a scope for misery and folly. If they be not inhabited, what a waste of space.\" — Thomas Carlyle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faa/thomas-carlyle-207_folly_a-sad-spectacle-if-they-be-inhabited-wha_411288.png" --- # A sad spectacle. If they be inhabited, what a scope for… ![“A sad spectacle. If they be inhabited, what a scope for misery and folly. If they be not inhabited, what a waste of space.” quote by Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faa/thomas-carlyle-207_folly_a-sad-spectacle-if-they-be-inhabited-wha_411288.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faa/thomas-carlyle-207_folly_a-sad-spectacle-if-they-be-inhabited-wha_411288.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faa/thomas-carlyle-207_folly_a-sad-spectacle-if-they-be-inhabited-wha_411288.png) > “A sad spectacle. If they be inhabited, what a scope for misery and folly. If they be not inhabited, what a waste of space.” [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Observes that inhabited worlds bring suffering, while empty ones are wasted potential. **In simple terms:** Inhabited worlds = misery; empty = waste. Key Takeaway Consider value of existence. Themes existence misery potential Mood contemplative somber Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - urban planning - space exploration - environmental policy Key Concepts philosophy ethics Questions to Reflect On - Is emptiness truly wasteful? - Can suffering be justified by purpose? A Different Perspective May overlook benefits of habitation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Folly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folly/) [Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) [Scope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scope/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Waste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waste/) [Waste of space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waste-of-space/) ## Related quotes > [I could not forbear getting up to the top of a little mountain, and looking out to sea, in hopes of seeing a ship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/i-could-not-forbear-getting-up-to-the-top-of-a-little-mountain-and/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [IT is reported of Margaret Fuller that she said she accepted the universe. "Gad, she'd better!" retorted Carlyle. Carlyle himself did not accept the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/it-is-reported-of-margaret-fuller-that-she-said-she-accepted-the/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [So meh mom wont let me go outside today because I deleted the messages off of her phone between me and my friend niccole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience/so-meh-mom-wont-let-me-go-outside-today-because-i-deleted-the/) Patience > [“I feel like a waste of space. Like my whole life has been building up to the moment I failed. Like I don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-o-porter/i-feel-like-a-waste-of-space-like-my-whole-life-has-been-building-up/) [Dawn O'Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-o-porter/) > [I just want to be happy.I just want some one there who care.If I was dead no one would care.I'm just waste of space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabby/i-just-want-to-be-happy-i-just-want-some-one-there-who-care-if-i-was/) [Tabby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabby/) > [That's what being shy feels like. Like my skin is too thin, the light too bright. Like the best place I could possibly be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-rifka-brunt/that-s-what-being-shy-feels-like-like-my-skin-is-too-thin-the-light-2/) [Carol Rifka Brunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-rifka-brunt/) > [“I don't think you're a waste of space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/i-don-t-think-you-re-a-waste-of-space/) [J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) > [I know it's easy to imagine but it's easier to just do. See, if you can't do what you imagine, Then what is imagination…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kid-cudi/i-know-it-s-easy-to-imagine-but-it-s-easier-to-just-do-see-if-you-can/) [Kid Cudi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kid-cudi/) > [“Er - no, they don't,' said Harry. 'They think I'm a waste of space, actually, but I'm used to—" "I don't think you're a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/er-no-they-don-t-said-harry-they-think-i-m-a-waste-of-space-actually/) [J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) > [I don't write fight scenes in comics all that well. I think they're a waste of space unless they can move a story forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-liu/i-don-t-write-fight-scenes-in-comics-all-that-well-i-think-they-re-a/) [Marjorie Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-liu/) > [“That's what being shy feels like. Like my skin is too thin, the light too bright. Like the best place I could possibly be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-rifka-brunt/that-s-what-being-shy-feels-like-like-my-skin-is-too-thin-the-light/) [Carol Rifka Brunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-rifka-brunt/) > [“Greta knows that for me there are no good parties. I’m okay with one or two people, but more than that and I turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-rifka-brunt/greta-knows-that-for-me-there-are-no-good-parties-i-m-okay-with-one/) [Carol Rifka Brunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-rifka-brunt/) > [“What kind of party?” “The good kind.” “Yeah, right.” Greta knows that for me there are no good parties. I’m okay with one or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-rifka-brunt/what-kind-of-party-the-good-kind-yeah-right-greta-knows-that-for-me/) [Carol Rifka Brunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-rifka-brunt/) > [If I cannot offer some relief to our world, if I cannot inspire our generation to join me, then I feel I am a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masiela-lusha/if-i-cannot-offer-some-relief-to-our-world-if-i-cannot-inspire-our/) [Masiela Lusha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masiela-lusha/) > [It's a vast waste of space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-philip/it-s-a-vast-waste-of-space/) [Prince Philip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-philip/) ## More by Thomas Carlyle > [O thou that pinest in the imprisonment of the Actual, and criest bitterly to the gods for a kingdom wherein to rule and create,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/o-thou-that-pinest-in-the-imprisonment-of-the-actual-and-criest/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Whose school-hours are all the days and nights of our existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/whose-school-hours-are-all-the-days-and-nights-of-our-existence/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [No sadder proof can be given by a man of his own littleness than disbelief in great men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/no-sadder-proof-can-be-given-by-a-man-of-his-own-littleness-than/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Fame, we may understand, is no sure test of merit, but only a probability of such: it is an accident, not a property, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/fame-we-may-understand-is-no-sure-test-of-merit-but-only-a/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The sincere alone can recognize sincerity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-sincere-alone-can-recognize-sincerity/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Be a pattern to others, and then all will go well; for as a whole city is affected by the licentious passions and vices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/be-a-pattern-to-others-and-then-all-will-go-well-for-as-a-whole-city/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The glory of a workman, still more of a master workman, that he does his work well, ought to be his most precious possession;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-glory-of-a-workman-still-more-of-a-master-workman-that-he-does/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [All human things do require to have an ideal in them; to have some soul in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/all-human-things-do-require-to-have-an-ideal-in-them-to-have-some/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Insurrection, never so necessary, is a most sad necessity; and governors who wait for that to instruct them are surely getting into the fatalest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/insurrection-never-so-necessary-is-a-most-sad-necessity-and-governors/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [What is philosophy but a continual battle against custom?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/what-is-philosophy-but-a-continual-battle-against-custom/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Let Time and Chance combine, combine! Let Time and Chance combine! The fairest love from heaven above, That love of yours was mine, My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/let-time-and-chance-combine-combine-let-time-and-chance-combine-the/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Thought will not work except in silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/thought-will-not-work-except-in-silence/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The public is anold woman.Let her maunderand mumble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-public-is-anold-woman-let-her-maunderand-mumble/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Does not every true man feel that he is himself made higher by doing reverence to what is really above him?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/does-not-every-true-man-feel-that-he-is-himself-made-higher-by-doing/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The press is the fourth estate of the realm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-press-is-the-fourth-estate-of-the-realm/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) [Explore all 917 Thomas Carlyle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) ## More Folly quotes > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [While the people retain their virtue and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme of wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the government in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/while-the-people-retain-their-virtue-and-vigilance-no-administration/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [How arrogant - how very far from humility - would be the self-satisfied, smug assurance that God, a tidy-up-after-us God will come and clean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/how-arrogant-how-very-far-from-humility-would-be-the-self-satisfied/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [“Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverbs-16-22-bible-kjv/understanding-is-a-wellspring-of-life-unto-him-that-hath-it-but-the/) Proverbs 16:22 Bible KJV > [Alcohol doesn't console, it doesn't fill up anyone's psychological gaps, all it replaces is the lack of God. It doesn't comfort man. On the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/alcohol-doesn-t-console-it-doesn-t-fill-up-anyone-s-psychological/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [Tis easy to break an idol, very easy: to regard the self as easy to subdue is folly, folly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/tis-easy-to-break-an-idol-very-easy-to-regard-the-self-as-easy-to/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What curious little corners of folly are to be found in even the sanest brain!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-of-romania/what-curious-little-corners-of-folly-are-to-be-found-in-even-the/) [Marie of Romania](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-of-romania/) > [Unnecessary hustle is one of the American follies. We hustle at both work and play, and consequently enjoy neither to the utmost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-feather/unnecessary-hustle-is-one-of-the-american-follies-we-hustle-at-both/) [William Feather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-feather/) > [HERMIT, n. A person whose vices and follies are not sociable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/hermit-n-a-person-whose-vices-and-follies-are-not-sociable/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Democracy is the worst form of government. It is the most inefficient, the most clumsy, the most unpractical… It reduces wisdom to impotence and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-briffault/democracy-is-the-worst-form-of-government-it-is-the-most-inefficient/) [Robert Briffault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-briffault/) > [It is such a supreme folly to believe that nuclear weapons are deadly only if they're used.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/it-is-such-a-supreme-folly-to-believe-that-nuclear-weapons-are-deadly/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [One's conscience reproaches one much more stingingly for one's follies than one's crimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-jewsbury/one-s-conscience-reproaches-one-much-more-stingingly-for-one-s/) [Geraldine Jewsbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-jewsbury/) > [What folly made young people, even those in middle age, think they were immortal? How much better, their lives, if they could remember the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/what-folly-made-young-people-even-those-in-middle-age-think-they-were/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [We are more heavily taxed by our idleness, pride and folly than we are taxed by government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/we-are-more-heavily-taxed-by-our-idleness-pride-and-folly-than-we-are/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) [Browse all 1,246 Folly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folly/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A sad spectacle. If they be inhabited, what a scope for misery and folly. 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