--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It must be that there is something…" description: "\"It must be that there is something naturally absurd in a sincere emotion, though why there should be I cannot imagine, unless it is that man, the ephem..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d4/w-somerset-maugham-237_absurd_it-must-be-that-there-is-something-natur_2494897.jpg" --- # It must be that there is something naturally absurd in a… ![“It must be that there is something naturally absurd in a sincere emotion, though why there should be I cannot imagine, unless it is that man, the ephemeral inhabitant of an insignificant planet, with all his pain and all his striving is but a jest in an eternal mind.” quote by W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d4/w-somerset-maugham-237_absurd_it-must-be-that-there-is-something-natur_2494897.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d4/w-somerset-maugham-237_absurd_it-must-be-that-there-is-something-natur_2494897.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d4/w-somerset-maugham-237_absurd_it-must-be-that-there-is-something-natur_2494897.jpg) > “It must be that there is something naturally absurd in a sincere emotion, though why there should be I cannot imagine, unless it is that man, the ephemeral inhabitant of an insignificant planet, with all his pain and all his striving is but a jest in an eternal mind.” [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human emotions feel absurd against the vast, indifferent cosmos, highlighting our fleeting existence and the paradox of seeking meaning. **In simple terms:** Emotions seem absurd in a huge universe. Key Takeaway Accept life's absurdity and cherish moments. Themes existentialism humanity meaning absurdity Mood contemplative melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal reflection - philosophical discussion - artistic creation Key Concepts cosmic insignificance ephemeral self search for purpose Questions to Reflect On - How do you find purpose amid cosmic insignificance? - Can absurdity coexist with sincere feeling? A Different Perspective Life's meaning may be beyond human grasp. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Absurd Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd-emotion-1002022/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Emotion Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion-imagine-1002025/) [Ephemeral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ephemeral/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Insignificant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insignificant/) [Jest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jest/) [Man Ephemeral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-ephemeral-1002024/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Naturally Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naturally-absurd-1002023/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Planets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planets/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Sincere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sincere/) [Strive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strive/) ## Related quotes > [Love" and all the obsessive behaviors associated with it, was an absurd emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-mcnaught/love-and-all-the-obsessive-behaviors-associated-with-it-was-an-absurd/) [Judith McNaught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-mcnaught/) > [That's the amazing thing about music: there's a song for every emotion. Can you imagine a world with no music? It would suck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-styles/that-s-the-amazing-thing-about-music-there-s-a-song-for-every-emotion/) [Harry Styles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-styles/) > [“Know, O beloved, that man was not created in jest or at random, but marvellously made and for some great end. Although he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ghazali/know-o-beloved-that-man-was-not-created-in-jest-or-at-random-but/) [Al-Ghazali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ghazali/) > [There's many a true word spoken in jest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/there-s-many-a-true-word-spoken-in-jest/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [A prison! heav'ns, I loath the hated name, Famine's metropolis, the sink of shame, A nauseous sepulchre, whose craving womb Hourly inters poor mortals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brown-jr/a-prison-heav-ns-i-loath-the-hated-name-famine-s-metropolis-the-sink/) [Tom Brown, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brown-jr/) > [It is the history of our kindnesses that alone make this world tolerable. If it were not for that, for the effect of kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/it-is-the-history-of-our-kindnesses-that-alone-make-this-world/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“Z morderstwem jest jak z życiem; i jedno, i drugie jest nieprzewidywalne.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-beckett/z-morderstwem-jest-jak-z-yciem-i-jedno-i-drugie-jest-nieprzewidywalne/) [Simon Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-beckett/) > [“...life is one big jest at the expense of humanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petina-gappah/life-is-one-big-jest-at-the-expense-of-humanity/) [Petina Gappah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petina-gappah/) > [I say that in jest a little bit, but Donald Trump is a blue collar guy with a balance sheet. That's the way he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump-jr/i-say-that-in-jest-a-little-bit-but-donald-trump-is-a-blue-collar-guy/) [Donald Trump, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump-jr/) > [They's a heap more to God's will than death, disapoint-ment, and like thet. Hit's God's will for us to be good and do good,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olive-ann-burns/they-s-a-heap-more-to-god-s-will-than-death-disapoint-ment-and-like/) [Olive Ann Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olive-ann-burns/) > [Better to wait and yearn, and still to wait, And die at last with unappeased desire, Than live to be the jest of such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/better-to-wait-and-yearn-and-still-to-wait-and-die-at-last-with/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Humor is the only test of gravity, and gravity of humor; for a subject which will not bear raillery is suspicious, and a jest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/humor-is-the-only-test-of-gravity-and-gravity-of-humor-for-a-subject/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [There is such a thing as raw, unalloyed, agendaless kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/there-is-such-a-thing-as-raw-unalloyed-agendaless-kindness/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [To smile at the jest which plants a thorn in another's breast is to become a principal in the mischief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/to-smile-at-the-jest-which-plants-a-thorn-in-another-s-breast-is-to/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [“Życie przeważnie jest smutne. A zaraz potem się umiera...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janusz-leon-wi-niewski/ycie-przewa-nie-jest-smutne-a-zaraz-potem-si-umiera/) [Janusz Leon Wiśniewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janusz-leon-wi-niewski/) ## More by W. Somerset Maugham > [“A man thinks it quite natural that he should fall out of love with a woman, but it never strikes him for a moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-thinks-it-quite-natural-that-he-should-fall-out-of-love-with-a/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A man's work reveals him. In social intercourse he gives you the surface that he wishes the world to accept, but in his book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-s-work-reveals-him-in-social-intercourse-he-gives-you-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/love-is-only-a-dirty-trick-played-on-us-to-achieve-continuation-of/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The world is hard and cruel. We are here none knows why, and we go none knows whither. We must be very humble. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-world-is-hard-and-cruel-we-are-here-none-knows-why-and-we-go-none/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“There is no more merit in having read a thousand books than in having ploughed a thousand fields.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/there-is-no-more-merit-in-having-read-a-thousand-books-than-in-having/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“I wanted to live again and again. I was willing to accept every sort of life, no matter what its pain and sorrow; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-wanted-to-live-again-and-again-i-was-willing-to-accept-every-sort/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [In Hollywood, the women are all peaches. It makes one long for an apple occasionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/in-hollywood-the-women-are-all-peaches-it-makes-one-long-for-an-apple/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/follow-your-inclinations-with-due-regard-to-the-policeman-round-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“His love became a prison from which he longed to escape, but he had not the strength merely to open the door-that was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/his-love-became-a-prison-from-which-he-longed-to-escape-but-he-had/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I did not believe him capable of love. That is an emotion in which tenderness is an essential part, but Strickland had no tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-did-not-believe-him-capable-of-love-that-is-an-emotion-in-which/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [If only the good were a little less heavy-footed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-only-the-good-were-a-little-less-heavy-footed/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/perfection-has-one-grave-defect-it-is-apt-to-be-dull/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A God that can be understood is no God. Who can explain the Infinite in words?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-god-that-can-be-understood-is-no-god-who-can-explain-the-infinite/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“My dear, you used to be quite a dish; now you're quite a tureen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/my-dear-you-used-to-be-quite-a-dish-now-you-re-quite-a-tureen/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“When people say they do not care what others thing of them, for the most part they deceive themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-thing-of-them-for-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) [Explore all 840 W. Somerset Maugham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It must be that there is something naturally absurd in a sincere emotion, though why there should be I cannot imagine, unless it is that man, the ephemeral inhabitant of an insignificant planet, with all his pain and all his striving is but a jest in an eternal mind.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. Somerset Maugham" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/it-must-be-that-there-is-something-naturally-absurd-in-a-sincere/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absurd" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/it-must-be-that-there-is-something-naturally-absurd-in-a-sincere/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d4/w-somerset-maugham-237_absurd_it-must-be-that-there-is-something-natur_2494897.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d4/w-somerset-maugham-237_absurd_it-must-be-that-there-is-something-natur_2494897.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d4/w-somerset-maugham-237_absurd_it-must-be-that-there-is-something-natur_2494897.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It must be that there is something naturally absurd in a sincere emotion, though why there should be I…” — W. Somerset Maugham", "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": "W. Somerset Maugham", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It must be that there is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/it-must-be-that-there-is-something-naturally-absurd-in-a-sincere/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/it-must-be-that-there-is-something-naturally-absurd-in-a-sincere/#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 } } ] } ```