--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When all things lasted so short a time…" description: "\"“When all things lasted so short a time and nothing mattered very much, it seemed pitiful that men, attaching an absurd importance to trivial objects, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/w-somerset-maugham-237_pitiful_when-all-things-lasted-so-short-a-time-a_718438.jpg" --- # When all things lasted so short a time and nothing… ![“When all things lasted so short a time and nothing mattered very much, it seemed pitiful that men, attaching an absurd importance to trivial objects, should make themselves and one another so unhappy.” quote by W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/w-somerset-maugham-237_pitiful_when-all-things-lasted-so-short-a-time-a_718438.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/w-somerset-maugham-237_pitiful_when-all-things-lasted-so-short-a-time-a_718438.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/w-somerset-maugham-237_pitiful_when-all-things-lasted-so-short-a-time-a_718438.jpg) > ““When all things lasted so short a time and nothing mattered very much, it seemed pitiful that men, attaching an absurd importance to trivial objects, should make themselves and one another so unhappy.”” [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. Life is fleeting and trivial concerns cause unnecessary suffering; recognizing this can reduce needless anguish. **In simple terms:** Trivial worries cause unhappiness. Key Takeaway Let go of petty concerns. Themes impermanence meaninglessness human suffering Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - daily stress - relationships - workplace - social media Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What trivial thing dominates your thoughts? - How can you reframe its importance? A Different Perspective Ignoring deeper values can lead to apathy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy/) ## Related quotes > [“...the human race, like drops of water in that river and they flowed on, each so close to the other and yet so far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-human-race-like-drops-of-water-in-that-river-and-they-flowed-on/) [W. 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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 Pitiful quotes > [Who can calculate the wounds inflicted, their depth and pain, by harsh and mean words spoken in anger? 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He always begins with a flourish of contempt for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/this-is-the-perpetual-and-pitiful-tragedy-of-the-practical-man-in/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Proper prior planning prevents pitiful poor performance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-meyer/proper-prior-planning-prevents-pitiful-poor-performance/) [Don Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-meyer/) > [Leaders goal: Don't be afraid of vulnerability & transparency, (without being pitiful). People respond to authenticity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-houston/leaders-goal-don-t-be-afraid-of-vulnerability-transparency-without/) [Brian Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-houston/) > [“She perceived vaguely the pitiful corruption of the adult world; how cruel and frail it was, like a worn piece of burlap, patched with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/she-perceived-vaguely-the-pitiful-corruption-of-the-adult-world-how/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [I know so well what becomes of unmarried women who aren't prepared to occupy a position. I've seen such pitiful cases in the South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/i-know-so-well-what-becomes-of-unmarried-women-who-aren-t-prepared-to/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [Defeats are always pitiful. Victories are always last resources.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/defeats-are-always-pitiful-victories-are-always-last-resources/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [There is a certain delicacy which in yielding conquers; and with a pitiful look makes one find cause to crave help one's self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-sidney/there-is-a-certain-delicacy-which-in-yielding-conquers-and-with-a/) [Philip Sidney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-sidney/) > [Pessimists are usually kind. The gay, bubbling over, have no time for the pitiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-o-faolain/pessimists-are-usually-kind-the-gay-bubbling-over-have-no-time-for/) [Sean O Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-o-faolain/) > [The current anger at the march of turbines and pylons across the hills of Britain is not from nimbys. Government money has lubricated most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-jenkins/the-current-anger-at-the-march-of-turbines-and-pylons-across-the/) [Simon Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-jenkins/) > [“How pathetic are you? You’re actually ticked off that your stalker is no longer skulking around in the shadows. That’s just…pitiful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belle-aurora/how-pathetic-are-you-you-re-actually-ticked-off-that-your-stalker-is/) [Belle Aurora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belle-aurora/) > [I’m not a good faster. My friends have visions of God, I have visions of hamburgers. The only time I watch the Food Channel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/i-m-not-a-good-faster-my-friends-have-visions-of-god-i-have-visions/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [A person moving in zero gravity feels a pitiful helplessness. One wrong move and you find yourself spinning wildly. Everyone becomes a baby again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-walter/a-person-moving-in-zero-gravity-feels-a-pitiful-helplessness-one/) [Ulrich Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-walter/) Browse all 151 Pitiful quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When all things lasted so short a time and nothing mattered very much, it seemed pitiful that men, attaching an absurd importance to trivial objects, should make themselves and one another so unhappy.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. 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