--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We shall live for no reason. Then die and…" description: "\"“We shall live for no reason. Then die and be done with it. What a recognition! What shall save us? Only the knowledge that we have lived without illus..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/488/william-h-gass-4166_illusion_we-shall-live-for-no-reason-then-die-and_2237566.png" --- # We shall live for no reason. Then die and be done with it… ![“We shall live for no reason. Then die and be done with it. What a recognition! What shall save us? Only the knowledge that we have lived without illusion, not excluding the illusion that something will save us.” quote by William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/488/william-h-gass-4166_illusion_we-shall-live-for-no-reason-then-die-and_2237566.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/488/william-h-gass-4166_illusion_we-shall-live-for-no-reason-then-die-and_2237566.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/488/william-h-gass-4166_illusion_we-shall-live-for-no-reason-then-die-and_2237566.png) > ““We shall live for no reason. Then die and be done with it. What a recognition! What shall save us? Only the knowledge that we have lived without illusion, not excluding the illusion that something will save us.”” [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects existential nihilism, suggesting life lacks inherent purpose and only awareness of illusion offers any solace. **In simple terms:** Life has no meaning; only recognizing illusion matters. Key Takeaway Embrace awareness of illusion. Themes existentialism nihilism awareness Mood melancholic contemplative Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - grief counseling - philosophical debate - creative writing - personal reflection Key Concepts illusion meaninglessness self‑knowledge Questions to Reflect On - What does “living without illusion” feel like? - Can illusion ever be wholly avoided? A Different Perspective It may overlook the human need for constructed meaning and community. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Lived Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lived-illusion-1157525/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Reason Die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason-die-313392/) [Salvation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/salvation/) [Shall Live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shall-live/) [Shall Save](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shall-save-1157524/) ## Related quotes > [“We shall live for no reason. Then die and be done with it. What a recognition! What shall save us? Only the knowledge that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/we-shall-live-for-no-reason-then-die-and-be-done-with-it-what-a-2/) [William H. 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Mine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-arnold/the-foolish-ofttimes-teach-the-wise-i-strain-too-much-this-string-of/) [Edwin Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-arnold/) > [I am myself and what is around me, and if I do not save it, it shall not save me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/i-am-myself-and-what-is-around-me-and-if-i-do-not-save-it-it-shall/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [That which is impossible to thee is not impossible to me: I shall save my word in all things and I shall make all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-of-norwich/that-which-is-impossible-to-thee-is-not-impossible-to-me-i-shall-save/) [Julian of Norwich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-of-norwich/) > [We Shan't Save All We Would Like To, But We Shall Save A Great Deal More Than If We Had Never Tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-scott/we-shan-t-save-all-we-would-like-to-but-we-shall-save-a-great-deal/) [Peter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-scott/) > [I shall listen to my heart and it shall save me. I shall listen to my heart and I'll be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-webster/i-shall-listen-to-my-heart-and-it-shall-save-me-i-shall-listen-to-my/) [Barry Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-webster/) > [Never have the nations of the world had so much to lose, or so much to gain. Together we shall save our planet, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/never-have-the-nations-of-the-world-had-so-much-to-lose-or-so-much-to/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [I truly have every reason to die, sadly few reasons to live. And yet, live I do. I don't just exist, I f\*\*king soar,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladislas-nikilovic/i-truly-have-every-reason-to-die-sadly-few-reasons-to-live-and-yet/) [Vladislas Nikilovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladislas-nikilovic/) > [By logic and reason we die hourly; by imagination we live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/by-logic-and-reason-we-die-hourly-by-imagination-we-live/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [“Leave it to Wes to use sex as a reason not to die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-van-dyken/leave-it-to-wes-to-use-sex-as-a-reason-not-to-die/) [Rachel Van Dyken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-van-dyken/) > [You're the reason I live, and the reason I die, you're the reason I smile, yet break down and cry. You're the reason I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cuts-and-scars/you-re-the-reason-i-live-and-the-reason-i-die-you-re-the-reason-i/) [Cuts And Scars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cuts-and-scars/) > [When love becomes extreme at one end it becomes a reason to die.. !!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mintu-choudhary/when-love-becomes-extreme-at-one-end-it-becomes-a-reason-to-die/) [Mintu Choudhary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mintu-choudhary/) ## More by William H. Gass > [“Try to remember that artists in these catastrophic times, along with the serious scientists, are the only salvation for us, if there is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/try-to-remember-that-artists-in-these-catastrophic-times-along-with/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [“If someone asks me, “Why do you write?” I can reply by pointing out that it is a very dumb question. Nevertheless, there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/if-someone-asks-me-why-do-you-write-i-can-reply-by-pointing-out-that/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [The things that stayed were things that didn't matter except they stayed, night and day, all seasons the same, and were peaceful to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/the-things-that-stayed-were-things-that-didn-t-matter-except-they/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [When book and reader's furrowed brow meet, it isn't always the book that's stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/when-book-and-reader-s-furrowed-brow-meet-it-isn-t-always-the-book/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [Getting even is one reason for writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/getting-even-is-one-reason-for-writing/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [“It's a simple world for her. A curtain fluttering - that's how she is - lives, moves - obediently, yet with every appearnace of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/it-s-a-simple-world-for-her-a-curtain-fluttering-that-s-how-she-is/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [“I dreamed my lips would drift down your back like a skiff on a river. I'd follow a vein with the point of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/i-dreamed-my-lips-would-drift-down-your-back-like-a-skiff-on-a-river/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [“Yes, we call it recursive, the act of reading, of looping the loop, of continually returning to an earlier group of words, behaving like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/yes-we-call-it-recursive-the-act-of-reading-of-looping-the-loop-of/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [“Then let us have a language worthy of our world, a democratic style where rich and well-born nouns can roister with some sluttish verb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/then-let-us-have-a-language-worthy-of-our-world-a-democratic-style/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [“Excellence is inconveniently difficult.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/excellence-is-inconveniently-difficult/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [We must take our sentences seriously, which means we must understand them philosophically, and the odd thing is that the few who do, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/we-must-take-our-sentences-seriously-which-means-we-must-understand/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [We converse as we live by repeating, by combining and recombining a few elements over and over again just as nature does when of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/we-converse-as-we-live-by-repeating-by-combining-and-recombining-a/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [“Why were they whining then?...whining, damn them, whining… Because they’d have to give up their hope of living like an animal and return to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/why-were-they-whining-then-whining-damn-them-whining-because-they-d/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [Sports, politics, and religion are the three passions of the badly educated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/sports-politics-and-religion-are-the-three-passions-of-the-badly/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [“Then Jethro Furber wondered whether Omensetter wasn't an actor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/then-jethro-furber-wondered-whether-omensetter-wasn-t-an-actor/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) [Explore all 115 William H. Gass quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) ## More Illusion quotes > [A garden has a curious innocent way of consuming cash while all the time you are under the illusion that you are spending nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-meynell/a-garden-has-a-curious-innocent-way-of-consuming-cash-while-all-the/) [Esther Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-meynell/) > [Even mud gives the illusion of depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/even-mud-gives-the-illusion-of-depth/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The fog of illusion, the fog of confusion is hanging all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/the-fog-of-illusion-the-fog-of-confusion-is-hanging-all-over-the-world/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [Knowing does not always allow us to prevent, but at least the things that we know, we hold them, if not in our hands,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/knowing-does-not-always-allow-us-to-prevent-but-at-least-the-things/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Without illusions. I love you because you are fallible and because your poor misguided testosterone-corrupted brain has you doing cartwheels trying not to be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-gerard/without-illusions-i-love-you-because-you-are-fallible-and-because/) [Cindy Gerard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-gerard/) > [Many of us rely on our own illusion of control. But when God makes it known to you that you're not the one steering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/many-of-us-rely-on-our-own-illusion-of-control-but-when-god-makes-it/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [We are eternal. All this pain is an illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/we-are-eternal-all-this-pain-is-an-illusion/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [How could they say that they truly loved each other? They had simply grown up together, been children together, and the proximity of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/how-could-they-say-that-they-truly-loved-each-other-they-had-simply/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [Life and death are illusions. We are in a constant state of transformation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/life-and-death-are-illusions-we-are-in-a-constant-state-of/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [Fortunately, the mind is restless; when it uncovers a layer of its own deception, gives up an illusion, exposes a lie, it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-chernin/fortunately-the-mind-is-restless-when-it-uncovers-a-layer-of-its-own/) [Kim Chernin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-chernin/) > [I've always said that I benefit, as an actor, from not having the illusion of security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-sparks/i-ve-always-said-that-i-benefit-as-an-actor-from-not-having-the/) [Hal Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-sparks/) > [Things aren't always as they appear. I've been believing things to be a certain way because I want them to be that way. 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