Kurt Vonnegut Quotes

"Tell me, Tool, what dominates your thoughts?" The Imass shrugged before replying. "I think of futility, Adjunct." "Do all Imass think about futility?" "No. Few think at all." "Why is that?" The Imass leaned his head to one side and regarded her. "Because, Adjunct, it is futile."

Life is boring. People are vengeful. Good things always end. We do so many things and we don’t know why, and if we do find out why, it’s decades later and knowing why doesn’t matter any more.

Regarding life, the wisest men of all ages have judged alike: it is worthless.

The best of all things is something entirely outside your grasp: not to be born, not to be, to be nothing. But the second-best thing for you - is to die soon.

Futility has become a great subject, full of opportunities.

I searched all areas of knowledge, and not only did I fail to find anything, but I was convinced that all those who had explored as I did had also come up with nothing. Not only had they found nothing, but they had clearly acknowledged the same thing that had brought me to despair: the only absolute knowledge attainable by man is that life is meaningless.

But for what purpose was the earth formed?" asked Candide. "To drive us mad," replied Martin.

I have little belief in human progress. The human race is incurably idiotic. It will never be happy.

That is the most extreme form of nihilism: nothingness (the "meaningless") eternally!

It is best not to have been born at all: but, if born, as quickly as possible to return whence one came.

I hope we're not just human garbage drifting toward a big sewer. But I think so.

Futility is the defining characteristic of life.

Everything in the world is gloriously meaningless.

L'homme est une passion inutile. Man is a useless passion.

Philosophy seems to me on the whole a rather hopeless business.

I asked her, "Are you an optimist or a pessimist?" She looked at her watch and said, "I'm optimistic." "Then I have some bad news for you, because humans are going to destroy each others as soon as it becomes easy enough to, which will be very soon." "Why do beautiful songs make you sad?" "Because they aren't true." "Never?" "Nothing is beautiful and true." She smiled, but in a way that wasn't just happy, and said, "You sound just like Dad.

It was hopeless, life, really. It was set up all wrong.

The only absolute knowledge attainable by man is that life is meaningless.

It came to Mr. Blood, as he trudged forward under the laden apple-trees on that fragrant, delicious July morning, that man—as he had long suspected—was the vilest work of God, and that only a fool would set himself up as a healer of a species that was best exterminated.

There were days when she was unhappy, she did not know why,--when it did not seem worthwhile to be glad or sorry, to be alive or dead; when life appeared to her like a grotesque pandemonium and humanity like worms struggling blindly toward inevitable annihilation.

Now, after so many years, I understand what the Coldness was and where it came from—this sense that everything is lost, and worthless, and meaningless.

Viewed from the summit of reason, all life looks like a malignant disease and the world like a madhouse.

And nothing to look backward to with pride, and nothing to look forward to with hope.

You can think of my films as cautionary tales, but you might even think of them as despairing tales, because at least in a cautionary tale, you have this idea that by listening to the story you can assure a better outcome. Whereas I'm not at all convinced that's the case. In fact, if anything, I'm convinced that it's the opposite.

But whate'er I am, nor I nor any man that but man is, With nothing shall be pleased 'til he be eased With being nothing.