“At present they [philosophers] seem to be in a very lamentable condition, and such as the poets have given us but a faint notion of in their descriptions of the punishment of Sisyphus and Tantalus.”

— David Hume, book A Treatise of Human Nature

For what can be imagin'd more tormenting, than to seek with eagerness, what for ever flies us; and seek for it in a place, where 'tis impossible it can ever exist?
Part 4, Section 3
A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40), Book 1: Of the understanding

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Scottish philosopher, economist, and historian 1711–1776

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“At present they [philosophers] seem to be in a very lamentable condition, and such as the poets have given us but a faint notion of in their descriptions of the punishment of Sisyphus and Tantalus. For what can be imagin'd more tormenting, than to seek with eagerness, what for ever flies us; and seek for it in a place, where 'tis impossible it can ever exist?”

David Hume book A Treatise of Human Nature

Part 4, Section 3
A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40), Book 1: Of the understanding

“To decide to become a philosopher seemed as foolish to me as to decide to become a poet.”

Karl Jaspers (1883–1969) German psychiatrist and philosopher

“For the ancients, unending labour was the mark of a slave. The labours of Sisyphus are a punishment. In working for progress we submit to a labour no less servile.”

John Gray book Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals

As It Is: Sisyphus's Progress (p. 196)
Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals (2002)

“He was a great poet" They lamented.

No, he was not a great poet," said Theo, "He was a good poet, he could have been better. That's the real loss don't you see?”

Lloyd Alexander book The Kestrel

Source: The Kestrel

“love make us poets, and the approach of death should make us philosophers.”

George Santayana (1863–1952) 20th-century Spanish-American philosopher associated with Pragmatism

“The secret that our poets and philosophers have been trying to tell us for centuries, is that our longing is the great gateway to belonging.”

Susan Cain (1968) self-help writer

Bittersweet Introduction at p. xxvii

“Weapons are allowed. Dirty tricks are expected. But try not to kill anybody!” Tantalus smiled at us like we were all naughty children. “Any killing will result in harsh punishment. No s’mores at the campfire for a week! Now ready your chariots!”

Rick Riordan book The Sea of Monsters

Source: The Sea of Monsters

“Men are in error when they lament the flight of time, accusing it of being too swift, and not perceiving that it is sufficient as it passes; but good memory, with which nature has endowed us, causes things long past to seem present.”

Leonardo Da Vinci (1452–1519) Italian Renaissance polymath

The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (1883), XIX Philosophical Maxims. Morals. Polemics and Speculations.

“It seems that sin is geographical. From this conclusion, it is only a small step to the further conclusion that the notion of "sin" is illusory, and that the cruelty habitually practised in punishing it is unnecessary.”

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) logician, one of the first analytic philosophers and political activist

A Fresh Look at Empiricism: 1927-42 (1996), p. 283
Attributed from posthumous publications

“Today, the notion of progress in a single line without goal or limit seems perhaps the most parochial notion of a very parochial century.”

Lewis Mumford book Technics and Civilization

Source: Technics and Civilization (1934), Ch. 8, sct. 12

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