“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?”

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

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David Hume 138
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?
Part 4, Section 3
A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40), Book 1: Of the understanding

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