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But, so far as we can see, so long as the present laws and constitution of nature continue there must still remain a vast amount of really inevitable suffering for mankind, without reckoning beastkind, birdkind, fishkind, insectkind, reptilekind, plant- kind, and leaving quite out of discussion stonekind.

— James Thomson Essays and Phantasies (1881)

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More quotes by James Thomson

For life is but a dream whose shapes return,
Some frequently, some seldom, some by night
And some by day.

The City of Dreadful Night (1870)

The world rolls round for ever like a mill;
It grinds out death and life and good and ill;
It has no purpose, heart or mind or will.

The City of Dreadful Night (1870)

Yet I strode on austere;
No hope could have no fear.

The City of Dreadful Night (1870)

Yet why evoke the spectres of black night
To blot the sunshine of exultant years?

The City of Dreadful Night (1870)

The street-lamps burn amidst the baleful glooms,
Amidst the soundless solitudes immense
Of ranged mansions dark and still as tombs.

The City of Dreadful Night (1870)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: James Thomson (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.