Quote by Thomas Carlyle
The gods had condemned Sisyphus to ceaselessly rolling a rock to the top of a mountain, whence the stone would fall back of its own weight. They had thought with some reason that there is no more dreadful punishment than futile and hopeless labor.
Summary
This quote, coined by philosopher Albert Camus in his essay "The Myth of Sisyphus," aims to highlight the existential view on the nature of life. Sisyphus, the mythological character, symbolizes human existence characterized by its repetitive and seemingly meaningless tasks. The punishment of Sisyphus demonstrates the futility of human endeavors, emphasizing the struggle to find purpose and meaning. Camus suggests that the laborious and hopeless task assigned to Sisyphus reflects the absurdity of life, posing philosophical questions about the search for meaning in an indifferent universe.