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Doom

unavoidable bad situation

Doom (from Old English dōm: a decree, judgment, or decision) is a word indicating a predetermined course of events, a fate or destiny, especially tragic or fatal ones. In cultural references it also sometimes designates the Doom book of Alfred the Great, Mount Doom, a volcano in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, and Doctor Doom, a character in the Marvel Universe, or Doomsday.

Fate, and the dooming gods, are deaf to tears. ~ Virgil
See also:
Destiny
Fate
Wyrd


Arranged alphabetically by author or source:
A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W · X · Y · Z · See also · External links

A

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Doom very evenly! Do not doom one doom to the rich; another to the poor! Nor doom one doom to your friend; another to your foe! ~ Alfred the Great
  • Ever since I arrived to a state of manhood, I have felt a sincere passion for liberty. The history of nations doomed to perpetual slavery, in consequence of yielding up to tyrants their natural born liberties, I read with a sort of philosophical horror; so that the first systematical and bloody attempt at Lexington, to enslave America, thoroughly electrified my mind, and fully determined me to take part with my country.
    • Ethan Allen, as quoted in "In the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress!" - American Heritage magazine Vol. 14, Issue 6 (October 1963)

B

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I am the only being whose doom
No tongue would ask no eye would mourn… ~ Emily Brontë
  • Let those deplore their doom,
    Whose hope still grovels in this dark sojourn:
    But lofty souls, who look beyond the tomb,
    Can smile at Fate, and wonder how they mourn.
  • There's no point fighting about this. You have to learn to accept the inevitable. We are all doomed anyway.
  • And, when you, looking on your fellow men
    Behold them doomed to endless misery,
    How can you talk of joy and rapture then?
    May God withhold such cruel joy from me!
  • O! there lives within my heart
    A hope long nursed by me,
    (And should its cheering ray depart
    How dark my soul would be)

    That as in Adam all have died
    In Christ shall all men live
    And ever round his throne abide
    Eternal praise to give;

    That even the wicked shall at last
    Be fitted for the skies
    And when their dreadful doom is past
    To life and light arise.

  • I am the only being whose doom
    No tongue would ask no eye would mourn
    I never caused a thought of gloom
    A smile of joy since I was born

C

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Out of the mouth of the Mother of God,
More than the doors of doom,
I call the muster of Wessex men
From grassy hamlet or ditch or den,
To break and be broken, God knows when,
But I have seen for whom. ~ G. K. Chesterton
 
Alfred born in Wantage
Rules England till the doom.
Because in the forest of all fears
Like a strange fresh gust from sea,
Struck him that ancient innocence
That is more than mastery. ~ G. K. Chesterton
 
On the dooming wall their bodiless hands
have blazoned "Upharsin," and flaring brands
Illumine the message... ~ Voltairine de Cleyre
 
what if a dawn of a doom of a dream
bites this universe in two,
peels forever out of it's grave
and sprinkles nowhere with me and you? ~ E. E. Cummings
  • Society is as needful to us as air or food. A child doomed to utter loneliness, growing up without sight or sound of human beings, would not put forth equal power with many brutes; and a man, never brought into contact with minds superior to his own, will probably run one and the same dull round of thought and action to the end of llfe.
  • "Out of the mouth of the Mother of God,
    More than the doors of doom,
    I call the muster of Wessex men
    From grassy hamlet or ditch or den,
    To break and be broken, God knows when,
    But I have seen for whom.
  • "Spears at the charge!" yelled Mark amain.
    "Death on the gods of death!
    Over the thrones of doom and blood
    Goeth God that is a craftsman good,
    And gold and iron, earth and wood,
    Loveth and laboureth.
  • He gat good laws of the ancient kings,
    Like treasure out of the tombs;
    And many a thief in thorny nook,
    Or noble in sea-stained turret shook,
    For the opening of his iron book,
    And the gathering of the dooms.
  • Written in red their protest stands,
    For the Gods of the World to see    ;
    On the dooming wall their bodiless hands
    have blazoned "Upharsin," and flaring brands
    Illumine the message: "Seize the lands!
    Open the prisons and make men free!"
  • my father moved through dooms of love
    through sames of am through haves of give
    singing each morning out of each night
    my father moved through depths of height
  • measureless our pure living complete love
    whose doom is beauty and its fate to grow
  • what if a dawn of a doom of a dream
    bites this universe in two,
    peels forever out of it's grave
    and sprinkles nowhere with me and you?

D

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  • If others in the same Glass better see
    'Tis for Themselves they look, but not for me:
    For my Salvation must its Doom receive
    Not from what others, but what I believe.
  • It is required of every man … that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellowmen, and travel far and wide; and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. It is doomed to wander through the world — oh, woe is me! — and witness what it cannot share, but might have shared on earth, and turned to happiness!

E

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  • You're all sinners. You're all doomed to perdition. You're all goin' to the painful, stinkin', scaldin', everlastin' tortures of a fiery hell, created by God for sinners, unless, unless, unless you repent.
  • Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. No man has learned anything rightly, until he knows that every day is Doomsday.
  • Look upon this moment. Savor it! Rejoice with great gladness! Great gladness! Remember it always, for you are joined by it. You are One, under the stars. Remember it well, then... this night, this great victory. So that in the years ahead, you can say, "I was there that night, with Arthur, the King!" For it is the doom of men that they forget.

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  • I decline to accept the end of man. It is easy enough to say that man is immortal because he will endure: that when the last ding-dong of doom has clanged and faded from the last worthless rock hanging tideless in the last red and dying evening, that even then there will still be one more sound: that of his puny inexhaustible voice, still talking. I refuse to accept this. I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet's voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail.
    • William Faulkner, in his speech at the Nobel Prize Banquet after receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature (10 December 1950)
  • Nicole was the product of much ingenuity and toil. … She illustrated very simple principles, containing in herself her own doom, but illustrated them so accurately that there was grace in the procedure, and presently Rosemary would try to imitate it.

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H

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  • There is a fatality, a feeling so irresistible and inevitable that it has the force of doom, which almost invariably compels human beings to linger around and haunt, ghostlike, the spot where some great and marked event has given the color to their lifetime; and still the more irresistibly, the darker the tinge that saddens it.
  • Discovery is dangerous… but so is life. A man unwilling to take risk is doomed never to learn, never to grow, never to live.
  • Chief is Crom. He dwells on a great mountain. What use to call on him? Little he cares if men live or die. Better to be silent than to call his attention to you; he will send you dooms, not fortune!

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We be often dead as to man’s doom in earth; but in the sight of God the soul that shall be saved was never dead, nor ever shall be. ~ Julian of Norwich
  • I have to find my peace 'cause no-one seems to let me be,
    False prophets cry of doom, what are the possibilities?
  • Some of you are doomed to be artists.
    • Robert Edmond Jones, as quoted in "The Life and Work of Martha Graham" (1991), p. 115; this was often used by Martha Graham, and has often become attributed to her.
  • I to them that were about me: It is to-day Doomsday with me. And this I said for that I thought to have died.
  • And though longing and pity are two sundry properties, as to my sight, in this standeth the point of the Spiritual Thirst: which is desire in Him as long as we be in need, drawing us up to His bliss. And all this was seen in the Shewing of Compassion: for that shall cease on Doomsday.
  • God deemeth us upon our Nature-Substance, which is ever kept one in Him, whole and safe without end: and this doom is of His rightfulness. And man judgeth upon our changeable Sense-soul, which seemeth now one, now other, — according as it taketh of the parts, — and showeth outward. And this wisdom is mingled.
  • The first doom, which is of God’s rightfulness, is of His high endless life; and this is that fair sweet doom that was shewed in all the fair Revelation, in which I saw Him assign to us no manner of blame. But though this was sweet and delectable, yet in the beholding only of this, I could not be fully eased: and that was because of the doom of Holy Church, which I had afore understood and which was continually in my sight. And therefore by this doom methought I understood that sinners are worthy sometime of blame and wrath; but these two could I not see in God; and therefore my desire was more than I can or may tell. For the higher doom was shewed by God Himself in that same time, and therefore me behoved needs to take it; and the lower doom was learned me afore in Holy Church, and therefore I might in no way leave the lower doom. Then was this my desire: that I might see in God in what manner that which the doom of Holy Church teacheth is true in His sight, and how it belongeth to me verily to know it; whereby the two dooms might both be saved, so as it were worshipful to God and right way to me.
    And to all this I had none other answer but a marvellous example of a lord and of a servant, as I shall tell after: — and that full mistily shewed. And yet I stand desiring, and will unto my end, that I might by grace know these two dooms as it belongeth to me. For all heavenly, and all earthly things that belong to Heaven, are comprehended in these two dooms. And the more understanding, by the gracious leading of the Holy Ghost, that we have of these two dooms, the more we shall see and know our failings. And ever the more that we see them, the more, of nature, by grace, we shall long to be fulfilled of endless joy and bliss. For we are made thereto, and our Nature-Substance is now blissful in God, and hath been since it was made, and shall be without end.
  • In this life mercy and forgiveness is our way and evermore leadeth us to grace. And by the tempest and the sorrow that we fall into on our part, we be often dead as to man’s doom in earth; but in the sight of God the soul that shall be saved was never dead, nor ever shall be.
  • As verily as we shall be in the bliss of God without end, Him praising and thanking, so verily we have been in the foresight of God, loved and known in His endless purpose from without beginning. In which unbegun love He made us; and in the same love He keepeth us and never suffereth us to be hurt by which our bliss might be lost. And therefore when the Doom is given and we be all brought up above, then shall we clearly see in God the secret things which be now hid to us. Then shall none of us be stirred to say in any wise: Lord, if it had been thus, then it had been full well; but we shall say all with one voice: Lord, blessed mayst thou be, for it is thus: it is well; and now see we verily that all-thing is done as it was then ordained before that anything was made.

K

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Every crisis has both its dangers and its opportunities. It can spell either salvation or doom. In a dark confused world the kingdom of God may yet reign in the hearts of men. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • Oppressed people deal with their oppression in three characteristic ways. One way is acquiescence: the oppressed resign themselves to their doom. They tacitly adjust themselves to oppression and thereby become conditioned to it. In every movement toward freedom some of the oppressed prefer to remain oppressed.
  • Granted that we face a world crisis which leaves us standing so often amid the surging murmur of life's restless sea. But every crisis has both its dangers and its opportunities. It can spell either salvation or doom. In a dark confused world the kingdom of God may yet reign in the hearts of men.

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In the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mount Doom, the Dark Lord Sauron forged, in secret, a Master Ring to control all others. And into this Ring he poured his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all life. ~ The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
 
The words "God is love" have this deep meaning: that everything that is against love is ultimately doomed and damned. ~ Halford E. Luccock
  • Long ago, there existed a kingdom, where a golden power lay hidden... It was a prosperous land, blessed with green forests, tall mountains, and peace... But one day, a man of great evil found the golden power and took it for himself... With its strength, he commanded darkness across the kingdom... But then, when all hope had died and the hour of doom was at hand, a young boy in green appeared as if from nowhere... Wielding the blade of evil's bane, he sealed the dark one away and gave the land light... This boy, who traveled through time to save the land, was known as the Hero of Time.

M

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The apple cannot be stuck back on the Tree of Knowledge; once we begin to see, we are doomed and challenged to seek the strength to see more, not less. ~ Arthur Miller
 
Without redemption all mankind
Must have been lost, adjudged to death and hell
By doom severe. ~ John Milton in Paradise Lost
  • The apple cannot be stuck back on the Tree of Knowledge; once we begin to see, we are doomed and challenged to seek the strength to see more, not less.
    • Arthur Miller, commenting on After the Fall (1964) in The Saturday Evening Post (1 February 1964)

N

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O

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  • We're all doomed, you know. The whole, silly, drunken, pathetic lot of us. Doomed by the air we're about to breathe.

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R

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  • None saw their spirits' shadow shake the grass,
    Or stood aside for the half used life to pass
    Out of those doomed nostrils and the doomed mouth,
    When the swift iron burning bee
    Drained the wild honey of their youth.
  • Brief and powerless is man's life; on him and all his race the slow, sure doom falls pitiless and dark.

S

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Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom. ~ William Shakespeare
  • No cause has he to say his doom is harsh,
    Who's made the master of his destiny.
  • Malcolm! awake!
    Shake off this downy sleep, death's counterfeit,
    And look on death itself! up, up, and see
    The great doom's image!
  • Not mine own fears, nor the prophetic soul
    Of the wide world dreaming on things to come,
    Can yet the lease of my true love control,
    Supposed as forfeit to a confin'd doom.
  • Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
    Within his bending sickle's compass come;
    Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
    But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me prov'd,
I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd.
  • We seem doomed to repeat all our mistakes and find that we are being groomed, and doomed, by the legions of war, Odin's messengers, who would have us believe that aggression is the only way forward. Now we live in a war zone, the entire world.
  • Doctor Doom: Bereft of my technology... mystic armor damaged... offensive and defensive capabilities minimal. Enemy forces... [a horde of demons closes in] substantial. It matters not. Even cornered, to my last breath I remain who and what I am. I will not hide, nor tremble, nor beg. Let them come and reckon with fury that is DOOM defiant. Here I stand, hell-horde! Unbowed! But understand: If it is my destiny that I should perish this day, I shall not go down easily... and I shall NOT go down ALONE.
    Demons: RIP its SKIN. Wear it for HIDE. Its EYES for me. Tear its FLESH from its BONES.
    Doctor Doom: Yes, come, and let us make an end of it — there is DOOM enough for ALL!

T

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He was elven-wise, and there was a light in his eyes that when they were kindled few could endure. His face was sad and stern because of the doom that was laid on him, and yet hope dwelt ever in the depths of his heart, from which mirth would arise at times like a spring from the rock. ~ J. R. R. Tolkien
 
Fëanor, being come to his full might, was filled a new thought... He began a long and secret labour, and he summoned all his lore, and his power, and his subtle skill; and at the end of all he made the Silmarils. ~ J. R. R. Tolkien
 
If any change shall come and the Marring be amended, Manwë and Varda may know; but they have not revealed it, and it is not declared in the dooms of Mandos. ~ J. R. R. Tolkien
 
In the last moments of the great ship’s doom, when all was plainly lost, when braver and hardier men might almost have been excused for doing practically anything to save themselves, they stood responsive to their conductor’s baton and played a recessional tune. ~ Steve Turner
  • Life is not as idle ore,
    But iron dug from central gloom,
    And heated hot with burning fears,
    And dipt in baths of hissing tears,
    And batter'd with the shocks of doom,
    To shape and use.
  • If ever Lancelot, that most noble knight,
    Were for one hour less noble than himself,
    Pray for him that he scape the doom of fire,
    And weep for her that drew him to his doom.
  • Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
    Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
    Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
    One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
    In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
  • Seek for the Sword that was broken:
    In Imladris it dwells;
    There shall be counsels taken
    Stronger than Morgul-spells.
    There shall be shown a token
    That Doom is near at hand,
    For Isildur's Bane shall waken,
    And the Halfling forth shall stand.
  • Out of doubt, out of dark, to the day's rising,
    He rode singing in the sun, sword unsheathing.
    Hope he rekindled, and in hope ended;
    Over death, over dread, over doom lifted
    Out of loss, out of life, unto long glory.
  • Elrond saw many things and read many hearts. One day, therefore, before the fall of the year he called Aragorn to his chamber, and he said: "Aragorn, Arathorn's son, Lord of the Dúnedain, listen to me! A great doom awaits you, either to rise above the height of all your fathers since the days of Elendil, or to fall into darkness with all that is left of your kin. Many years of trial lie before you. You shall neither have wife, nor bind any woman to you in troth, until your time comes and you are found worthy of it."
  • He became at last the most hardy of living Men, skilled in their crafts and lore, and was yet more than they; for he was elven-wise, and there was a light in his eyes that when they were kindled few could endure. His face was sad and stern because of the doom that was laid on him, and yet hope dwelt ever in the depths of his heart, from which mirth would arise at times like a spring from the rock.
  • Fëanor, being come to his full might, was filled a new thought, or it may be that some shadow of foreknowledge came to him of the doom that drew near; and he pondered how the light of the Trees, the glory of the Blessed Realm, might be preserved imperishable. Then he began a long and secret labour, and he summoned all his lore, and his power, and his subtle skill; and at the end of all he made the Silmarils.
  • The Doom of Men, that they should depart, was at first a gift of Ilúvatar. It became a grief to them only because coming under the shadow of Morgoth it seemed to them that they were surrounded by a great darkness, of which they were afraid; and some grew wilful and proud and would not yield, until life was reft from them.
  • In the last moments of the great ship’s doom, when all was plainly lost, when braver and hardier men might almost have been excused for doing practically anything to save themselves, they stood responsive to their conductor’s baton and played a recessional tune.

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The fatal day, th' appointed hour, is come. ~ Virgil
  • In youth alone, unhappy mortals live;
    But, ah! the mighty bliss is fugitive:
    Discolour'd sickness, anxious labour, come,
    And age, and death's inexorable doom.
  • Arms and the Man I sing, the first who bore
    His course to Latium from the Trojan shore;
    By fate expell'd, on land and ocean tost,
    Before he reach'd the fair Lavinian coast:
    Doom'd by the Gods a length of wars to wage,
    And urg'd by Juno's unrelenting rage;
    Ere the brave hero rais'd, in these abodes,
    His destin'd walls, and fix'd his wand'ring gods.
    Hence the fam'd Latian line, and senates come,
    And the proud triumphs, and the tow'rs of Rome.
    • Virgil, in the Aeneid (29–19 BC), Book I, opening lines, as translated by Christopher Pitt (1740)
    • Variant translation:
    • Arms, and the man who first, by Fate's command,
      From Iion flying, sought Italia's strand,
      And gain'd Lavinium, are my themes of song.
      Long toss'd by waves, on land he suffer'd long:
      From power supernal, such his doom of woe;
      Pursued by vengeful Juno as her foe.
  • The fatal day, th' appointed hour, is come.

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  • The night-wind blew cold on my desolate heart
    But colder those wild words of doom,—“Ye must part.”
  • Who, doomed to go in company with Pain,
    And Fear, and Bloodshed, miserable train!
    Turns his necessity to glorious gain.
  • In truth the prison, unto which we doom
    Ourselves, no prison is.

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Anonymous

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  • Three things all ways threaten a man's peace
    And one before the end shall overthrow his mind;
    Either illness or age or the edge of vengeance
    Shall draw out the breath from the doom-shadowed.
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