In the long run all things, even the learning that let him know this, were futil

In the long run all things, even the learning that let him know this, were futile and empty, and at last diminished into a nothingness they did not alter. 从长远看，各种东西，甚至让他领悟到这点的这份学问，都是徒劳和一场空，而且最终要消解成一片他们撼动不了的虚无。