--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have only to contemplate myself; man…" description: "\"“I have only to contemplate myself; man comes from nothing, passes through time, and disappears forever in the bosom of God. He is seen but for a momen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_contemplate_i-have-only-to-contemplate-myself-man-co_2322556.jpg" --- # I have only to contemplate myself; man comes from nothing… ![“I have only to contemplate myself; man comes from nothing, passes through time, and disappears forever in the bosom of God. He is seen but for a moment wandering on the verge of two abysses, and then is lost. If man were wholly ignorant of himself he would have no poetry in him, for one cannot…” quote by Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_contemplate_i-have-only-to-contemplate-myself-man-co_2322556.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_contemplate_i-have-only-to-contemplate-myself-man-co_2322556.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_contemplate_i-have-only-to-contemplate-myself-man-co_2322556.jpg) > ““I have only to contemplate myself; man comes from nothing, passes through time, and disappears forever in the bosom of God. He is seen but for a moment wandering on the verge of two abysses, and then is lost. If man were wholly ignorant of himself he would have no poetry in him, for one cannot describe what one does not conceive. If he saw himself clearly, his imagination would remain idle and would have nothing to add to the picture. But the nature of man is sufficiently revealed for him to know something of himself and sufficiently veiled to leave much impenetrable darkness, a darkness in which he ever gropes, forever in vain, trying to understand himself.”” [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human self‑knowledge is limited; we glimpse only part of ourselves, leaving much mystery and endless search for meaning. **In simple terms:** We only know ourselves partly, leaving many unknowns. Key Takeaway Accept mystery, pursue self‑reflection. Themes self‑knowledge existentialism human nature Mood contemplative reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - spiritual contemplation - creative writing - therapy - education Key Concepts philosophy psychology metaphysics Questions to Reflect On - How does acknowledging our limits affect our aspirations? - What role does mystery play in personal growth? A Different Perspective Our understanding is always partial, so certainty is impossible. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contemplate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplate/) [Contemplate Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplate-man-5557844/) [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Darkness Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness-darkness/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Humankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humankind/) [Impenetrable Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impenetrable-darkness-2118270/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Man Wholly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-wholly-1284206/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Profound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profound/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) ## Related quotes > [When a man is made up wholly of the dove, without the least grain of the serpent in his composition, he becomes ridiculous in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/when-a-man-is-made-up-wholly-of-the-dove-without-the-least-grain-of/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [The Christian West considers man to be wholly dependent upon the grace of God, or at least upon the Church as the exclusive and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-gustav-jung/the-christian-west-considers-man-to-be-wholly-dependent-upon-the/) [Carl Gustav Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-gustav-jung/) > [Secrecy of design, when combined with rapidity of execution, like me column that guided Israel in the deserts, becomes the guardian pillar of light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/secrecy-of-design-when-combined-with-rapidity-of-execution-like-me/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [The need of man to wholly realize himself is the only fixed star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-need-of-man-to-wholly-realize-himself-is-the-only-fixed-star/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [My faith is brightest in the midst of impenetrable darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-faith-is-brightest-in-the-midst-of-impenetrable-darkness/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > ['Shadow and Bone' is a fantasy set in a country inspired by Tsarist Russia that has been literally torn apart by a swathe of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/shadow-and-bone-is-a-fantasy-set-in-a-country-inspired-by-tsarist/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [“Although now long estranged, Man is not wholly lost nor wholly changed. Dis-graced he may be, yet is not de-throned, and keeps the rags…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien/although-now-long-estranged-man-is-not-wholly-lost-nor-wholly-changed/) [J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) > [Never is a man wholly a saint or a sinner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/never-is-a-man-wholly-a-saint-or-a-sinner/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Every second of every day, a man is the sum effect of every second that has touched him before; he routinely encounters influences that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-pipkin/every-second-of-every-day-a-man-is-the-sum-effect-of-every-second/) [John Pipkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-pipkin/) > [“It was a darkness without time. It was an impenetrable darkness. To the right and left of me rose those terrible formless things of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-leckie/it-was-a-darkness-without-time-it-was-an-impenetrable-darkness-to-the/) [Robert Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-leckie/) > [“That impenetrable darkness exudes iron chill, and over the iron breath a hesitant, dark voice can be heard from the depth of the building;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/that-impenetrable-darkness-exudes-iron-chill-and-over-the-iron-breath/) [Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) > [“And as I stood there looking in terror, the wind blew out both the candles in that ancient peaked garret, leaving me in savage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/and-as-i-stood-there-looking-in-terror-the-wind-blew-out-both-the/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Every man is wholly honest to himself and to God, but not to any one else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/every-man-is-wholly-honest-to-himself-and-to-god-but-not-to-any-one/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A humanist is anyone who rejects the attempt to describe or account for man wholly on the basis of physics, chemistry or animal behaviour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/a-humanist-is-anyone-who-rejects-the-attempt-to-describe-or-account/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) > [Fairly examined, truly understood, No man is wholly bad, nor wholly good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theognis-of-megara/fairly-examined-truly-understood-no-man-is-wholly-bad-nor-wholly-good/) [Theognis of Megara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theognis-of-megara/) ## More by Alexis de Tocqueville > [All around you everything is on the move,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/all-around-you-everything-is-on-the-move/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [No state of society or laws can render men so much alike but that education, fortune, and tastes will interpose some differences between them;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/no-state-of-society-or-laws-can-render-men-so-much-alike-but-that/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [I do not know if the people of the United States would vote for superior men if they ran for office, but there can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-do-not-know-if-the-people-of-the-united-states-would-vote-for/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [What good does it do me, after all, if an ever-watchful authority keeps an eye out to ensure that my pleasures will be tranquil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/what-good-does-it-do-me-after-all-if-an-ever-watchful-authority-keeps/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-greatness-of-america-lies-not-in-being-more-enlightened-than-any/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“I am unacquainted with His designs, but I shall not cease to believe in them because I cannot fathom them, and I had rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-am-unacquainted-with-his-designs-but-i-shall-not-cease-to-believe/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [I questioned the faithful of all communions; I particularly sought the society of clergymen, who are the depositories of the various creeds and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-questioned-the-faithful-of-all-communions-i-particularly-sought-the/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Christianity is the companion of liberty in all its conflicts, the cradle of its infancy, and the divine source of its claims.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/christianity-is-the-companion-of-liberty-in-all-its-conflicts-the/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [The more alike men are, the weaker each feels in the face of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-more-alike-men-are-the-weaker-each-feels-in-the-face-of-all/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“There is a twofold liberty, natural (I mean as our nature is now corrupt) and civil or federal. The first is common to man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/there-is-a-twofold-liberty-natural-i-mean-as-our-nature-is-now/) [Alexis De Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Upon my arrival in the United States the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention; and the longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/upon-my-arrival-in-the-united-states-the-religious-aspect-of-the/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Despotism often presents itself as the repairer of all the ills suffered, the support of just rights, defender of the oppressed, and founder of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/despotism-often-presents-itself-as-the-repairer-of-all-the-ills/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [On this waterlogged landscape…are scattered palaces and hovels…It is here that the human spirit becomes perfect, and at the same time brutalised, that civilisation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/on-this-waterlogged-landscape-are-scattered-palaces-and-hovels-it-is/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/despotism-may-govern-without-faith-but-liberty-cannot/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) [Explore all 438 Alexis de Tocqueville quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) ## More Contemplate quotes > [“Those who contemplate never escape the doubt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/those-who-contemplate-never-escape-the-doubt/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [I have actually seen people contemplate their navels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-heilpern/i-have-actually-seen-people-contemplate-their-navels/) [John Heilpern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-heilpern/) > [The two hardest things to contemplate in life ... are failure and age; those are one and the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-two-hardest-things-to-contemplate-in-life-are-failure-and-age/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Did you ever notice when you contemplate suicide, the hardest things to remember are why you've come this far to begin with? me either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/did-you-ever-notice-when-you-contemplate-suicide-the-hardest-things/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So many hours must I take my rest; So many hours must I contemplate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/so-many-hours-must-i-take-my-rest-so-many-hours-must-i-contemplate/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [It is truly bracing and instructive to contemplate the End Times - at least at safe remove, in the pages of fiction - especially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-di-filippo/it-is-truly-bracing-and-instructive-to-contemplate-the-end-times-at/) [Paul Di Filippo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-di-filippo/) > [“The value of anything is only relative in the moment of contemplating it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/the-value-of-anything-is-only-relative-in-the-moment-of-contemplating/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [ \[The lion\] began to contemplate me with a kind of quiet premeditation, like that of a slow-witted man fondling an unaccustomed thought. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/the-lion-began-to-contemplate-me-with-a-kind-of-quiet-premeditation/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [Nothing makes the future look so rosy as to contemplate it through a glass of Chambertin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/nothing-makes-the-future-look-so-rosy-as-to-contemplate-it-through-a/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [ \[When nature appears complicated:\] The moment we contemplate it as it is, and attain a position from which we can take a commanding view,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/when-nature-appears-complicated-the-moment-we-contemplate-it-as-it-is/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) > [Like most musicians, Im good at becoming immersed in the music that I am currently working on. We seldom lift up our heads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-levin/like-most-musicians-im-good-at-becoming-immersed-in-the-music-that-i/) [Tony Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-levin/) > [“Contemplate for a moment hiking up a wild and rugged mountain. The mountain itself is a challenge, as well as the experience of beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-sanchez/contemplate-for-a-moment-hiking-up-a-wild-and-rugged-mountain-the/) [Steve Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-sanchez/) > [Contemplate nature with the eyes of the soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soljeannette-acevedo/contemplate-nature-with-the-eyes-of-the-soul/) [Soljeannette Acevedo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soljeannette-acevedo/) > [Let man then contemplate the whole of nature in her full and grand majesty... No idea approaches it. We may enlarge our conceptions beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/let-man-then-contemplate-the-whole-of-nature-in-her-full-and-grand/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“It was not easy to commit suicide as to contemplate it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/it-was-not-easy-to-commit-suicide-as-to-contemplate-it/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) [Browse all 217 Contemplate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplate/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I have only to contemplate myself; man comes from nothing, passes through time, and disappears forever in the bosom of God. He is seen but for a moment wandering on the verge of two abysses, and then is lost. If man were wholly ignorant of himself he would have no poetry in him, for one cannot describe what one does not conceive. 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