--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I cannot help it - in spite of myself…" description: "\"I cannot help it - in spite of myself, infinity torments me.\" — Alfred de Musset" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/alfred-de-musset-4813_helping_i-cannot-help-it-in-spite-of-myself-infi_980139.jpg" --- # I cannot help it - in spite of myself, infinity torments me. ![“I cannot help it - in spite of myself, infinity torments me.” quote by Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/alfred-de-musset-4813_helping_i-cannot-help-it-in-spite-of-myself-infi_980139.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/alfred-de-musset-4813_helping_i-cannot-help-it-in-spite-of-myself-infi_980139.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/alfred-de-musset-4813_helping_i-cannot-help-it-in-spite-of-myself-infi_980139.jpg) > “I cannot help it - in spite of myself, infinity torments me.” [Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker feels tormented by an endless, uncontrollable force beyond their will. **In simple terms:** Infinity torments the speaker despite their will. Key Takeaway Accept limits of control over existential forces. Themes existential torment infinity will poetry Mood melancholic introspective Type literary reflective When to use this quote - nighttime contemplation - creative writing - philosophical debate - mental health counseling Key Concepts philosophy existentialism literary analysis Questions to Reflect On - How do you cope with forces beyond control? - Can suffering become creative fuel? A Different Perspective Torment may also inspire growth, not just suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Help Spite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help-spite-1939715/) [Helping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping/) [Infinity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinity/) [Infinity Torments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinity-torments-1939714/) [Spite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spite/) [Spite Infinity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spite-infinity-1939713/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Torment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torment/) ## Related quotes > [I can't help it, the idea of the infinite torments me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/i-can-t-help-it-the-idea-of-the-infinite-torments-me/) [Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) > [To seek freedom is the only driving force I know. Freedom to fly off into that infinity out there. Freedom to dissolve; to lift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/to-seek-freedom-is-the-only-driving-force-i-know-freedom-to-fly-off/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [Ardent desire for knowledge, in fact, is the one motive attracting and supporting investigators in their efforts; and just this knowledge, really grasped and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-bernard/ardent-desire-for-knowledge-in-fact-is-the-one-motive-attracting-and/) [Claude Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-bernard/) > [Oftentimes, the funniest comedians are people who've gone through personal torment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-sprouse/oftentimes-the-funniest-comedians-are-people-who-ve-gone-through/) [Cole Sprouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-sprouse/) > [If it is not strong upon your heart to practice what you read, to what end do you read? To increase your own condemnation?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-brooks/if-it-is-not-strong-upon-your-heart-to-practice-what-you-read-to-what/) [Thomas Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-brooks/) > [Well, I do expect a lot of myself. I'm a harsh critic because I know what I'm capable of. I have hit those occasional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-stevens/well-i-do-expect-a-lot-of-myself-i-m-a-harsh-critic-because-i-know/) [Dave Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-stevens/) > [Surface cures are not going to get rid of the torment that's inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lynch/surface-cures-are-not-going-to-get-rid-of-the-torment-that-s-inside/) [David Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lynch/) > [Time is the mercy of Eternity; without Time's swiftness Which is the swiftest of all things, all were eternal torment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/time-is-the-mercy-of-eternity-without-time-s-swiftness-which-is-the/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [“Being around her now was nine parts bliss and one part torment. And he wanted it to last as long as possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ringle/being-around-her-now-was-nine-parts-bliss-and-one-part-torment-and-he/) [Molly Ringle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ringle/) > [Speak only the speech that neither torments self nor does harm to others. That speech is truly well spoken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/speak-only-the-speech-that-neither-torments-self-nor-does-harm-to/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Teenage girls are extremists who see the world in black-and- white terms, missing shades of gray. Life is either marvelous or notworth living. School…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-pipher/teenage-girls-are-extremists-who-see-the-world-in-black-and-white/) [Mary Pipher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-pipher/) > [When people are suicidal, their thinking is paralyzed, their options appear spare or nonexistent, their mood is despairing, and hopelessness permeates their entire mental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/when-people-are-suicidal-their-thinking-is-paralyzed-their-options/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [...Gratitude transforms the torment of memory of good things now gone into silent joy. One bears what was lovely in the past not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/gratitude-transforms-the-torment-of-memory-of-good-things-now-gone/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Alfred de Musset > [Alas, everything that men say to one another is alike; the ideas they exchange are almost always the same, in their conversation. But inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/alas-everything-that-men-say-to-one-another-is-alike-the-ideas-they/) [Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) > [A lively retrospect summons back to us once more our youth, with vivid reflex of its early joys and unstained pleasures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/a-lively-retrospect-summons-back-to-us-once-more-our-youth-with-vivid/) [Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) > [The mouth keeps silent to hear the heart speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/the-mouth-keeps-silent-to-hear-the-heart-speak/) [Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) > [The costliest women are the ones who cost nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/the-costliest-women-are-the-ones-who-cost-nothing/) [Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) > [“During the wars of the Empire, while husbands and brothers were in Germany, anxious mothers gave birth to an ardent, pale, and neurotic generation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/during-the-wars-of-the-empire-while-husbands-and-brothers-were-in/) [Alfred De Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) > [I don't know where my road is going, but I know that I walk better when I hold your hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/i-don-t-know-where-my-road-is-going-but-i-know-that-i-walk-better/) [Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) > [“As soon as we entered I plunged into the giddy whirl of the waltz. That delightful exercise has always been dear to me; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/as-soon-as-we-entered-i-plunged-into-the-giddy-whirl-of-the-waltz/) [Alfred De Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) > [As all the perfumes of the vanished dayRise from the earth still moistened with the dewSo from my chastened soul beneath thy rayOld love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/as-all-the-perfumes-of-the-vanished-dayrise-from-the-earth-still/) [Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) > [It was one of those somber evenings when the sighing of the wind resembles the moans of a dying man; a storm was brewing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/it-was-one-of-those-somber-evenings-when-the-sighing-of-the-wind/) [Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) > [“Your name, merely your name, floods my brain to a point of sweet disgust.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/your-name-merely-your-name-floods-my-brain-to-a-point-of-sweet-disgust/) [Alfred De Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) > [Partake of love as a temperate man partakes of wine; do not become intoxicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/partake-of-love-as-a-temperate-man-partakes-of-wine-do-not-become/) [Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) > [How glorious it is - and also how painful - to be an exception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/how-glorious-it-is-and-also-how-painful-to-be-an-exception/) [Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) > [“Laurette ! Laurette ! Ah ! je me sens plus lâche qu’une femme. Mon désespoir me tue ; il faut que je pleure. ( RAZETTA )”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/laurette-laurette-ah-je-me-sens-plus-l-che-qu-une-femme-mon-d-sespoir/) [Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) > [Christianity ruined emperors, but saved peoples.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/christianity-ruined-emperors-but-saved-peoples/) [Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) > [life is a deep sleep of which love is the dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/life-is-a-deep-sleep-of-which-love-is-the-dream/) [Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) [Explore all 82 Alfred de Musset quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) ## More Helping quotes > [I know for my wife and I, we always loved the idea of being young parents. It is an incredibly inspiring and challenging job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hanson/i-know-for-my-wife-and-i-we-always-loved-the-idea-of-being-young/) [Taylor Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hanson/) > [The only significance of life consists in helping to establish the kingdom of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-only-significance-of-life-consists-in-helping-to-establish-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [“We will all, at some point in our lives, fall. Every single one of us. We shouldn't spend our time trying to avoid falling.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-williams/we-will-all-at-some-point-in-our-lives-fall-every-single-one-of-us-we/) [Nicole Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-williams/) > [The CIA has concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/the-cia-has-concluded-in-a-secret-assessment-that-russia-intervened/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. Put back together well, they won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/broken-by-hardships-disappointments-and-tragedy-people-can-become/) [Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/) > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [You need to remind people that you vote, you matter, and that they can't succeed without your help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-need-to-remind-people-that-you-vote-you-matter-and-that-they-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [Life's unfairness is not irrevocable; we can help balance the scales for others, if not always for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/life-s-unfairness-is-not-irrevocable-we-can-help-balance-the-scales/) [Hubert H. 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