--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After some hours, the dogs, exhausted by…" description: "\"“After some hours, the dogs, exhausted by running round, almost dead, their tongues hanging out, set upon one another and, not knowing what they are do..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77c/comte-de-lautr-amont-19764_quote_after-some-hours-the-dogs-exhausted-by-r_539261.jpg" --- # After some hours, the dogs, exhausted by running round… ![“After some hours, the dogs, exhausted by running round, almost dead, their tongues hanging out, set upon one another and, not knowing what they are doing, tear one another into thousands of pieces with incredible rapidity. Yet they do not do this out of cruelty. One day, a glazed look in her eyes…” quote by Comte de Lautréamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77c/comte-de-lautr-amont-19764_quote_after-some-hours-the-dogs-exhausted-by-r_539261.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77c/comte-de-lautr-amont-19764_quote_after-some-hours-the-dogs-exhausted-by-r_539261.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77c/comte-de-lautr-amont-19764_quote_after-some-hours-the-dogs-exhausted-by-r_539261.jpg) > ““After some hours, the dogs, exhausted by running round, almost dead, their tongues hanging out, set upon one another and, not knowing what they are doing, tear one another into thousands of pieces with incredible rapidity. Yet they do not do this out of cruelty. One day, a glazed look in her eyes, my mother said to me: ‘When you are in bed and you hear the barking of the dogs in the countryside, hide beneath your blanket, but do not deride what they do: they have an insatiable thirst for the infinite, as you, and I, and all other pale, long-faced human beings do.’ Since that time, I have respected the dead woman’s wish. Like those dogs I feel the need for the infinite. I cannot, cannot satisfy this need. I am the son of a man and a woman, from what I have been told. This astonishes me…I believed I was something more.”” [Comte de Lautréamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/comte-de-lautr-amont/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage likens human yearning for the infinite to frantic dogs, suggesting an insatiable, non‑cruel drive that cannot be satisfied, leading to existential questioning of self. **In simple terms:** Humans crave the infinite like dogs, never fully satisfied. Key Takeaway Accept the endless quest for meaning. Themes existentialism human desire insatiable longing Mood thoughtful poetic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - spiritual contemplation Key Concepts philosophical metaphorical literary Questions to Reflect On - What drives our endless search for meaning? - Can we find peace with unfulfilled desire? A Different Perspective The metaphor may romanticize suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty/) ## Related quotes > [“compliments were like a beverage she was unconsciously smart enough to deny herself even one drop of, because her thirst for them was infinite.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/compliments-were-like-a-beverage-she-was-unconsciously-smart-enough/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [A thirst for the infinite is indelibly present in human beings. 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