--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If i thought i was replying to someone…" description: "\"If i thought i was replying to someone who would every return to the world, this flame would cease it's flickering. But since no one has returned from ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/dante-alighieri-590_alive_if-i-thought-i-was-replying-to-someone-w_2789829.jpg" --- # If i thought i was replying to someone who would every… ![“If i thought i was replying to someone who would every return to the world, this flame would cease it's flickering. But since no one has returned from these depths alive, if what I've heard is true, I will answer you without fear of infamy.” quote by Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/dante-alighieri-590_alive_if-i-thought-i-was-replying-to-someone-w_2789829.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/dante-alighieri-590_alive_if-i-thought-i-was-replying-to-someone-w_2789829.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/dante-alighieri-590_alive_if-i-thought-i-was-replying-to-someone-w_2789829.jpg) > “If i thought i was replying to someone who would every return to the world, this flame would cease it's flickering. But since no one has returned from these depths alive, if what I've heard is true, I will answer you without fear of infamy.” [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) ## 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 would answer without fear if no one returns from the abyss, but fear persists because no one survives the depths. **In simple terms:** He would speak boldly if no one could return, yet fear remains. Key Takeaway Courage grows when stakes are understood. Themes fear courage death Mood reflective thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - exploration - deep research - risk assessment Key Concepts existentialism heroism Questions to Reflect On - What would you risk if you knew no one could return? - How does fear shape your decisions? A Different Perspective Fear may still dominate despite logic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Depth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depth/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Infamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infamy/) [Replying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/replying/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [This sorrow weighs upon the melancholy souls of those who lived without infamy or praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/this-sorrow-weighs-upon-the-melancholy-souls-of-those-who-lived/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in time of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality. \[This miserable mode Maintain the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/the-hottest-places-in-hell-are-reserved-for-those-who-in-time-of/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [If you are replying me late ,obviously you are talking to someonemore important than me ..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tinku-razoria/if-you-are-replying-me-late-obviously-you-are-talking-to-someonemore/) [Tinku Razoria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tinku-razoria/) > [And they would ask, well, now, are you one of those narrow-minded Baptists who think only Baptists are going to heaven? To which I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/and-they-would-ask-well-now-are-you-one-of-those-narrow-minded/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) > [One Mormon raised the question with his spouse, who minched no words in replying, 'All right Jody - you get another wife and I'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-j-arrington/one-mormon-raised-the-question-with-his-spouse-who-minched-no-words/) Leonard J. Arrington > [The founders of this nation understood that private morality is the fount from whence sound public policy springs. Replying to Washington's first inaugural address,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-g-west/the-founders-of-this-nation-understood-that-private-morality-is-the/) Thomas G. West > [If you have time so text me, If you dont have so dont, but if you not replying me purposely, so I will tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deep-tanna/if-you-have-time-so-text-me-if-you-dont-have-so-dont-but-if-you-not/) Deep Tanna > [Knowledge knocks on the door of action. If it receives a reply, it stays. Otherwise, it departs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufyan-al-thawri/knowledge-knocks-on-the-door-of-action-if-it-receives-a-reply-it/) [Sufyan al-Thawri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufyan-al-thawri/) > [A few of the friends I text with quite a bit stopped replying to me. I guess they have moved on from our friendship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-few-of-the-friends-i-text-with-quite-a-bit-stopped-replying-to-me-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Penning an advice column for the literary website The Rumpus, \[Strayed\] worked anonymously, using the pen name Sugar, replying to letters from readings suffering… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-newman/penning-an-advice-column-for-the-literary-website-the-rumpus-strayed/) [Leigh Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-newman/) > [“Am I meant to not reply to Josh From HR’s texts, do you think? Hell, maybe I am. Maybe he liked me the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gemma-burgess/am-i-meant-to-not-reply-to-josh-from-hr-s-texts-do-you-think-hell/) [Gemma Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gemma-burgess/) > [Do you recognise me?" he asked. Willie looked hard and considered before finally replying "Lie down so I can recognise you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-pep/do-you-recognise-me-he-asked-willie-looked-hard-and-considered-before/) [Willie Pep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-pep/) > [Anacharsis coming to Athens, knocked at Solon's door, and told him that he, being a stranger, was come to be his guest, and contract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/anacharsis-coming-to-athens-knocked-at-solon-s-door-and-told-him-that/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [Where r u? U r u not replying? I m worried coz todays paper I read that due 2 thunder a monkey has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babloo/where-r-u-u-r-u-not-replying-i-m-worried-coz-todays-paper-i-read-that/) [Babloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babloo/) > [I'm on my phone 24/7 replying to every Instagram comment and message to try and understand how people are seeing us, and their questions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-woodward/i-m-on-my-phone-24-7-replying-to-every-instagram-comment-and-message/) [Ella Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-woodward/) ## More by Dante Alighieri > [In that part of the book of my memory before the which is little that can be read, there is a rubric, saying, Incipit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/in-that-part-of-the-book-of-my-memory-before-the-which-is-little-that/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [“Be as a tower, that, firmly set, Shakes not its top for any blast that blows!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/be-as-a-tower-that-firmly-set-shakes-not-its-top-for-any-blast-that/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [Pure essence, and pure matter, and the two joined into one were shot forth without flaw, like three bright arrows from a three-string bow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/pure-essence-and-pure-matter-and-the-two-joined-into-one-were-shot/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [Into the eternal darkness, into fire and into ice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/into-the-eternal-darkness-into-fire-and-into-ice/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [O power of fantasy that steals our minds from things outside, to leave us unaware, although a thousand trumpets may blow loud--what stirs you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/o-power-of-fantasy-that-steals-our-minds-from-things-outside-to-leave/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [The purpose of the whole (work) is to remove those who are living in this life from a state of wretchedness and lead them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/the-purpose-of-the-whole-work-is-to-remove-those-who-are-living-in/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [“Noi leggeveamo un giorno per diletto Di Lancialotto, come amor lo strinse; Soli eravamo e senza alcun sospetto Per più fiate gli occhi ci…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/noi-leggeveamo-un-giorno-per-diletto-di-lancialotto-come-amor-lo/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [Love can move the Sun and the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/love-can-move-the-sun-and-the-stars/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [Oh foolish desires of mortals! How weak are the reasons that lead us to not take off our flight from the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/oh-foolish-desires-of-mortals-how-weak-are-the-reasons-that-lead-us/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [“On march the banners of the King of Hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/on-march-the-banners-of-the-king-of-hell/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [Seldom indeed does human virtue rise From trunk to branch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/seldom-indeed-does-human-virtue-rise-from-trunk-to-branch/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [All hope abandon, ye who enter here!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/all-hope-abandon-ye-who-enter-here/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [We have no hope and yet we live in longing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/we-have-no-hope-and-yet-we-live-in-longing/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [Not one drop of blood is left inside my veins that does not throb: I recognize signs of the ancient flame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/not-one-drop-of-blood-is-left-inside-my-veins-that-does-not-throb-i/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [It is necessity and not pleasure that compels us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/it-is-necessity-and-not-pleasure-that-compels-us/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) [Explore all 414 Dante Alighieri quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If i thought i was replying to someone who would every return to the world, this flame would cease it's flickering. But since no one has returned from these depths alive, if what I've heard is true, I will answer you without fear of infamy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dante Alighieri" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/if-i-thought-i-was-replying-to-someone-who-would-every-return-to-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/if-i-thought-i-was-replying-to-someone-who-would-every-return-to-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/dante-alighieri-590_alive_if-i-thought-i-was-replying-to-someone-w_2789829.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/dante-alighieri-590_alive_if-i-thought-i-was-replying-to-someone-w_2789829.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/dante-alighieri-590_alive_if-i-thought-i-was-replying-to-someone-w_2789829.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If i thought i was replying to someone who would every return to the world, this flame would cease it's…” — Dante Alighieri", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dante Alighieri", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If i thought i was replying...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/if-i-thought-i-was-replying-to-someone-who-would-every-return-to-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/if-i-thought-i-was-replying-to-someone-who-would-every-return-to-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```