--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Let us fix our attention out of ourselves…" description: "\"Let us fix our attention out of ourselves as much as possible; let us chase our imagination to the heavens, or to the utmost limits of the universe; we..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5b/david-hume-538_attention_let-us-fix-our-attention-out-of-ourselve_2773144.jpg" --- # Let us fix our attention out of ourselves as much as… ![“Let us fix our attention out of ourselves as much as possible; let us chase our imagination to the heavens, or to the utmost limits of the universe; we never really advance a step beyond ourselves, nor can conceive any kind of existence, but those perceptions, which have appeared in that narrow…” quote by David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5b/david-hume-538_attention_let-us-fix-our-attention-out-of-ourselve_2773144.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5b/david-hume-538_attention_let-us-fix-our-attention-out-of-ourselve_2773144.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5b/david-hume-538_attention_let-us-fix-our-attention-out-of-ourselve_2773144.jpg) > “Let us fix our attention out of ourselves as much as possible; let us chase our imagination to the heavens, or to the utmost limits of the universe; we never really advance a step beyond ourselves, nor can conceive any kind of existence, but those perceptions, which have appeared in that narrow compass.” [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human imagination often projects beyond personal limits, yet true progress requires self‑reflection and expanding perception. **In simple terms:** Imagination exceeds self‑limits; progress needs self‑reflection. Key Takeaway Balance imagination with self‑knowledge. Themes philosophy imagination self progress Mood inquisitive inspirational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - creative work - personal growth - scientific inquiry Key Concepts metaphysics cognitive limits Questions to Reflect On - What limits your perception? - How can you expand your inner horizon? A Different Perspective Imagination alone can’t replace self‑understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Compass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compass/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Perception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perception/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [When a man has no design but to speak plain truth, he may say a great deal in a very narrow compass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-steele/when-a-man-has-no-design-but-to-speak-plain-truth-he-may-say-a-great/) [Richard Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-steele/) > [Animals, in their generation, are wiser than the sons of men; but their wisdom is confined to a few particulars, and lies in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/animals-in-their-generation-are-wiser-than-the-sons-of-men-but-their/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [A narrow compass! and yet there Dwelt all that 's good, and all that 's fair; Give me but what this riband bound, Take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-waller/a-narrow-compass-and-yet-there-dwelt-all-that-s-good-and-all-that-s/) [Edmund Waller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-waller/) > [The ideal trademark is one that is pushed to its utmost limits in terms of abstraction and ambiguity, yet is still readable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bass/the-ideal-trademark-is-one-that-is-pushed-to-its-utmost-limits-in-2/) [Saul Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bass/) > [War is an act of violence pushed to its utmost limits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/war-is-an-act-of-violence-pushed-to-its-utmost-limits/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [“The limits of my language are the limits of my universe”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/the-limits-of-my-language-are-the-limits-of-my-universe/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [“There are no limits in the universe of imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/there-are-no-limits-in-the-universe-of-imagination/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“Every word Martone sets down, finally, a choice that limits the universe, their trail across the page a fossil record of some life's life-story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-martone/every-word-martone-sets-down-finally-a-choice-that-limits-the/) Michael Martone > [All my theology is reduced to this narrow compass - "Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-alexander/all-my-theology-is-reduced-to-this-narrow-compass-jesus-christ-came/) [Archibald Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-alexander/) > [“The peculiarity of the Battle of Waterloo was its narrow compass, with 140,000 men crammed into three square miles; the front was only four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mclynn/the-peculiarity-of-the-battle-of-waterloo-was-its-narrow-compass-with/) [Frank McLynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mclynn/) > [What ever our wandering our happiness will always be found within a narrow compass, and in the middle of the objects more immediately within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-ever-our-wandering-our-happiness-will-always-be-found-within-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To fix your attention on the best is to surround yourself with the best, and to become the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/to-fix-your-attention-on-the-best-is-to-surround-yourself-with-the/) [Wallace D. 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When I hear a man is religious , I conclude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/they-all-make-up-new-species-of-crime-and-bring-unhappiness-in-their/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [There is not to be found, in all history, any miracle attested by a sufficient number of men, of such unquestioned good sense, education…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/there-is-not-to-be-found-in-all-history-any-miracle-attested-by-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“But though there be naturally a wide difference in point of delicacy between one person and another, nothing tends further to encrease and improve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/but-though-there-be-naturally-a-wide-difference-in-point-of-delicacy/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) [Explore all 487 David Hume quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. 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