--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are two infinities that confuse me…" description: "\"There are two infinities that confuse me: the one in my soul devours me; the one around me will crush me\" — Gustave Flaubert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd6/gustave-flaubert-354_crush_there-are-two-infinities-that-confuse-me_2719012.jpg" --- # There are two infinities that confuse me: the one in my… ![“There are two infinities that confuse me: the one in my soul devours me; the one around me will crush me” quote by Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd6/gustave-flaubert-354_crush_there-are-two-infinities-that-confuse-me_2719012.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd6/gustave-flaubert-354_crush_there-are-two-infinities-that-confuse-me_2719012.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd6/gustave-flaubert-354_crush_there-are-two-infinities-that-confuse-me_2719012.jpg) > “There are two infinities that confuse me: the one in my soul devours me; the one around me will crush me” [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## 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 overwhelmed by an internal infinite and an external infinite that threaten to consume them. **In simple terms:** Both inner and outer forces can feel endless and crushing. Key Takeaway Recognize and balance internal and external pressures. Themes existential dread overwhelm duality Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - career stress - relationship strain - societal expectations - personal growth Key Concepts psychological conflict philosophical infinity Questions to Reflect On - What internal infinite drives you? - How do external forces impact your sense of self? A Different Perspective Infinite pressures may be metaphorical, not literal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crush/) [Infinities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinities/) [Infinity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinity/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) ## Related quotes > [Infinities and indivisibles transcend our finite understanding, the former on account of their magnitude, the latter because of their smallness; Imagine what they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/infinities-and-indivisibles-transcend-our-finite-understanding-the/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“we'd had this brief but infinite forever. Some infinities are bigger than other infinities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/we-d-had-this-brief-but-infinite-forever-some-infinities-are-bigger/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I see the beauty of God's archetypal infinity reflected in the towers of infinities in set theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vern-poythress/i-see-the-beauty-of-god-s-archetypal-infinity-reflected-in-the-towers/) [Vern Poythress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vern-poythress/) > [In the western philosophy you can't perceive infinities at every moment. It's not there to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/in-the-western-philosophy-you-can-t-perceive-infinities-at-every/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“like we’d had this brief but still infinite forever. Some infinities are bigger than other infinities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/like-we-d-had-this-brief-but-still-infinite-forever-some-infinities/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [There are two infinities: God and stupidity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgard-varese/there-are-two-infinities-god-and-stupidity/) [Edgard Varese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgard-varese/) > [It seemed like forever ago, like we've had this brief but still infinite forever. Some infinities are bigger than other infinities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/it-seemed-like-forever-ago-like-we-ve-had-this-brief-but-still/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Some infinities are bigger than other infinities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/some-infinities-are-bigger-than-other-infinities/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“If infinities are signs of missing unification, a unified theory will have none. It will be what we call a finite theory, a theory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/if-infinities-are-signs-of-missing-unification-a-unified-theory-will/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [There are two infinities in this world: God up above, and down below, human baseness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-de-goncourt/there-are-two-infinities-in-this-world-god-up-above-and-down-below/) [Jules de Goncourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-de-goncourt/) > [ \[Georg Cantor was the first to prove that there could be a series of infinities; that infinities come in an infinite number of sizes.\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-maitland/georg-cantor-was-the-first-to-prove-that-there-could-be-a-series-of/) [Sara Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-maitland/) > [We have never observed infinity in nature. Whenever you have infinities in a theory, that's where the theory fails as a description of nature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janna-levin/we-have-never-observed-infinity-in-nature-whenever-you-have/) [Janna Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janna-levin/) > [“No behavior has an infinite set of possibilities. Think of a lightning strike, although the state space is very high the bolt never make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-delmonico/no-behavior-has-an-infinite-set-of-possibilities-think-of-a-lightning/) [Rick Delmonico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-delmonico/) > [“There were millions of different infinities and they weren’t only measured in time, but in people. And in each one, I could find a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackie-burt/there-were-millions-of-different-infinities-and-they-weren-t-only/) [Mackie Burt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackie-burt/) > [“In Cantor's mind there were an infinite number of infinities-the transfinite numbers-each nested in the other. Aleph 0 is smaller than Aleph 1, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-seife/in-cantor-s-mind-there-were-an-infinite-number-of-infinities-the/) [Charles Seife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-seife/) ## More by Gustave Flaubert > [As for the piano, the faster her fingers flew over it, the more he marveled. She struck the keys with aplomb and ran from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/as-for-the-piano-the-faster-her-fingers-flew-over-it-the-more-he/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Caught up in life, you see it badly. You suffer from it or enjoy it too much. The artist, in my opinion, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/caught-up-in-life-you-see-it-badly-you-suffer-from-it-or-enjoy-it-too/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“When one does something, one must do it wholly and well. Those bastard existences where you sell suet all day and write poetry at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-one-does-something-one-must-do-it-wholly-and-well-those-bastard/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Isn’t ‘not to be bored’ one of the principal goals of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/isn-t-not-to-be-bored-one-of-the-principal-goals-of-life/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Love is a springtime plant that perfumes everything with its hope, even the ruins to which it clings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/love-is-a-springtime-plant-that-perfumes-everything-with-its-hope/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“But her life was as cold as an attic facing north; and boredom, like a silent spider, was weaving its web in the shadows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/but-her-life-was-as-cold-as-an-attic-facing-north-and-boredom-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [When you reduce a woman to writing, she makes you think of a thousand other women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-you-reduce-a-woman-to-writing-she-makes-you-think-of-a-thousand/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/travel-makes-one-modest-you-see-what-a-tiny-place-you-occupy-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“We must not touch our idols; the gilt sticks to our fingers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/we-must-not-touch-our-idols-the-gilt-sticks-to-our-fingers/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [A superhuman will is needed in order to write, and I am only a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/a-superhuman-will-is-needed-in-order-to-write-and-i-am-only-a-man/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The writer must wade into life as into the sea, but only up to the navel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-writer-must-wade-into-life-as-into-the-sea-but-only-up-to-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [COLD. Healthier than heat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/cold-healthier-than-heat/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [And indeed, what is better than to sit by one's fireside in the evening with a book, while the wind beats against the window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by-one-s-fireside-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [One's existence should be in two parts: one should live like a bourgeois and think like a demigod.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/one-s-existence-should-be-in-two-parts-one-should-live-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Emma was no asleep, she was pretending to be asleep; and, while he was dozing off at her side, she lay awake, dreaming other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/emma-was-no-asleep-she-was-pretending-to-be-asleep-and-while-he-was/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) [Explore all 526 Gustave Flaubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## More Crush quotes > [Mortals are such fragile things. Just tender feelings walking around exposed in their delicate shells...Easy to crush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-marr/mortals-are-such-fragile-things-just-tender-feelings-walking-around/) [Melissa Marr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-marr/) > [Each child’s story is worthy of telling. There shouldn’t be a sliding scale of death. The weight of it is crushing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anderson-cooper/each-child-s-story-is-worthy-of-telling-there-shouldn-t-be-a-sliding/) [Anderson Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anderson-cooper/) > [I wish that I coul be her. but in the mean time dont forget about me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenzie-ann/i-wish-that-i-coul-be-her-but-in-the-mean-time-dont-forget-about-me/) [Kenzie-ann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenzie-ann/) > [I had to smile when stories emerged questioning whether I was gay. 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Over the stove she had hung these old, maroon painted letters that spell out, “MANIFEST.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmy-laybourne/my-mom-believed-that-you-make-your-own-luck-over-the-stove-she-had/) [Emmy Laybourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmy-laybourne/) > [I'm very disturbed to find out that the leader of the Townies has a soul and I'm beginning to develop a bit of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/i-m-very-disturbed-to-find-out-that-the-leader-of-the-townies-has-a/) [Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/) > [“Connor Crane was currently the secret crush of half the female HHH population. And a couple of the males, too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gemma-halliday/connor-crane-was-currently-the-secret-crush-of-half-the-female-hhh/) [Gemma Halliday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gemma-halliday/) > [My dream would be to hear rocks at my window n to look out and see u just standing there, in the pouring rain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blondie/my-dream-would-be-to-hear-rocks-at-my-window-n-to-look-out-and-see-u/) [Blondie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blondie/) > [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [He sank into the rocking chair, the same one in which Rebecca had sat during the early days of the house to give embroidery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-sank-into-the-rocking-chair-the-same-one-in-which-rebecca-had-sat/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [...It's an unmeetable level of writing. But even if it's something I feel like I can't ever attain, it doesn't crush my spirit. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-banks/it-s-an-unmeetable-level-of-writing-but-even-if-it-s-something-i-feel/) [Paul Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-banks/) > [Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or registering wrongs. 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Do not let the fear of dropping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-alberti/hold-tenderly-that-which-you-cherish-for-it-is-precious-and-a-tight/) Bob Alberti > [In love, making your crush jealous is not going to help it would just make it more complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-valdez/in-love-making-your-crush-jealous-is-not-going-to-help-it-would-just/) [Sarah Valdez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-valdez/) [Browse all 2,147 Crush quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crush/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are two infinities that confuse me: the one in my soul devours me; the one around me will crush me", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gustave Flaubert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/there-are-two-infinities-that-confuse-me-the-one-in-my-soul-devours/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Crush" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/there-are-two-infinities-that-confuse-me-the-one-in-my-soul-devours/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd6/gustave-flaubert-354_crush_there-are-two-infinities-that-confuse-me_2719012.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd6/gustave-flaubert-354_crush_there-are-two-infinities-that-confuse-me_2719012.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd6/gustave-flaubert-354_crush_there-are-two-infinities-that-confuse-me_2719012.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are two infinities that confuse me: the one in my soul devours me; the one around me will crush me” — Gustave Flaubert", "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": "Gustave Flaubert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There are two infinities that confuse...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/there-are-two-infinities-that-confuse-me-the-one-in-my-soul-devours/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/there-are-two-infinities-that-confuse-me-the-one-in-my-soul-devours/#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 } } ] } ```