--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was there when Abbe Georges Lemaître…" description: "\"I was there when Abbe Georges Lemaître first proposed this [Big Bang] theory. ... There is no rational reason to doubt that the universe has existed in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/006/hannes-alfven-29526_astrophysics_i-was-there-when-abbe-georges-lema-tre-f_3113329.jpg" --- # I was there when Abbe Georges Lemaître first proposed this… ![“I was there when Abbe Georges Lemaître first proposed this [Big Bang] theory. ... There is no rational reason to doubt that the universe has existed indefinitely, for an infinite time. … It is only myth that attempts to say how the universe came to be, either four thousand or twenty billion years…” quote by Hannes Alfven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/006/hannes-alfven-29526_astrophysics_i-was-there-when-abbe-georges-lema-tre-f_3113329.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/006/hannes-alfven-29526_astrophysics_i-was-there-when-abbe-georges-lema-tre-f_3113329.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/006/hannes-alfven-29526_astrophysics_i-was-there-when-abbe-georges-lema-tre-f_3113329.jpg) > “I was there when Abbe Georges Lemaître first proposed this \[Big Bang\] theory. ... There is no rational reason to doubt that the universe has existed indefinitely, for an infinite time. … It is only myth that attempts to say how the universe came to be, either four thousand or twenty billion years ago.” [Hannes Alfven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannes-alfven/) ## 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 asserts that the universe is eternal, rejecting finite-age theories and calling them myths. **In simple terms:** Universe is infinite; finite ages are myths. Key Takeaway Consider the possibility of an eternal cosmos. Themes cosmology philosophy myth science infinity Mood speculative analytical Type theoretical philosophical When to use this quote - academic lectures - public debates - science education - philosophical discussions Key Concepts big bang steady state philosophical inquiry Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports an eternal universe? - How do myths shape scientific understanding? A Different Perspective Finite models have strong observational support; eternal view is speculative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Astrophysics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astrophysics/) [Big bang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-bang/) [Big bang theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-bang-theory/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Infinite time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinite-time/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Twenties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twenties/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [There is no rational reason to doubt that the universe has existed indefinitely, for an infinite time. It is only myth that attempts to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannes-alfven/there-is-no-rational-reason-to-doubt-that-the-universe-has-existed/) [Hannes Alfven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannes-alfven/) > [It is only myth that attempts to say how the universe came to be, either four thousand or twenty billion years ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannes-alfven/it-is-only-myth-that-attempts-to-say-how-the-universe-came-to-be/) [Hannes Alfven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannes-alfven/) > [It is easier to suppose that the universe has existed for all eternity than to conceive a being beyond its limits capable of creating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/it-is-easier-to-suppose-that-the-universe-has-existed-for-all/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [“When we doubt, we learn to accept that we may not ever know. When we question, we learn to accept that there may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/when-we-doubt-we-learn-to-accept-that-we-may-not-ever-know-when-we/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [“Yet there have been and still are mathematicians and philosophers who doubt whether the whole universe, or to speak more widely, the whole of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/yet-there-have-been-and-still-are-mathematicians-and-philosophers-who/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“Whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ehrmann/whether-or-not-it-is-clear-to-you-no-doubt-the-universe-is-unfolding/) [Max Ehrmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ehrmann/) > [“Then everything was normal again, except that the liner was speeding for the planet Krim at something more than thirty times the speed of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-leinster/then-everything-was-normal-again-except-that-the-liner-was-speeding/) [Murray Leinster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-leinster/) > [“It was what my mother said sometimes-to be mindful that the universe beyond still existed, that we did not know what lived there, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/it-was-what-my-mother-said-sometimes-to-be-mindful-that-the-universe/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [Whether of not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ehrmann/whether-of-not-it-is-clear-to-you-no-doubt-the-universe-is-unfolding/) [Max Ehrmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ehrmann/) > [In many cultures it is customary to answer that God created the universe out of nothing. But this is mere temporizing. If we wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-many-cultures-it-is-customary-to-answer-that-god-created-the/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Students using astrophysical textbooks remain essentially ignorant of even the existence of plasma concepts, despite the fact that some of them have been known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannes-alfven/students-using-astrophysical-textbooks-remain-essentially-ignorant-of/) [Hannes Alfven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannes-alfven/) > [I have no trouble publishing in Soviet astrophysical journals, but my work is unacceptable to the American astrophysical journals. \[Referring to the trouble he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannes-alfven/i-have-no-trouble-publishing-in-soviet-astrophysical-journals-but-my/) [Hannes Alfven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannes-alfven/) > [I have always believed that astrophysics should be the extrapolation of laboratory physics, that we must begin from the present universe and work our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannes-alfven/i-have-always-believed-that-astrophysics-should-be-the-extrapolation/) [Hannes Alfven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannes-alfven/) > [I have no trouble publishing in Soviet astrophysical journals, but my work is unacceptable to the American astrophysical journals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannes-alfven/i-have-no-trouble-publishing-in-soviet-astrophysical-journals-but-my-2/) [Hannes Alfven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannes-alfven/) > [I don’t know where the universe came from or what happens to creatures when they die. 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