--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Thus it is necessary to commence from an…" description: "\"Thus it is necessary to commence from an inescapable duality: the finite is not the infinite.\" — Hans Urs von Balthasar" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a43/hans-urs-von-balthasar-9350_duality_thus-it-is-necessary-to-commence-from-an_1660142.jpg" --- # Thus it is necessary to commence from an inescapable… ![“Thus it is necessary to commence from an inescapable duality: the finite is not the infinite.” quote by Hans Urs von Balthasar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a43/hans-urs-von-balthasar-9350_duality_thus-it-is-necessary-to-commence-from-an_1660142.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a43/hans-urs-von-balthasar-9350_duality_thus-it-is-necessary-to-commence-from-an_1660142.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a43/hans-urs-von-balthasar-9350_duality_thus-it-is-necessary-to-commence-from-an_1660142.jpg) > “Thus it is necessary to commence from an inescapable duality: the finite is not the infinite.” [Hans Urs von Balthasar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-urs-von-balthasar/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He asserts that the finite cannot fully encompass the infinite, highlighting an essential contrast. **In simple terms:** Finite and infinite are fundamentally different. Key Takeaway Recognize limits of human understanding. Themes philosophy theology metaphysics duality Mood reflective contemplative Type theoretical philosophical When to use this quote - academic lectures - personal meditation - ethical decision‑making Key Concepts finite vs infinite ontological limits spiritual reflection Questions to Reflect On - Can finite experiences reveal infinite truths? - How do we bridge the gap between them? A Different Perspective The statement may overlook ways finite experiences point toward the infinite. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Duality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duality/) [Infinity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinity/) ## Related quotes > [From form to formless and from finite to infinite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/from-form-to-formless-and-from-finite-to-infinite/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [It is hard to be finite upon an infinite subject, and all subjects are infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/it-is-hard-to-be-finite-upon-an-infinite-subject-and-all-subjects-are/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [For man to be able to live he must either not see the infinite, or have such an explanation of the meaning of life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/for-man-to-be-able-to-live-he-must-either-not-see-the-infinite-or/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“The Being is finite and infinite. It is finite while contained within itself. When it is within itself as One, it becomes its opposite—the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/the-being-is-finite-and-infinite-it-is-finite-while-contained-within/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [What I assert and believe to have demonstrated in this and earlier works is that following the finite there is a transfinite (which one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-cantor/what-i-assert-and-believe-to-have-demonstrated-in-this-and-earlier/) [Georg Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-cantor/) > [“For a finite being, an infinite path has no meaning!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/for-a-finite-being-an-infinite-path-has-no-meaning/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [You asked me how to get out of the finite dimensions when I feel like it. I certainly don't use logic when I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-asked-me-how-to-get-out-of-the-finite-dimensions-when-i-feel-like/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All is finite in the present; and even that finite is infinite in it velocity of flight towards death. But in God there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-quincey/all-is-finite-in-the-present-and-even-that-finite-is-infinite-in-it/) [Thomas de Quincey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-quincey/) > [Between the finite and the infinite The missing link of Love has left a void. Supply the link, and earth with Heaven will join…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/between-the-finite-and-the-infinite-the-missing-link-of-love-has-left/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [“In our life there is one side which is finite and another side which is infinite. I want you to think about both the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-ray/in-our-life-there-is-one-side-which-is-finite-and-another-side-which/) [Amit Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-ray/) > [Sadly, the things that we have set out as being worth striving for are not ultimately the things that satisfy human longings. And why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/sadly-the-things-that-we-have-set-out-as-being-worth-striving-for-are/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [The first attempt at a response: there must have been a fall, a decline, and the road to salvation can only be the return…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-urs-von-balthasar/the-first-attempt-at-a-response-there-must-have-been-a-fall-a-decline/) [Hans Urs von Balthasar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-urs-von-balthasar/) > [“Just as there are two sides to every story, there are two sides to every person. One that we reveal to the world and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-thorne/just-as-there-are-two-sides-to-every-story-there-are-two-sides-to/) [Emily Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-thorne/) > [Why chase after thoughts, which are superficial ripples of present awareness? Rather look directly into the naked, empty nature of thoughts; then there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamgon-kongtrul/why-chase-after-thoughts-which-are-superficial-ripples-of-present/) Jamgon Kongtrul > [Only alone can you go into eternity. Only alone can you feel the transcendental light. It is not a shared experience because if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/only-alone-can-you-go-into-eternity-only-alone-can-you-feel-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## More by Hans Urs von Balthasar > [Only the Christian religion, which in its essence is communicated by the eternal child of God, keeps alive in its believers the lifelong awareness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-urs-von-balthasar/only-the-christian-religion-which-in-its-essence-is-communicated-by/) [Hans Urs von Balthasar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-urs-von-balthasar/) > [The work with which we embark on this first volume of a series of theological studies is a work with which the philosophical person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-urs-von-balthasar/the-work-with-which-we-embark-on-this-first-volume-of-a-series-of/) [Hans Urs von Balthasar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-urs-von-balthasar/) > [The Holy Spirit knows what a particular age's most pressing need is far better than men with their programs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-urs-von-balthasar/the-holy-spirit-knows-what-a-particular-age-s-most-pressing-need-is/) [Hans Urs von Balthasar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-urs-von-balthasar/) > [The first attempt at a response: there must have been a fall, a decline, and the road to salvation can only be the return…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-urs-von-balthasar/the-first-attempt-at-a-response-there-must-have-been-a-fall-a-decline/) [Hans Urs von Balthasar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-urs-von-balthasar/) > [There is a moment when the interior light of the "eyes of faith" becomes one with the exterior light that shines from Christ, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-urs-von-balthasar/there-is-a-moment-when-the-interior-light-of-the-eyes-of-faith/) [Hans Urs von Balthasar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-urs-von-balthasar/) > [A truth that is merely handed on, without being thought anew from its very foundations, has lost its vital power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-urs-von-balthasar/a-truth-that-is-merely-handed-on-without-being-thought-anew-from-its/) [Hans Urs von Balthasar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-urs-von-balthasar/) > [But the issue is not only life and death but our existence before God and our being judged by him. All of us were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-urs-von-balthasar/but-the-issue-is-not-only-life-and-death-but-our-existence-before-god/) [Hans Urs von Balthasar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-urs-von-balthasar/) > [Faith means the fundamental response to the love that has offered itself up for me. It thus becomes clear that faith is ordered primarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-urs-von-balthasar/faith-means-the-fundamental-response-to-the-love-that-has-offered/) [Hans Urs von Balthasar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-urs-von-balthasar/) > [Hell is to be contemplated strictly as a matter which concerns me alone. As part of the spiritual life it belongs behind the 'closed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-urs-von-balthasar/hell-is-to-be-contemplated-strictly-as-a-matter-which-concerns-me/) [Hans Urs von Balthasar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-urs-von-balthasar/) > [What you are is God's gift to you, what you become is your gift to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-urs-von-balthasar/what-you-are-is-god-s-gift-to-you-what-you-become-is-your-gift-to-god/) [Hans Urs Von Balthasar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-urs-von-balthasar/) > [Above all we must not wish to cling to our suffering. Suffering surely deepens us and enhances our person, but we must not desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-urs-von-balthasar/above-all-we-must-not-wish-to-cling-to-our-suffering-suffering-surely/) [Hans Urs von Balthasar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-urs-von-balthasar/) > [The inner reality of love can be recognized only by love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-urs-von-balthasar/the-inner-reality-of-love-can-be-recognized-only-by-love/) [Hans Urs von Balthasar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-urs-von-balthasar/) > [To be a child means to owe one's existence to another, and even in our adult life we never quite reach the point where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-urs-von-balthasar/to-be-a-child-means-to-owe-one-s-existence-to-another-and-even-in-our/) [Hans Urs von Balthasar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-urs-von-balthasar/) > [There is much in Christianity which can be subjected to exact analysis. But the ultimate things are shrouded in the silent mysteries of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-urs-von-balthasar/there-is-much-in-christianity-which-can-be-subjected-to-exact/) [Hans Urs von Balthasar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-urs-von-balthasar/) > [“For all his gentleness and humility unto death on the Cross, God does not relinquish his attribute of being judge and consuming fire. Nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-urs-von-balthasar/for-all-his-gentleness-and-humility-unto-death-on-the-cross-god-does/) [Hans Urs von Balthasar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-urs-von-balthasar/) [Explore all 73 Hans Urs von Balthasar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-urs-von-balthasar/) ## More Duality quotes > [Only alone can you go into eternity. Only alone can you feel the transcendental light. It is not a shared experience because if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/only-alone-can-you-go-into-eternity-only-alone-can-you-feel-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Why chase after thoughts, which are superficial ripples of present awareness? Rather look directly into the naked, empty nature of thoughts; then there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamgon-kongtrul/why-chase-after-thoughts-which-are-superficial-ripples-of-present/) Jamgon Kongtrul > [“Just as there are two sides to every story, there are two sides to every person. One that we reveal to the world and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-thorne/just-as-there-are-two-sides-to-every-story-there-are-two-sides-to/) [Emily Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-thorne/) > [“The glue that holds the natural world together appears to be a harmonious balance of opposites: day and night, light and dark, winter and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-glue-that-holds-the-natural-world-together-appears-to-be-a/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [ The fall \[of your soul\] from perfection into duality...was naturally followed by the discovery of the duality of good and evil...This is the Biblical… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-fall-of-your-soul-from-perfection-into-duality-was-naturally/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [“To be sure, just because the darkness and the light are equally sacred does not mean we benefit by becoming complacent about the darkness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tehya-sky/to-be-sure-just-because-the-darkness-and-the-light-are-equally-sacred/) [Tehya Sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tehya-sky/) > [“As I, my real self, grew older, I entered more and more into the substance of my dreams. One may dream, and even in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/as-i-my-real-self-grew-older-i-entered-more-and-more-into-the/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [“To Graduate from the "School of Life" you need to have met the following criteria: Found your life purpose, know how the egoic mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-g-roussou/to-graduate-from-the-school-of-life-you-need-to-have-met-the/) [Marina G. Roussou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-g-roussou/) > [To be modern is to find ourselves in an environment that promises us adventure, power, joy, growth, transformation of ourselves and the world -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-berman/to-be-modern-is-to-find-ourselves-in-an-environment-that-promises-us/) [Marshall Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-berman/) > [The interesting thing about Sherlock is that he is himself a reflection of that very English duality. As a drug addict, he is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-everett/the-interesting-thing-about-sherlock-is-that-he-is-himself-a/) [Rupert Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-everett/) > [In this universe, and this existence, where we live with this duality of whether we exist or not and who are we, the stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shekhar-kapur/in-this-universe-and-this-existence-where-we-live-with-this-duality/) [Shekhar Kapur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shekhar-kapur/) > [For I am I: ergo, the truth of myself; my own sphinx, conflict, chaos, vortex—asymmetric to all rhythms, oblique to all paths. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/for-i-am-i-ergo-the-truth-of-myself-my-own-sphinx-conflict-chaos/) [Austin Osman Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare/) > [“All existence seemed to be based on duality, on contrast. Either one was a man or one was a woman, either a wanderer or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/all-existence-seemed-to-be-based-on-duality-on-contrast-either-one/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [We, all who live, have A life that is lived And another life that is thought, And the only life we have It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/we-all-who-live-have-a-life-that-is-lived-and-another-life-that-is/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) [Browse all 281 Duality quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duality/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Thus it is necessary to commence from an inescapable duality: the finite is not the infinite.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hans Urs von Balthasar" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-urs-von-balthasar/thus-it-is-necessary-to-commence-from-an-inescapable-duality-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Duality" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-urs-von-balthasar/thus-it-is-necessary-to-commence-from-an-inescapable-duality-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a43/hans-urs-von-balthasar-9350_duality_thus-it-is-necessary-to-commence-from-an_1660142.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a43/hans-urs-von-balthasar-9350_duality_thus-it-is-necessary-to-commence-from-an_1660142.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a43/hans-urs-von-balthasar-9350_duality_thus-it-is-necessary-to-commence-from-an_1660142.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Thus it is necessary to commence from an inescapable duality: the finite is not the infinite.” — Hans Urs von Balthasar", "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": "Hans Urs von Balthasar", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-urs-von-balthasar/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Thus it is necessary to commence...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-urs-von-balthasar/thus-it-is-necessary-to-commence-from-an-inescapable-duality-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-urs-von-balthasar/thus-it-is-necessary-to-commence-from-an-inescapable-duality-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 } } ] } ```