---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Then I felt too that I might take this…"
description: "\"Then I felt too that I might take this opportunity to tie up a few loose ends, only of course loose ends can never be properly tied, one is always prod..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/365/iris-murdoch-993_art_then-i-felt-too-that-i-might-take-this-o_1829488.jpg"
---

#  Then I felt too that I might take this opportunity to tie…

![“Then I felt too that I might take this opportunity to tie up a few loose ends, only of course loose ends can never be properly tied, one is always producing new ones. Time, like the sea, unties all knots. Judgements on people are never final, they emerge from summings up which at once suggest the…” quote by Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/365/iris-murdoch-993_art_then-i-felt-too-that-i-might-take-this-o_1829488.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/365/iris-murdoch-993_art_then-i-felt-too-that-i-might-take-this-o_1829488.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/365/iris-murdoch-993_art_then-i-felt-too-that-i-might-take-this-o_1829488.jpg)

> “Then I felt too that I might take this opportunity to tie up a few loose ends, only of course loose ends can never be properly tied, one is always producing new ones. Time, like the sea, unties all knots. Judgements on people are never final, they emerge from summings up which at once suggest the need of a reconsideration. Human arrangements are nothing but loose ends and hazy reckoning, whatever art may otherwise pretend in order to console us.”

[Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Life’s complexities are endless; attempts to resolve them create new problems, and judgments are always provisional.

**In simple terms:** Problems never fully resolve; judgments change.

Key Takeaway

Accept uncertainty and keep revisiting assumptions.

Themes

uncertainty judgment complexity impermanence

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

philosophical contemplative

When to use this quote

- personal relationships
- legal decisions
- creative projects
- conflict resolution

Key Concepts

philosophy human nature existentialism

Questions to Reflect On

- What “loose ends” do you cling to?
- How can you embrace uncertainty?

A Different Perspective

Attempts to tie up loose ends may be futile; some issues resist final closure.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Arrangements Loose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrangements-loose-2261184/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Finals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finals/) [Hazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hazy/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Judgement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgement/) [Knots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knots/) [Knots Judgements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knots-judgements-2261180/) [Loose ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loose-ends/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Reckoning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reckoning/) [Reconsideration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reconsideration/) [Reconsideration Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reconsideration-human-2261182/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) [Summing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summing-up/) [Ties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ties/)

## Related quotes

> [What is a Person? is a clear and comprehensive reconsideration of the meaning of human personhood as the central core of social structures. With…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-a-person-is-a-clear-and-comprehensive-reconsideration-of-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [ If an important decision is to be made, they \[the Persians\] discuss the question when they are drunk, and the following day the master… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herodotus/if-an-important-decision-is-to-be-made-they-the-persians-discuss-the/)

[Herodotus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herodotus/)

> [We need to deal with three things that are important: first, we need a very deep reconsideration of how we are dealing with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-need-to-deal-with-three-things-that-are-important-first-we-need-a/)

[Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/)

> [The First Insight Theory: Mysterious coincidences cause the reconsideration of the inherent mystery that surrounds our individual lives on this planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-redfield/the-first-insight-theory-mysterious-coincidences-cause-the/)

[James Redfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-redfield/)

> [History has shown that there are very few mechanisms as effective at maintaining the status quo as a set of institutionalized regulations. Once set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-baran/history-has-shown-that-there-are-very-few-mechanisms-as-effective-at/)

[Paul Baran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-baran/)

> [Nothing ought to be said or done which could create the impression that unbiased reconsideration of the most elementary premises of philosophy is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/nothing-ought-to-be-said-or-done-which-could-create-the-impression/)

[Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/)

> [By their very nature, human beings are so capricious, so complex, so delightfully contradictory, that they deserve not only our consideration but our reconsideration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/by-their-very-nature-human-beings-are-so-capricious-so-complex-so/)

[Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/)

> [If the truth is boring, civilization is irksome. The constraints inherent in civilized living are frustrating in innumerable ways. Yet those with the vision…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/if-the-truth-is-boring-civilization-is-irksome-the-constraints/)

[Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/)

> [“If that church is not adding value to your life, you may want to reconsider how often you go to church.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/if-that-church-is-not-adding-value-to-your-life-you-may-want-to/)

[Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/)

> [In fact, we haven't ever really recalibrated our foreign policy commitments since the end of the Cold War. We still have alliances throughout Asia…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-gutzman/in-fact-we-haven-t-ever-really-recalibrated-our-foreign-policy/)

[Kevin Gutzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-gutzman/)

> [The question is: Will Trump's ego allow him to reconsider any negative moves that he now might have in mind? Such reconsideration is really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-davidson/the-question-is-will-trump-s-ego-allow-him-to-reconsider-any-negative/)

[Lawrence Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-davidson/)

> [The Africans were oftentimes allied with the antagonist of the Republic. Now, you may want to step back and ask yourself why that might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-horne/the-africans-were-oftentimes-allied-with-the-antagonist-of-the/)

[Gerald Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-horne/)

> [“reconsideration—and our unwavering determination to withhold our opinion until we have engaged with them in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/reconsideration-and-our-unwavering-determination-to-withhold-our/)

[Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/)

> [My children not only inspired me to reconsider what kind of eating animal I would be, but also shamed me into reconsideration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/my-children-not-only-inspired-me-to-reconsider-what-kind-of-eating/)

[Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/)

> [Interviewer: Have you ever considered writing nonfiction? Mary Doria Russell: Oh, honey, I did! Let's see...There was "A Reconsideration of the Evidence for Cannibalism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-doria-russell/interviewer-have-you-ever-considered-writing-nonfiction-mary-doria/)

[Mary Doria Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-doria-russell/)

## More by Iris Murdoch

> [Falling out of love is chiefly a matter of forgetting how charming someone is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/falling-out-of-love-is-chiefly-a-matter-of-forgetting-how-charming/)

[Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/)

> [One doesn't have to get anywhere in a marriage. It's not a public conveyance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/one-doesn-t-have-to-get-anywhere-in-a-marriage-it-s-not-a-public/)

[Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/)

> [“I think being a woman is like being Irish... Everyone says you're important and nice, but you take second place all the time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-think-being-a-woman-is-like-being-irish-everyone-says-you-re/)

[Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/)

> [Art is the final cunning of the human soul which would rather do anything than face the gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-is-the-final-cunning-of-the-human-soul-which-would-rather-do/)

[Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/)

> [The sending of a letter constitutes a magical grasp upon the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-magical-grasp-upon-the-future/)

[Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/)

> [emotions really exist at the bottom of the personality or at the top. in the middle they are acted. this is why all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/emotions-really-exist-at-the-bottom-of-the-personality-or-at-the-top/)

[Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/)

> [I have used the word "attention," which I borrow from Simone Weil, to express the idea of a just and loving gaze directed upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-have-used-the-word-attention-which-i-borrow-from-simone-weil-to/)

[Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/)

> [Starting a novel is opening a door on a misty landscape; you can still see very little but you can smell the earth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/starting-a-novel-is-opening-a-door-on-a-misty-landscape-you-can-still/)

[Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/)

> [Art and morality are, with certain provisos…one. Their essence is the same. The essence of both of them is love. Love is the perception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-and-morality-are-with-certain-provisos-one-their-essence-is-the/)

[Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/)

> [being homosexual doesn't determine a man's whole character any more than being heterosexual does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/being-homosexual-doesn-t-determine-a-man-s-whole-character-any-more/)

[Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/)

> [All artists dream of a silence which they must enter, as some creatures return to the sea to spawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/all-artists-dream-of-a-silence-which-they-must-enter-as-some/)

[Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/)

> [“Oh if only I could take my mother away and never know of these things again. But it was impossible, the machine would go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/oh-if-only-i-could-take-my-mother-away-and-never-know-of-these-things/)

[Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/)

> [We defend ourselves by descriptions and tame the world by generalizing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/we-defend-ourselves-by-descriptions-and-tame-the-world-by-generalizing/)

[Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/)

> [“I'm sorry I was awful. I'm so full of terrors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-m-sorry-i-was-awful-i-m-so-full-of-terrors/)

[Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/)

> [I live, I live, with an absolutely continuous sense of failure. I am always defeated, always. Every book is the wreck of a perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-live-i-live-with-an-absolutely-continuous-sense-of-failure-i-am/)

[Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/)

[Explore all 306 Iris Murdoch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/)

## More Art quotes

> [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/)

[Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/)

> [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/)

[Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/)

> [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/)

[Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/)

> [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/)

[Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/)

> [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/)

[Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/)

> [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/)

[Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/)

> [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/)

[Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/)

> [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/)

[Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/)

> [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/)

[G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/)

> [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/)

[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/)

> [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/)

[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/)

> [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

[Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Then I felt too that I might take this opportunity to tie up a few loose ends, only of course loose ends can never be properly tied, one is always producing new ones. Time, like the sea, unties all knots. Judgements on people are never final, they emerge from summings up which at once suggest the need of a reconsideration. Human arrangements are nothing but loose ends and hazy reckoning, whatever art may otherwise pretend in order to console us.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Iris Murdoch"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/then-i-felt-too-that-i-might-take-this-opportunity-to-tie-up-a-few/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Art"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/then-i-felt-too-that-i-might-take-this-opportunity-to-tie-up-a-few/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/365/iris-murdoch-993_art_then-i-felt-too-that-i-might-take-this-o_1829488.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/365/iris-murdoch-993_art_then-i-felt-too-that-i-might-take-this-o_1829488.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/365/iris-murdoch-993_art_then-i-felt-too-that-i-might-take-this-o_1829488.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Then I felt too that I might take this opportunity to tie up a few loose ends, only of course loose ends can…” — Iris Murdoch",
                "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": "Iris Murdoch",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Then I felt too that I...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/then-i-felt-too-that-i-might-take-this-opportunity-to-tie-up-a-few/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/then-i-felt-too-that-i-might-take-this-opportunity-to-tie-up-a-few/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
