--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: they slipped one by one again into the…" description: "\"“they slipped one by one again into the merely fictional – Hermes’s false Egypt, and Bruno’s false Hermes; Kraft’s false Bruno; Pierce’s false history ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/john-crowley-7544_history_they-slipped-one-by-one-again-into-the-m_2973082.jpg" --- # they slipped one by one again into the merely fictional –… ![“they slipped one by one again into the merely fictional – Hermes’s false Egypt, and Bruno’s false Hermes; Kraft’s false Bruno; Pierce’s false history of the world, the doors that had once blown open blowing closed again one by one down the corridor into the colored centuries.” quote by John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/john-crowley-7544_history_they-slipped-one-by-one-again-into-the-m_2973082.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/john-crowley-7544_history_they-slipped-one-by-one-again-into-the-m_2973082.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/john-crowley-7544_history_they-slipped-one-by-one-again-into-the-m_2973082.jpg) > ““they slipped one by one again into the merely fictional – Hermes’s false Egypt, and Bruno’s false Hermes; Kraft’s false Bruno; Pierce’s false history of the world, the doors that had once blown open blowing closed again one by one down the corridor into the colored centuries.”” [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage describes how successive ideas and narratives collapse into myth, losing factual grounding and becoming mere stories. **In simple terms:** Ideas become myths and lose reality. Key Takeaway Question the basis of accepted histories. Themes myth history perception illusion knowledge Mood reflective skeptical inquisitive Type literary philosophical critical When to use this quote - academic research - literary analysis - cultural critique - media literacy - personal belief systems Key Concepts postmodernism narrative collapse epistemology Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports or refutes these “false” histories? - How do we differentiate myth from fact? A Different Perspective The quote assumes all historical narratives are equally false, ignoring evidence‑based scholarship. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [False Bruno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/false-bruno-4587014/) [False Egypt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/false-egypt-4587012/) [False Hermes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/false-hermes-4587011/) [False History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/false-history-629336/) [Hermes False](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hermes-false-4587013/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ## Related quotes > [False history gets made all day, any day, the truth of the new is never on the news.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/false-history-gets-made-all-day-any-day-the-truth-of-the-new-is-never-2/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [False history gets made all day, any day, the truth of the new is never on the news False history gets written every day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/false-history-gets-made-all-day-any-day-the-truth-of-the-new-is-never/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [My aim was to dismantle this false history that men created punk, because they didn't. And they were certainly never the best at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunx/my-aim-was-to-dismantle-this-false-history-that-men-created-punk/) [Hunx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunx/) > [ I had gradually come, by this time \[1839-01\], to see that the Old Testament from its manifestly false history of the world, with the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-had-gradually-come-by-this-time-1839-01-to-see-that-the-old/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. 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A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) ## More by John Crowley > [“The Crows of the region could have told them that there are almost always more Crows around them than they can see; but like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/the-crows-of-the-region-could-have-told-them-that-there-are-almost/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [Learning to decipher words had only added to the pleasures of holding spines and turning pages, measuring the journey to the end with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/learning-to-decipher-words-had-only-added-to-the-pleasures-of-holding/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [It occurred to him that seeing a woman's child is like seeing a woman naked, in the way it changes how her face looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/it-occurred-to-him-that-seeing-a-woman-s-child-is-like-seeing-a-woman/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [“He learned, though slowly, what all great harrowed lovers learn: that love is what most surely compels love -- is perhaps, except for brute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/he-learned-though-slowly-what-all-great-harrowed-lovers-learn-that/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [“...only think a moment that we are here now, and that that was then, and it has come to this, and how odd, odd,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/only-think-a-moment-that-we-are-here-now-and-that-that-was-then-and/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [Love is a myth.' 'Love is a myth,' Grandfather Trout said. 'Like summer.' 'What?' 'In winter,'Grandfather Trout said, 'summer is a myth. A report,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/love-is-a-myth-love-is-a-myth-grandfather-trout-said-like-summer-what/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [“The Tale was behind them. And it was to there they journeyed. One step would take them there; they were there already”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/the-tale-was-behind-them-and-it-was-to-there-they-journeyed-one-step/) [john crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [“They called him John Storm: John after his grandfather, but Storm after his father and his mother.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/they-called-him-john-storm-john-after-his-grandfather-but-storm-after/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [“Handsome guy, Victor, in a brutal, black-Irish way. Like most New York bartenders, he was really an actor, or was it the reverse? ("Novelty")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/handsome-guy-victor-in-a-brutal-black-irish-way-like-most-new-york/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [The things that make us happy make us wise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/the-things-that-make-us-happy-make-us-wise/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [“There was a game she had played with Sophie in the long hallways of Edgewood, where she and Sophie would stand as far apart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/there-was-a-game-she-had-played-with-sophie-in-the-long-hallways-of/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [“... their lives were full of quiet drama, full of vague yet thrilling signs that life was not as the common run supposed it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/their-lives-were-full-of-quiet-drama-full-of-vague-yet-thrilling/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [It was anyway all a long time ago; the world, we know now, is as it is and not different; if there was ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/it-was-anyway-all-a-long-time-ago-the-world-we-know-now-is-as-it-is/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [“I could be listening to Painted Red weave the stories of the saints in her rich roomy voice, and beginning to see how all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/i-could-be-listening-to-painted-red-weave-the-stories-of-the-saints/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [“What you learn as you get older is that the world is old, and has been old for a long time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/what-you-learn-as-you-get-older-is-that-the-world-is-old-and-has-been/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) [Explore all 88 John Crowley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. 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It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) [C-DASH](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-dash/) > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“they slipped one by one again into the merely fictional – Hermes’s false Egypt, and Bruno’s false Hermes; Kraft’s false Bruno; Pierce’s false history of the world, the doors that had once blown open blowing closed again one by one down the corridor into the colored centuries.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Crowley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/they-slipped-one-by-one-again-into-the-merely-fictional-hermes-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "History" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/they-slipped-one-by-one-again-into-the-merely-fictional-hermes-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/john-crowley-7544_history_they-slipped-one-by-one-again-into-the-m_2973082.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/john-crowley-7544_history_they-slipped-one-by-one-again-into-the-m_2973082.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/john-crowley-7544_history_they-slipped-one-by-one-again-into-the-m_2973082.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“they slipped one by one again into the merely fictional – Hermes’s false Egypt, and Bruno’s false Hermes…” — John Crowley", "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": "John Crowley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“they slipped one by one again...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/they-slipped-one-by-one-again-into-the-merely-fictional-hermes-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/they-slipped-one-by-one-again-into-the-merely-fictional-hermes-s/#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 } } ] } ```