--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Things duplicate themselves in Tlön; they…" description: "\"“Things duplicate themselves in Tlön; they also tend to grow vague or ‘sketchy,’ and to lose detail when they begin to be forgotten. The classic exampl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/jorge-luis-borges-275_quote_things-duplicate-themselves-in-tl-n-they_1294287.jpg" --- # Things duplicate themselves in Tlön; they also tend to… ![“Things duplicate themselves in Tlön; they also tend to grow vague or ‘sketchy,’ and to lose detail when they begin to be forgotten. The classic example is the doorway that continued to exist so long as a certain beggar frequented it, but which was lost to sight when he died. Sometimes a few birds…” quote by Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/jorge-luis-borges-275_quote_things-duplicate-themselves-in-tl-n-they_1294287.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/jorge-luis-borges-275_quote_things-duplicate-themselves-in-tl-n-they_1294287.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/jorge-luis-borges-275_quote_things-duplicate-themselves-in-tl-n-they_1294287.jpg) > ““Things duplicate themselves in Tlön; they also tend to grow vague or ‘sketchy,’ and to lose detail when they begin to be forgotten. The classic example is the doorway that continued to exist so long as a certain beggar frequented it, but which was lost to sight when he died. Sometimes a few birds, a horse, have saved the ruins of an amphitheater.' - Jorge Luis Borges, 'Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius.”” [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ideas and objects become less defined and fade when they are no longer remembered, showing the power of collective memory over reality. **In simple terms:** Things lose detail when forgotten. Key Takeaway Preserve memory to keep reality vivid. Themes memory reality impermanence fiction ontology Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - archaeology - urban exploration - historical preservation - storytelling - museum curation Key Concepts Epistemology metaphysics literary imagination Questions to Reflect On - How does forgetting reshape our world? A Different Perspective If no one remembers, does it ever truly exist? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“Things became duplicated in Tlön; they also tend to become effaced and lose their details when they are forgotten. 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To glorify… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/to-think-analyze-and-invent-he-pierre-menard-also-wrote-me-are-not/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“Suggestions for further reading Karen Armstrong, Jerusalem; Jorge Luis Borges, Ficciones; Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha; Deepak Chopra, God: A Story of Revelation; Kahlil Gibran, The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/suggestions-for-further-reading-karen-armstrong-jerusalem-jorge-luis/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [ There \[DreamTigers by Jorge Luis Borges\] were these little fablesque things, you know, dream tigers, beautiful, beautiful pieces that when you read them had… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/there-dreamtigers-by-jorge-luis-borges-were-these-little-fablesque/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [I first got online in the late '80s when I was an eccentric teenager in suburban New Jersey, in a town mostly interested in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-fake/i-first-got-online-in-the-late-80s-when-i-was-an-eccentric-teenager/) [Caterina Fake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-fake/) > [Jorge Luis Borges wrote a poem when he was in his 80s about one day writing the book that would justify him. 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And Saint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-jodorowsky/oh-buenos-aires-i-have-traveled-around-the-world-but-i-ve-never-been/) [Alejandro Jodorowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-jodorowsky/) > [ \[Jorge Luis Borges\] had short stories, and I was trying to learn how to write short stories, and then he had these things in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/jorge-luis-borges-had-short-stories-and-i-was-trying-to-learn-how-to/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [“ List of Artists Who Created Fantasy Worlds to Try and Cure Bouts of Sadness 1. Italo Calvino 2. Gabriel Garcia Marquez 3. Jim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-jones/list-of-artists-who-created-fantasy-worlds-to-try-and-cure-bouts-of/) [Shane Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-jones/) ## More by Jorge Luis Borges > [“No hables a menos que puedas mejorar el silencio.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/no-hables-a-menos-que-puedas-mejorar-el-silencio/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The execution was set for the 29th of March, at nine in the morning. This delay was due to a desire on the part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-execution-was-set-for-the-29th-of-march-at-nine-in-the-morning/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Like all writers, he measured the achievements of others by what they had accomplished, asking of them that they measure him by what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/like-all-writers-he-measured-the-achievements-of-others-by-what-they/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [How can we manage to illuminate the pathos of our lives?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/how-can-we-manage-to-illuminate-the-pathos-of-our-lives/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Loneliness does not worry me; life is difficult enough, putting up with yourself and with your own habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/loneliness-does-not-worry-me-life-is-difficult-enough-putting-up-with/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The fact is that all writers create their precursors. Their work modifies our conception of the past, just as it is bound to modify…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-fact-is-that-all-writers-create-their-precursors-their-work/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I don't think we're capable of knowledge, but I like to keep an open mind. So if you ask me whether I believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/i-don-t-think-we-re-capable-of-knowledge-but-i-like-to-keep-an-open/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The web of time - the strands of which approach one another, bifurcate, intersect, or ignore each other through the centuries - embraces "every"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-web-of-time-the-strands-of-which-approach-one-another-bifurcate/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“My memory, sir, is like a garbage disposal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/my-memory-sir-is-like-a-garbage-disposal/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [When I write, I do it urged by an intimate necessity. I don't have in mind an exclusive public, or a public of multitudes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/when-i-write-i-do-it-urged-by-an-intimate-necessity-i-don-t-have-in/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The mind was dreaming. The world was its dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-mind-was-dreaming-the-world-was-its-dream/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I foresee that man will resign himself each day to new abominations, and soon that only bandits and soldiers will be left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/i-foresee-that-man-will-resign-himself-each-day-to-new-abominations/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“If I could live again - I will travel light, If I could live again - I'll try to work bare feet at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/if-i-could-live-again-i-will-travel-light-if-i-could-live-again-i-ll/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Every man should be capable of all ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/every-man-should-be-capable-of-all-ideas/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Writing is only a guided dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/writing-is-only-a-guided-dream/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) [Explore all 558 Jorge Luis Borges quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) ## More Jorge Luis Borges quotes > [“ List of Artists Who Created Fantasy Worlds to Try and Cure Bouts of Sadness 1. Italo Calvino 2. Gabriel Garcia Marquez 3. Jim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-jones/list-of-artists-who-created-fantasy-worlds-to-try-and-cure-bouts-of/) [Shane Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-jones/) > [ \[Jorge Luis Borges\] had short stories, and I was trying to learn how to write short stories, and then he had these things in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/jorge-luis-borges-had-short-stories-and-i-was-trying-to-learn-how-to/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [“Oh, Buenos Aires, I have traveled around the world, but I’ve never been separated from you,” said Argentine poet Jorge Luis Borges. 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I'm not claiming to be anything remotely resembling a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-howes/one-of-my-favorite-writers-is-short-story-writer-essayist-jorge-luis/) Larry Howes > [“One day or one night—between my days and nights, what difference can there be?—I dreamed that there was a grain of sand on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/one-day-or-one-night-between-my-days-and-nights-what-difference-can/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“Why did the Argentine dictatorship invade the British Falkland Islands in 1982? The great Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges dismissed the entire Argentine–British dispute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-did-the-argentine-dictatorship-invade-the-british-falkland/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Jorge Luis Borges was lamenting a variety of Orientalism that was used to measure the alleged authenticity of Argentine and Latin American writers in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-morris/jorge-luis-borges-was-lamenting-a-variety-of-orientalism-that-was/) [Adam Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-morris/) > [Jorge Luis Borges wrote a poem when he was in his 80s about one day writing the book that would justify him. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodora-goss/jorge-luis-borges-wrote-a-poem-when-he-was-in-his-80s-about-one-day/) [Theodora Goss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodora-goss/) > [ To think, analyze and invent, he \[Pierre Menard\] also wrote me, “are not anomalous acts, but the normal respiration of the intelligence. To glorify… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/to-think-analyze-and-invent-he-pierre-menard-also-wrote-me-are-not/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I first got online in the late '80s when I was an eccentric teenager in suburban New Jersey, in a town mostly interested in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-fake/i-first-got-online-in-the-late-80s-when-i-was-an-eccentric-teenager/) [Caterina Fake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-fake/) > [ There \[DreamTigers by Jorge Luis Borges\] were these little fablesque things, you know, dream tigers, beautiful, beautiful pieces that when you read them had… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/there-dreamtigers-by-jorge-luis-borges-were-these-little-fablesque/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [“You Learn (by Jorge Luis Borges) The poverty of yesterday was less squalid than the poverty we purchase with our industry today. Fortunes were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/you-learn-by-jorge-luis-borges-the-poverty-of-yesterday-was-less/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“Suggestions for further reading Karen Armstrong, Jerusalem; Jorge Luis Borges, Ficciones; Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha; Deepak Chopra, God: A Story of Revelation; Kahlil Gibran, The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/suggestions-for-further-reading-karen-armstrong-jerusalem-jorge-luis/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Do not cling to the shore, but set sail for exotic lands and places no longer found on maps. Walk on hallowed grounds. Blaze…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-galian/do-not-cling-to-the-shore-but-set-sail-for-exotic-lands-and-places-no/) [Laurence Galian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-galian/) Browse all 24 Jorge Luis Borges quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Things duplicate themselves in Tlön; they also tend to grow vague or ‘sketchy,’ and to lose detail when they begin to be forgotten. The classic example is the doorway that continued to exist so long as a certain beggar frequented it, but which was lost to sight when he died. 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