--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What follows I flee; what flees I ever…" description: "\"What follows I flee; what flees I ever pursue.\" — Ovid" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/ovid-276_flee_what-follows-i-flee-what-flees-i-ever-pu_3116425.png" --- # What follows I flee; what flees I ever pursue. ![“What follows I flee; what flees I ever pursue.” quote by Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/ovid-276_flee_what-follows-i-flee-what-flees-i-ever-pu_3116425.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/ovid-276_flee_what-follows-i-flee-what-flees-i-ever-pu_3116425.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/ovid-276_flee_what-follows-i-flee-what-flees-i-ever-pu_3116425.png) > “What follows I flee; what flees I ever pursue.” [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pursuit and escape are intertwined; chasing one leads to the other. **In simple terms:** Chasing leads to being chased. Key Takeaway Recognize the cycle of pursuit. Themes pursuit escape duality Mood reflective philosophical Type advisory contemplative When to use this quote - relationships - conflict resolution - personal growth - strategic planning Key Concepts fate reciprocity Questions to Reflect On - What do you chase that might be fleeing you? - Can you break the chase‑escape loop? A Different Perspective Sometimes pursuit creates unnecessary conflict. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) ## Related quotes > [What we seek we shall find; what we flee from flees from us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/what-we-seek-we-shall-find-what-we-flee-from-flees-from-us/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The one who merely flees is not yet free. In fleeing he is still conditioned by that from which he flees.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-one-who-merely-flees-is-not-yet-free-in-fleeing-he-is-still/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [I flee who chases me and chase who flees me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/i-flee-who-chases-me-and-chase-who-flees-me/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [When he pretends to flee, do not pursue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/when-he-pretends-to-flee-do-not-pursue/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [He who flees will fight again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tertullian/he-who-flees-will-fight-again/) [Tertullian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tertullian/) > [A woman flees from temptation, but a man just crawls away from it in the cheerful hope that it may overtake him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-rowland/a-woman-flees-from-temptation-but-a-man-just-crawls-away-from-it-in/) [Helen Rowland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-rowland/) > [No man ever flees from duty without incalculable hurt, not only to himself, but to others as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clovis-chappell/no-man-ever-flees-from-duty-without-incalculable-hurt-not-only-to/) Clovis Chappell > [“Evil flees where no man pursueth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-pratchitt-in-another-day-another-dungeon-page-121/evil-flees-where-no-man-pursueth/) Nick Pratchitt in Another Day Another Dungeon page 121 > [“There is no place far enough that you can run. If a doe flees into the forest as far as her legs will carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliette-cross/there-is-no-place-far-enough-that-you-can-run-if-a-doe-flees-into-the/) [Juliette Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliette-cross/) > [How can one take delight in the world unless one flees to it for refuge?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/how-can-one-take-delight-in-the-world-unless-one-flees-to-it-for/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Flight usually intensifies the very thing one flees and establishes a special intimacy with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-moore/flight-usually-intensifies-the-very-thing-one-flees-and-establishes-a/) [Thomas Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-moore/) > [A refugee in the traditional vision is someone who flees from country to another because of persecution or conflict. But what we're witnessing now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-guterres/a-refugee-in-the-traditional-vision-is-someone-who-flees-from-country/) [Antonio Guterres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-guterres/) > [“When a man's bank balance becomes too small, his woman flees. For a man to do the same, his woman's body — or vagina…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/when-a-man-s-bank-balance-becomes-too-small-his-woman-flees-for-a-man/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [No phone. No pool. No pets. No cigarettes. Ultimate freedom... No longer to be poisoned by civilization, he flees, and walks alone upon the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-mccandless/no-phone-no-pool-no-pets-no-cigarettes-ultimate-freedom-no-longer-to/) [Christopher McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-mccandless/) > [No one who has any self-respect stays in Ireland, but flees afar as though from a country that has undergone the visitation of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/no-one-who-has-any-self-respect-stays-in-ireland-but-flees-afar-as/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) ## More by Ovid > [Every woman thinks herself attractive; even the plainest is satisfied with the charms she deems that she possesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/every-woman-thinks-herself-attractive-even-the-plainest-is-satisfied/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Suppressed grief suffocates, it rages within the breast, and is forced to multiply its strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/suppressed-grief-suffocates-it-rages-within-the-breast-and-is-forced/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Honesty, by evil fortune tried, Finds in adversity the seed of praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/honesty-by-evil-fortune-tried-finds-in-adversity-the-seed-of-praise/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [It is some alleviation to ills we cannot cure to speak of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-some-alleviation-to-ills-we-cannot-cure-to-speak-of-them/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [ A mind conscious of right laughs at the falsehoods of rumour. \[Lat., Conscia mens recti famae mendacia risit.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/a-mind-conscious-of-right-laughs-at-the-falsehoods-of-rumour-lat/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Time is generally the best doctor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/time-is-generally-the-best-doctor/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [It is convenient that there be gods, and, as it is convenient, let us believe there are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-convenient-that-there-be-gods-and-as-it-is-convenient-let-us/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [I hate a woman who offers herself because she ought to do so, and cold and dry thinks of her sewing when making love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/i-hate-a-woman-who-offers-herself-because-she-ought-to-do-so-and-cold/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [The sea's vast depths lie open to the fish; Wherever the breezes blow the bird may fly; So to the brave man every land's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/the-sea-s-vast-depths-lie-open-to-the-fish-wherever-the-breezes-blow/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Rare is the virtue that's not ruled by Fortune, That stands unshaken even when Fortune flees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/rare-is-the-virtue-that-s-not-ruled-by-fortune-that-stands-unshaken/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Thus all things altered. Nothing dies. And here and there the unbodied spirit flies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/thus-all-things-altered-nothing-dies-and-here-and-there-the-unbodied/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [How little is the promise of the child fulfilled in the man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/how-little-is-the-promise-of-the-child-fulfilled-in-the-man/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Judgement of beauty can err, what with the wine and the dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/judgement-of-beauty-can-err-what-with-the-wine-and-the-dark/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Leave war to others; 'tis Protesilaus' part of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/leave-war-to-others-tis-protesilaus-part-of-love/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Remove but the temptations of leisure, and the bow of Cupid will lose its effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/remove-but-the-temptations-of-leisure-and-the-bow-of-cupid-will-lose/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) [Explore all 771 Ovid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) ## More Flee quotes > [Flee an enemy who knows your weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/flee-an-enemy-who-knows-your-weakness/) [Pierre Corneille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-corneille/) > [“I’d like to run away, to flee from what I know, from what is mine, from what I love. I want to set off,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-d-like-to-run-away-to-flee-from-what-i-know-from-what-is-mine-from/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“The dark might be dark, but at least we don’t have to look at ourselves when we’re standing in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/the-dark-might-be-dark-but-at-least-we-don-t-have-to-look-at/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [We must do something about the cross, and there’s only one of two things we can do- flee it or die upon it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/we-must-do-something-about-the-cross-and-there-s-only-one-of-two/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [“Running’ is driven by panic. ‘Destination’ is driven by thought. And while it’s terribly painful to admit, incessantly pretending that I do the latter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/running-is-driven-by-panic-destination-is-driven-by-thought-and-while/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [Out of the hills of Habersham, Down the valleys of Hall, I hurry amain to reach the plain; Run the rapid and leap the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-lanier/out-of-the-hills-of-habersham-down-the-valleys-of-hall-i-hurry-amain/) [Sidney Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-lanier/) > [When he pretends to flee, do not pursue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/when-he-pretends-to-flee-do-not-pursue/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [I once sent a dozen of my friends a telegram saying 'flee at once - all is discovered.' They all left town immediately.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-once-sent-a-dozen-of-my-friends-a-telegram-saying-flee-at-once-all/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you desire the path of sincerity, develop a love for obscurity. Flee from the clatter and clinks of fame. Be like the roots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-desire-the-path-of-sincerity-develop-a-love-for-obscurity-flee/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And I have the others in me. Even when I’m far away from them, I am forced to live with them. Even when I’m…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/and-i-have-the-others-in-me-even-when-i-m-far-away-from-them-i-am/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [For all of its uncertainty, we cannot flee the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/for-all-of-its-uncertainty-we-cannot-flee-the-future/) [Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) > [“While we pursue happiness, we flee from contentment”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/while-we-pursue-happiness-we-flee-from-contentment/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [In the end, perhaps it will be the true romantics, not the nerds, who choose to flee from a world of impersonal, digitized relationships…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-wilson/in-the-end-perhaps-it-will-be-the-true-romantics-not-the-nerds-who/) [Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/) > [For even bold natures flee, whenever they see Hades close to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/for-even-bold-natures-flee-whenever-they-see-hades-close-to-life/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“It does no good to run. And it does no good to hide. But I know what it's like. Your brain shuts down, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-carey-peter-gross/it-does-no-good-to-run-and-it-does-no-good-to-hide-but-i-know-what-it/) Mike Carey & Peter Gross Browse all 128 Flee quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What follows I flee; what flees I ever pursue.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ovid" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/what-follows-i-flee-what-flees-i-ever-pursue/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Flee" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/what-follows-i-flee-what-flees-i-ever-pursue/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/ovid-276_flee_what-follows-i-flee-what-flees-i-ever-pu_3116425.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/ovid-276_flee_what-follows-i-flee-what-flees-i-ever-pu_3116425.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/ovid-276_flee_what-follows-i-flee-what-flees-i-ever-pu_3116425.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What follows I flee; what flees I ever pursue.” — Ovid", "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": "Ovid", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What follows I flee; what flees...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/what-follows-i-flee-what-flees-i-ever-pursue/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/what-follows-i-flee-what-flees-i-ever-pursue/#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 } } ] } ```