--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Each of us is several, is man, is a…" description: "\"“Each of us is several, is man, is a profusion of selves. So that the self who disdains his surroundings is not the same as the self who suffers or tak..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/pascal-mercier-4197_contradiction_each-of-us-is-several-is-man-is-a-profus_929885.png" --- # Each of us is several, is man, is a profusion of selves… ![“Each of us is several, is man, is a profusion of selves. So that the self who disdains his surroundings is not the same as the self who suffers or takes joy in them. In the colony of our being there are many species of people who think and feel in different ways.” quote by Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/pascal-mercier-4197_contradiction_each-of-us-is-several-is-man-is-a-profus_929885.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/pascal-mercier-4197_contradiction_each-of-us-is-several-is-man-is-a-profus_929885.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/pascal-mercier-4197_contradiction_each-of-us-is-several-is-man-is-a-profus_929885.png) > ““Each of us is several, is man, is a profusion of selves. So that the self who disdains his surroundings is not the same as the self who suffers or takes joy in them. In the colony of our being there are many species of people who think and feel in different ways.”” [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human identity is fragmented; multiple selves experience life differently. **In simple terms:** Self is many. Key Takeaway Integrate diverse inner voices. Themes identity psychology plurality Mood contemplative complex Type literary psychological When to use this quote - therapy - creative writing - mindfulness - team dynamics Key Concepts self‑multiplicity philosophical consciousness Questions to Reflect On - How do your different selves influence decisions? - Can you honor each inner voice? A Different Perspective Focusing on a single self can oversimplify complexity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction/) [Different ways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-ways/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Profusion Selves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profusion-selves-1000388/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self Suffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-suffers-1506486/) [Selves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selves/) [Selves Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selves-self-1000389/) [Surroundings Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surroundings-self-1000390/) ## Related quotes > [Each of us is several, is many,is a profusion of selves. So that the self who disdains his surroundings is not the same as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/each-of-us-is-several-is-many-is-a-profusion-of-selves-so-that-the-2/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Each of us is several, is many, is a profusion of selves. 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As we peel ourselves, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/as-we-go-within-the-self-we-discover-that-all-the-voices-of-our-past/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I suspect it is for one's self-interest that one looks at one's surroundings and one's self. This search is personally born and is indeed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-friedlander/i-suspect-it-is-for-one-s-self-interest-that-one-looks-at-one-s/) [Lee Friedlander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-friedlander/) > [“Sweet fiction, in which bravado and despair beckon from a cold panache, in which the protected essential self suffers flashes of its existence to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-bidart/sweet-fiction-in-which-bravado-and-despair-beckon-from-a-cold-panache/) [Frank Bidart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-bidart/) > [“It's the self that suffers, and there's a place where the self - ceases. I don't know how to say it. But I believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-the-self-that-suffers-and-there-s-a-place-where-the-self-ceases/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Try giving up all the thoughts that make you feel bad, or even just some of them, and see how doing that changes your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-lake/try-giving-up-all-the-thoughts-that-make-you-feel-bad-or-even-just/) [Gina Lake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-lake/) > [“We all inhabit different selves in space and time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-goddard-kalanithi/we-all-inhabit-different-selves-in-space-and-time/) [Lucy Goddard Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-goddard-kalanithi/) > [Or maybe a person is just made up of a lot of peopleMaybe we’re accumulating these new selves all the time. Hauling them in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jandy-nelson/or-maybe-a-person-is-just-made-up-of-a-lot-of-peoplemaybe-we-re/) [Jandy Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jandy-nelson/) > [Time is a vindictive bandit to steal the beauty of our former selves. We are left with sagging, rippled flesh and burning gums with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael/time-is-a-vindictive-bandit-to-steal-the-beauty-of-our-former-selves/) [Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael/) > [Nothing can stop us from living the dream except our selves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spido/nothing-can-stop-us-from-living-the-dream-except-our-selves/) [Spido](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spido/) > [“As a species, we are hardwired for connection. We are our best selves when we are sharing and communicating with others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-henry/as-a-species-we-are-hardwired-for-connection-we-are-our-best-selves/) [Tyler Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-henry/) > [I decided to lock myself in. A forced segregation. Sabbatical. A retreat into myself. My selves. Play hide and go seek in the looking-glass.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/i-decided-to-lock-myself-in-a-forced-segregation-sabbatical-a-retreat/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) ## More by Pascal Mercier > [To live for the moment: it sounds so right and so beautiful. But the more I want to, the less I understand what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/to-live-for-the-moment-it-sounds-so-right-and-so-beautiful-but-the/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [What did i know of your fantasies? Why do we know so little about the fantasies of our parents? What do we know of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/what-did-i-know-of-your-fantasies-why-do-we-know-so-little-about-the/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“One who would really like to know himself would have to be a restless, fanatical collector of disappointments, and seeking disappointing experiences must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/one-who-would-really-like-to-know-himself-would-have-to-be-a-restless/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [SOLIDAO, LONELINESS. What is it that we call loneliness. It can't simply be the absence of others, you can be alone and not lonely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/solidao-loneliness-what-is-it-that-we-call-loneliness-it-can-t-simply/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [Then there was a silence he had never before experienced: in it, you could hear the years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/then-there-was-a-silence-he-had-never-before-experienced-in-it-you/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“For that is the meaning of a farewell in the full, important sense of the word: that the two people, because they part, come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/for-that-is-the-meaning-of-a-farewell-in-the-full-important-sense-of/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [Gregorius was never to forget this scene. They were his first Portuguese words in the real world and they worked. That words could cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/gregorius-was-never-to-forget-this-scene-they-were-his-first/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“After a while, he understood that he was experiencing a great liberation; the liberation from his self-imposed limitation, from a slowness and heaviness expressed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/after-a-while-he-understood-that-he-was-experiencing-a-great/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“We can be sure that we will hold on to the deathbed as part of the last balance sheet – and this part will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/we-can-be-sure-that-we-will-hold-on-to-the-deathbed-as-part-of-the/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“NOBREZA SILENCIOSA. SILENT NOBILITY. It is a mistake to believe that the crucial moments of a life when its habitual direction changes forever must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/nobreza-silenciosa-silent-nobility-it-is-a-mistake-to-believe-that/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“Because the one who wishes it – isn’t the one who, still untouched by the future, stands at the crossroads. Instead, it is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/because-the-one-who-wishes-it-isn-t-the-one-who-still-untouched-by/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [It is not the pain and the wounds that are the worst. The worst is the humiliation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/it-is-not-the-pain-and-the-wounds-that-are-the-worst-the-worst-is-the/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [Isn't it true that it's not people who meet, but rather the shadows cast by their imaginations?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/isn-t-it-true-that-it-s-not-people-who-meet-but-rather-the-shadows/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [Loyalty... A will, a decision, a resolution of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/loyalty-a-will-a-decision-a-resolution-of-the-soul/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“It is a mistake to believe that the decisive moments of a life when its direction changes for ever must be marked by sentimental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/it-is-a-mistake-to-believe-that-the-decisive-moments-of-a-life-when/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) [Explore all 69 Pascal Mercier quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) ## More Contradiction quotes > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/courage-is-almost-a-contradiction-in-terms-it-means-a-strong-desire/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is also plausible that those movements with the greatest inner contradiction and between profession and practice - that is to say with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/it-is-also-plausible-that-those-movements-with-the-greatest-inner/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Contradictions in human character are one of its most consistent notes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-spark/contradictions-in-human-character-are-one-of-its-most-consistent-notes/) [Muriel Spark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-spark/) > [“The tiny features below, taken together with the gentle mass of Montblanc towering above them, the Vanoise glacier almost invisible in the shimmering distance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/the-tiny-features-below-taken-together-with-the-gentle-mass-of/) [W.G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/) > [I’m a skeptic not because I do not want to believe, but because I want to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/i-m-a-skeptic-not-because-i-do-not-want-to-believe-but-because-i-want/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [There are evidently limits to the achievements of science; and there are irresolvable contradictions both between prosperity and virtue, and between happiness and ''the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/there-are-evidently-limits-to-the-achievements-of-science-and-there/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [To exist (in mathematics), said Henri Poincaré, is to be free from contradiction. But mere existence does not guarantee survival. To survive in mathematics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kac/to-exist-in-mathematics-said-henri-poincar-is-to-be-free-from/) [Mark Kac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kac/) > [“In these creations, life and symbolic value are not in contradiction: they intensify each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/in-these-creations-life-and-symbolic-value-are-not-in-contradiction/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I have never agreed with my other self wholly. 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