---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Space, like time, engenders…"
description: "\"Space, like time, engenders forgetfulness; but it does so by setting us bodily free from our surroundings and giving us back our primitive, unattached ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b75/thomas-mann-1103_forgetfulness_space-like-time-engenders-forgetfulness_2374780.jpg"
---

#  Space, like time, engenders forgetfulness; but it does so…

![“Space, like time, engenders forgetfulness; but it does so by setting us bodily free from our surroundings and giving us back our primitive, unattached state” quote by Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b75/thomas-mann-1103_forgetfulness_space-like-time-engenders-forgetfulness_2374780.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b75/thomas-mann-1103_forgetfulness_space-like-time-engenders-forgetfulness_2374780.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b75/thomas-mann-1103_forgetfulness_space-like-time-engenders-forgetfulness_2374780.jpg)

> “Space, like time, engenders forgetfulness; but it does so by setting us bodily free from our surroundings and giving us back our primitive, unattached state”

[Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/)

## About This Quote

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

Space frees us from immediate surroundings, restoring a primitive sense of detachment and forgetfulness.

**In simple terms:** Space makes us feel detached and forgetful.

Key Takeaway

Embrace the freedom space offers.

Themes

freedom detachment forgetfulness primitive self

Mood

contemplative reflective

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- travel
- meditation
- creative work
- solitude

Key Concepts

existentialism psychology spatial perception

Questions to Reflect On

- How does space affect your sense of self?
- What can you rediscover when freed from surroundings?

A Different Perspective

Freedom can lead to isolation if not balanced with connection.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Forgetfulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgetfulness/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [“Space, like time, engenders forgetfulness; but it does so by setting us bodily free from our surroundings and giving us back our primitive, unattached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/space-like-time-engenders-forgetfulness-but-it-does-so-by-setting-us/)

[Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/)

> [There is a noble forgetfulness-that which does not remember injuries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simmons/there-is-a-noble-forgetfulness-that-which-does-not-remember-injuries/)

[Charles Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simmons/)

> [The really wonderful moments of joy in this world are not the moments of self-satisfaction, but self-forgetfulness. Standing on the edge of the Grand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-really-wonderful-moments-of-joy-in-this-world-are-not-the-moments/)

[John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/)

> [Humility is the forgetfulness of self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/humility-is-the-forgetfulness-of-self/)

[Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/)

> [“Being alone will show you who you really are, and if you cannot get-on positively as the sole master of your space in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/being-alone-will-show-you-who-you-really-are-and-if-you-cannot-get-on/)

[Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/)

> [“Forgetfulness is the beginning of happiness as fear is the beginning of wisdom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/forgetfulness-is-the-beginning-of-happiness-as-fear-is-the-beginning/)

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

> [“Why did you leave? Am I not good enough? Where did you go? When did it happen? ..Who are you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ade-santi/why-did-you-leave-am-i-not-good-enough-where-did-you-go-when-did-it/)

[Ade Santi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ade-santi/)

> [What is a man's life but a prelude to his death? And what is death but a long sleep, a most welcome forgetfulness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-a-man-s-life-but-a-prelude-to-his-death-and-what-is-death-but/)

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

> [... for this discovery of yours will create forgetfulness in the learners' souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/for-this-discovery-of-yours-will-create-forgetfulness-in-the-learners/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [What makes life worth living? Better surely, to yield to the stain of suicide blood in me and seek forgetfulness in the embrace of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zane-grey/what-makes-life-worth-living-better-surely-to-yield-to-the-stain-of/)

[Zane Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zane-grey/)

> [I worry sometimes that we're apt to confuse forgiveness with forgetfulness. The potency of forgiveness comes precisely from the fact that it must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-gale/i-worry-sometimes-that-we-re-apt-to-confuse-forgiveness-with/)

[Patrick Gale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-gale/)

> [There comes a time, in the history of Nations when fear and forgetfulness cause a nation to hesitate, to waver and perhaps even to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/there-comes-a-time-in-the-history-of-nations-when-fear-and/)

[Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/)

> [“Who was it said, ‘We forget because we must’? He was right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/who-was-it-said-we-forget-because-we-must-he-was-right/)

[L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/)

> [“I had a chat with May and I had a sweet talk with April but the lovely conversation that left me to ponder was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/i-had-a-chat-with-may-and-i-had-a-sweet-talk-with-april-but-the/)

[Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/)

> [Charm is a cunning self-forgetfulness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/charm-is-a-cunning-self-forgetfulness/)

[Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/)

## More by Thomas Mann

> [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/)

[Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/)

> [“Solitude favors the original, the daringly and otherworldly beautiful, the poem. But it also favors the wrongful, the extreme, the absurd, and the forbidden.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-favors-the-original-the-daringly-and-otherworldly-beautiful/)

[Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/)

> [“But what would be our readers’ reaction if we simply refused to get to the bottom of that question?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/but-what-would-be-our-readers-reaction-if-we-simply-refused-to-get-to/)

[Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/)

> [What good would politics be, if it didn’t give everyone the opportunity to make moral compromises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/what-good-would-politics-be-if-it-didn-t-give-everyone-the/)

[Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/)

> [“O, čarobna organsko lepoto, koja se ne sastojiš ni iz uljane boje ni iz kamena, već iz materije žive i raspadljive, pune grozničave tajne…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/o-arobna-organsko-lepoto-koja-se-ne-sastoji-ni-iz-uljane-boje-ni-iz/)

[Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/)

> [Opinions cannot survive if one has no chance to fight for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/opinions-cannot-survive-if-one-has-no-chance-to-fight-for-them/)

[Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/)

> [“I hope that you have nothing against malice, my good engineer. In my eyes it is the brightest sword that reason has against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/i-hope-that-you-have-nothing-against-malice-my-good-engineer-in-my/)

[Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/)

> [“...only the exhaustive can be truly interesting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/only-the-exhaustive-can-be-truly-interesting/)

[Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/)

> [“The days began to fly now, and yet each one of them was stretched by renewed expectations and swollen with silent, private experiences. Yes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/the-days-began-to-fly-now-and-yet-each-one-of-them-was-stretched-by/)

[Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/)

> [“The average man thinks that a little falseness goes with beauty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/the-average-man-thinks-that-a-little-falseness-goes-with-beauty/)

[Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/)

> [“A stimulus is a stimulus. The body doesn't give a damn about the meaning of the stimulus. Whether minnows or communion, the sebaceous glands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/a-stimulus-is-a-stimulus-the-body-doesn-t-give-a-damn-about-the/)

[Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/)

> [It is remarkable how a man cannot summarize his thoughts in even the most general sort of way without betraying himself completely, without putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/it-is-remarkable-how-a-man-cannot-summarize-his-thoughts-in-even-the/)

[Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/)

> [“One always needs to be reminded; one is by no means always in possession of one’s whole self. Our consciousness is feeble; only in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/one-always-needs-to-be-reminded-one-is-by-no-means-always-in/)

[Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/)

> [Everything is politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/everything-is-politics/)

[Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/)

> [Is not life in itself a thing of goodness, irrespective of whether the course it takes for us can be called a 'happy' one?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/is-not-life-in-itself-a-thing-of-goodness-irrespective-of-whether-the/)

[Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/)

[Explore all 239 Thomas Mann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/)

## More Forgetfulness quotes

> [Charm is a cunning self-forgetfulness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/charm-is-a-cunning-self-forgetfulness/)

[Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/)

> [“I had a chat with May and I had a sweet talk with April but the lovely conversation that left me to ponder was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/i-had-a-chat-with-may-and-i-had-a-sweet-talk-with-april-but-the/)

[Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/)

> [“Who was it said, ‘We forget because we must’? He was right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/who-was-it-said-we-forget-because-we-must-he-was-right/)

[L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/)

> [There comes a time, in the history of Nations when fear and forgetfulness cause a nation to hesitate, to waver and perhaps even to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/there-comes-a-time-in-the-history-of-nations-when-fear-and/)

[Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/)

> [I worry sometimes that we're apt to confuse forgiveness with forgetfulness. The potency of forgiveness comes precisely from the fact that it must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-gale/i-worry-sometimes-that-we-re-apt-to-confuse-forgiveness-with/)

[Patrick Gale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-gale/)

> [What makes life worth living? Better surely, to yield to the stain of suicide blood in me and seek forgetfulness in the embrace of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zane-grey/what-makes-life-worth-living-better-surely-to-yield-to-the-stain-of/)

[Zane Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zane-grey/)

> [... for this discovery of yours will create forgetfulness in the learners' souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/for-this-discovery-of-yours-will-create-forgetfulness-in-the-learners/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [What is a man's life but a prelude to his death? And what is death but a long sleep, a most welcome forgetfulness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-a-man-s-life-but-a-prelude-to-his-death-and-what-is-death-but/)

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

> [“Why did you leave? Am I not good enough? Where did you go? When did it happen? ..Who are you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ade-santi/why-did-you-leave-am-i-not-good-enough-where-did-you-go-when-did-it/)

[Ade Santi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ade-santi/)

> [“Forgetfulness is the beginning of happiness as fear is the beginning of wisdom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/forgetfulness-is-the-beginning-of-happiness-as-fear-is-the-beginning/)

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

> [“Being alone will show you who you really are, and if you cannot get-on positively as the sole master of your space in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/being-alone-will-show-you-who-you-really-are-and-if-you-cannot-get-on/)

[Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/)

> [Humility is the forgetfulness of self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/humility-is-the-forgetfulness-of-self/)

[Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/)

> [The really wonderful moments of joy in this world are not the moments of self-satisfaction, but self-forgetfulness. Standing on the edge of the Grand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-really-wonderful-moments-of-joy-in-this-world-are-not-the-moments/)

[John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/)

> [Quit the world, and the world forgets you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/quit-the-world-and-the-world-forgets-you/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [O sleep, O gentle sleep, Nature's soft nurse, how have I frightened thee, 1710. That thou no more will weigh my eyelids down, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-sleep-o-gentle-sleep-nature-s-soft-nurse-how-have-i-frightened-thee/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

[Browse all 284 Forgetfulness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgetfulness/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Space, like time, engenders forgetfulness; but it does so by setting us bodily free from our surroundings and giving us back our primitive, unattached state",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Thomas Mann"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/space-like-time-engenders-forgetfulness-but-it-does-so-by-setting-us-2/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Forgetfulness"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/space-like-time-engenders-forgetfulness-but-it-does-so-by-setting-us-2/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b75/thomas-mann-1103_forgetfulness_space-like-time-engenders-forgetfulness_2374780.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b75/thomas-mann-1103_forgetfulness_space-like-time-engenders-forgetfulness_2374780.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b75/thomas-mann-1103_forgetfulness_space-like-time-engenders-forgetfulness_2374780.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Space, like time, engenders forgetfulness; but it does so by setting us bodily free from our surroundings…” — Thomas Mann",
                "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": "Thomas Mann",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Space, like time, engenders forgetfulness; but...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/space-like-time-engenders-forgetfulness-but-it-does-so-by-setting-us-2/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/space-like-time-engenders-forgetfulness-but-it-does-so-by-setting-us-2/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
