--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You cannot escape one infinite, I told…" description: "\"You cannot escape one infinite, I told myself, by fleeing to another. You cannot escape the revelation of the identical by taking refuge in the illusio..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afa/umberto-eco-313_fleeing_you-cannot-escape-one-infinite-i-told-my_1276040.jpg" --- # You cannot escape one infinite, I told myself, by fleeing… ![“You cannot escape one infinite, I told myself, by fleeing to another. You cannot escape the revelation of the identical by taking refuge in the illusion of the multiple.” quote by Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afa/umberto-eco-313_fleeing_you-cannot-escape-one-infinite-i-told-my_1276040.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afa/umberto-eco-313_fleeing_you-cannot-escape-one-infinite-i-told-my_1276040.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afa/umberto-eco-313_fleeing_you-cannot-escape-one-infinite-i-told-my_1276040.jpg) > “You cannot escape one infinite, I told myself, by fleeing to another. You cannot escape the revelation of the identical by taking refuge in the illusion of the multiple.” [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. One cannot avoid confronting the same fundamental truth by switching contexts; the illusion of multiplicity masks underlying sameness. **In simple terms:** Escaping truth by changing settings fails; truth remains. Key Takeaway Recognize patterns rather than chase distractions. Themes philosophy truth illusion Mood contemplative thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal growth - academic research - spiritual practice Key Concepts metaphysics identity perception Questions to Reflect On - What truths do you repeatedly encounter? - How can you confront them directly? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Escape Infinite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escape-infinite-4107036/) [Escape Revelation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escape-revelation-4107037/) [Fleeing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fleeing/) [Identical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identical/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Illusion Multiple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion-multiple-4107038/) [Infinite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinite/) [Infinite Told](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinite-told-4107035/) [Multiple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/multiple/) [Refuge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refuge/) [Revelations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revelations/) ## Related quotes > [All of us were slowly losing that intellectual light that allows you always to tell the similar from the identical, the metaphorical from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/all-of-us-were-slowly-losing-that-intellectual-light-that-allows-you/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [The combination of threads, remote-procedure-call interfaces, and heavyweight object-oriented design is especially dangerous... if you are ever invited onto a project that is supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-s-raymond/the-combination-of-threads-remote-procedure-call-interfaces-and/) [Eric S. Raymond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-s-raymond/) > [“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/) > [Many immigrants do not talk about what they endured back home. They were fleeing that world, and when they left they didn't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/many-immigrants-do-not-talk-about-what-they-endured-back-home-they/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) > [Fight against your ego with the four swords of training: eat little, sleep little, speak little, and be patient when people harm you... Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yahya-ibn-mu-adh-al-razi/fight-against-your-ego-with-the-four-swords-of-training-eat-little/) [Yahya ibn Mu'adh al-Razi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yahya-ibn-mu-adh-al-razi/) > [In the meantime the big corporations are fleeing America for tax havens and places like Ireland, Luxembourg and the Grand Cayman Islands; the rich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/in-the-meantime-the-big-corporations-are-fleeing-america-for-tax/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [The impact of climate change, extreme weather events, the reason people are fleeing their homes is quite significant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-mayorkas/the-impact-of-climate-change-extreme-weather-events-the-reason-people/) [Alejandro Mayorkas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-mayorkas/) > [Refugees are threatening, not just to Americans, but also in many countries the world over. And it's partially because, unlike immigrants, refugees do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nguyen-viet-thang/refugees-are-threatening-not-just-to-americans-but-also-in-many/) [Nguyen Viet Thang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nguyen-viet-thang/) > [A man may be accused of cowardice for fleeing away from all manner of physical dangers but when things supernatural, insubstantial and inexplicable threaten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/a-man-may-be-accused-of-cowardice-for-fleeing-away-from-all-manner-of/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [“continued through January, sending visitors fleeing back to the mainland like snorkelers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joann-bassett/continued-through-january-sending-visitors-fleeing-back-to-the/) [JoAnn Bassett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joann-bassett/) > [I have been a long-time advocate for a just Arab-Israeli peace and for Palestinian refugees. Today, as you are aware, Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-noor-of-jordan/i-have-been-a-long-time-advocate-for-a-just-arab-israeli-peace-and/) [Queen Noor of Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-noor-of-jordan/) > [“Darkness is the absence of light. Therefore, darkness is always fleeing from where light is and scurrying off to where it is not. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/darkness-is-the-absence-of-light-therefore-darkness-is-always-fleeing/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [By disgracing and degrading the presidency of the United States, by fleeing the White House like a diseased cur, Richard Nixon broke the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/by-disgracing-and-degrading-the-presidency-of-the-united-states-by/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [It has been hard to muster the resources to support fledgling democracies and to intervene on behalf of the most desperate. The AIDS orphans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/it-has-been-hard-to-muster-the-resources-to-support-fledgling/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [When you shoot someone who is fleeing, it's not self-defense. It's an execution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-shoot-someone-who-is-fleeing-it-s-not-self-defense-it-s-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Umberto Eco > [I think that at a certain age, say fifteen or sixteen, poetry is like masturbation. But later in life good poets burn their early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/i-think-that-at-a-certain-age-say-fifteen-or-sixteen-poetry-is-like/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [Followers of the occult believe in only what they already know, and in those things that confirm what they have already learned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/followers-of-the-occult-believe-in-only-what-they-already-know-and-in/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“This has nothing to do with realism (even if it explains also realism). A completely real world can be constructed, in which asses fly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/this-has-nothing-to-do-with-realism-even-if-it-explains-also-realism/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“…there’s nothing in this world that demands more caution than the truth. To tell the truth is like leeching one’s own heart...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/there-s-nothing-in-this-world-that-demands-more-caution-than-the/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [The book is like the spoon, scissors, the hammer, the wheel. Once invented, it cannot be improved. You cannot make a spoon that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-book-is-like-the-spoon-scissors-the-hammer-the-wheel-once/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“No algorithm exists for the metaphor, nor can a metaphor be produced by means of a computer’s precise instructions, no matter what the volume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/no-algorithm-exists-for-the-metaphor-nor-can-a-metaphor-be-produced/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [With all of its defects, the global market makes war less likely, even between the USA and China.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/with-all-of-its-defects-the-global-market-makes-war-less-likely-even/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [The Fundamental Principle that governs - or ought to govern -human affairs if we wish to avoid misunderstandings, conflicts, or pointless utopias, is negotiation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-fundamental-principle-that-governs-or-ought-to-govern-human/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [Any fact becomes important when it's connected to another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/any-fact-becomes-important-when-it-s-connected-to-another/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [American coffee can be a pale solution served at a temperature of 100 degrees centigrade in plastic thermos cups, usually obligatory in railroad stations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/american-coffee-can-be-a-pale-solution-served-at-a-temperature-of-100/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [Listening doesn't mean trying to understand. Anything, however trifling, may be of use one day. What matters is to know something that others don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/listening-doesn-t-mean-trying-to-understand-anything-however-trifling/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [They say that a cat, if it falls from a window and hits its nose, can lose its sense of smell and then, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/they-say-that-a-cat-if-it-falls-from-a-window-and-hits-its-nose-can/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [There are magic moments, involving great physical fatigue and intense motor excitement, that produce visions of people known in the past. As I learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/there-are-magic-moments-involving-great-physical-fatigue-and-intense/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [All poets write bad poetry. Bad poets publish them, good poets burn them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/all-poets-write-bad-poetry-bad-poets-publish-them-good-poets-burn-them/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [There are four kinds of people in this world: cretins, fools, morons, and lunatics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/there-are-four-kinds-of-people-in-this-world-cretins-fools-morons-and/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) [Explore all 600 Umberto Eco quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) ## More Fleeing quotes > [When you shoot someone who is fleeing, it's not self-defense. It's an execution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-shoot-someone-who-is-fleeing-it-s-not-self-defense-it-s-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It has been hard to muster the resources to support fledgling democracies and to intervene on behalf of the most desperate. The AIDS orphans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/it-has-been-hard-to-muster-the-resources-to-support-fledgling/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [By disgracing and degrading the presidency of the United States, by fleeing the White House like a diseased cur, Richard Nixon broke the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/by-disgracing-and-degrading-the-presidency-of-the-united-states-by/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“Darkness is the absence of light. Therefore, darkness is always fleeing from where light is and scurrying off to where it is not. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/darkness-is-the-absence-of-light-therefore-darkness-is-always-fleeing/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I have been a long-time advocate for a just Arab-Israeli peace and for Palestinian refugees. Today, as you are aware, Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-noor-of-jordan/i-have-been-a-long-time-advocate-for-a-just-arab-israeli-peace-and/) [Queen Noor of Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-noor-of-jordan/) > [“continued through January, sending visitors fleeing back to the mainland like snorkelers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joann-bassett/continued-through-january-sending-visitors-fleeing-back-to-the/) [JoAnn Bassett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joann-bassett/) > [A man may be accused of cowardice for fleeing away from all manner of physical dangers but when things supernatural, insubstantial and inexplicable threaten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/a-man-may-be-accused-of-cowardice-for-fleeing-away-from-all-manner-of/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [Refugees are threatening, not just to Americans, but also in many countries the world over. And it's partially because, unlike immigrants, refugees do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nguyen-viet-thang/refugees-are-threatening-not-just-to-americans-but-also-in-many/) [Nguyen Viet Thang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nguyen-viet-thang/) > [The impact of climate change, extreme weather events, the reason people are fleeing their homes is quite significant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-mayorkas/the-impact-of-climate-change-extreme-weather-events-the-reason-people/) [Alejandro Mayorkas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-mayorkas/) > [In the meantime the big corporations are fleeing America for tax havens and places like Ireland, Luxembourg and the Grand Cayman Islands; the rich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/in-the-meantime-the-big-corporations-are-fleeing-america-for-tax/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [Fight against your ego with the four swords of training: eat little, sleep little, speak little, and be patient when people harm you... Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yahya-ibn-mu-adh-al-razi/fight-against-your-ego-with-the-four-swords-of-training-eat-little/) [Yahya ibn Mu'adh al-Razi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yahya-ibn-mu-adh-al-razi/) > [Many immigrants do not talk about what they endured back home. They were fleeing that world, and when they left they didn't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/many-immigrants-do-not-talk-about-what-they-endured-back-home-they/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) > [“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/) > [The combination of threads, remote-procedure-call interfaces, and heavyweight object-oriented design is especially dangerous... if you are ever invited onto a project that is supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-s-raymond/the-combination-of-threads-remote-procedure-call-interfaces-and/) [Eric S. Raymond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-s-raymond/) > [“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/) [Browse all 188 Fleeing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fleeing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You cannot escape one infinite, I told myself, by fleeing to another. 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