--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What has been cut apart cannot be glued…" description: "\"What has been cut apart cannot be glued back together. Abandon all hope of totality, future as well as past, you who enter the world of fluid modernity..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86c/zygmunt-bauman-1861_abandon_what-has-been-cut-apart-cannot-be-glued_2348312.jpg" --- # What has been cut apart cannot be glued back together… ![“What has been cut apart cannot be glued back together. Abandon all hope of totality, future as well as past, you who enter the world of fluid modernity.” quote by Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86c/zygmunt-bauman-1861_abandon_what-has-been-cut-apart-cannot-be-glued_2348312.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86c/zygmunt-bauman-1861_abandon_what-has-been-cut-apart-cannot-be-glued_2348312.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86c/zygmunt-bauman-1861_abandon_what-has-been-cut-apart-cannot-be-glued_2348312.jpg) > “What has been cut apart cannot be glued back together. Abandon all hope of totality, future as well as past, you who enter the world of fluid modernity.” [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Once something is fragmented, it cannot be fully restored; total unity is unattainable in fluid modernity. **In simple terms:** Fragmentation cannot be fully repaired; total unity is impossible. Key Takeaway Accept partial wholeness. Themes modernity fragmentation hope Mood critical philosophical Type theoretical social When to use this quote - urban planning - personal relationships - digital culture Key Concepts postmodernism social theory Questions to Reflect On - What can be rebuilt after division? - How do you find meaning in partial wholeness? A Different Perspective May discount efforts toward reconciliation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandon/) [Back together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/back-together/) [Cut Apart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cut-apart-5708487/) [Cutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting/) [Fluid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fluid/) [Fluid Modernity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fluid-modernity-5708486/) [Future Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-past/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Modernity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modernity/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Totality Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/totality-future-5708488/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [In order to be deep, we sometimes have to cut through and cut apart. That is to be seen in the common phrase, 'Cut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/in-order-to-be-deep-we-sometimes-have-to-cut-through-and-cut-apart/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [If there is something to permit the distinction between "solid" and "liquid" phases of modernity (that is, arranging them in an order of succession),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/if-there-is-something-to-permit-the-distinction-between-solid-and/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Throughout early modernity there were very strong pressures on Jews to assimilate. Assimilating meant cutting your ties with the community of origin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/throughout-early-modernity-there-were-very-strong-pressures-on-jews/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [In "solid modernity" difference was tolerated as a temporary irritant only, expected to disappear tomorrow, when "those aliens" will become like us. "Living with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/in-solid-modernity-difference-was-tolerated-as-a-temporary-irritant/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [“What prompts so many commentators to speak of the 'end of history', of post-modernity, 'second modernity' and 'surmodernity', or otherwise to articulate the intuition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/what-prompts-so-many-commentators-to-speak-of-the-end-of-history-of/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [It is so true that in liquid modernity freedom was, so to speak, let off the leash, and for a quite a number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/it-is-so-true-that-in-liquid-modernity-freedom-was-so-to-speak-let/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [For the world is broken, sundered, busted down the middle, self ripped from self and man pasted back together as mythical monster, half angel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/for-the-world-is-broken-sundered-busted-down-the-middle-self-ripped/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [It's a gamble. A band like Kiss, a lot of those are our audience but we don't do as much make-up. Alice would have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-a-gamble-a-band-like-kiss-a-lot-of-those-are-our-audience-but-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You can usually tell when a couple becomes centered on each other because they are forever breaking up and getting back together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-covey/you-can-usually-tell-when-a-couple-becomes-centered-on-each-other/) [Sean Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-covey/) > [It's really weird to be in more than one franchise because an actor's life is so nomadic, and so it's a real privilege to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cho/it-s-really-weird-to-be-in-more-than-one-franchise-because-an-actor-s/) [John Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cho/) > [There are people who haven't faced the reality of what has gone on in Iraq. They still think that the old central state is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-w-galbraith/there-are-people-who-haven-t-faced-the-reality-of-what-has-gone-on-in/) [Peter W. Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-w-galbraith/) > [I feel like a big faker because I've been putting my life back together, and nobody knows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/i-feel-like-a-big-faker-because-i-ve-been-putting-my-life-back/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [People are always like, Why did you and husband Carey Hart get back together? Well, we weren't done. And now we have Willow, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pink/people-are-always-like-why-did-you-and-husband-carey-hart-get-back/) [Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pink/) > [Everybody was on the same page. Nobody has really gone out there on a different musical journey. When we got back together again, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everybody-was-on-the-same-page-nobody-has-really-gone-out-there-on-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. Put back together well, they won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/broken-by-hardships-disappointments-and-tragedy-people-can-become/) [Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/) ## More by Zygmunt Bauman > [Alas, you don't need monsters for monstrous deeds to be accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/alas-you-don-t-need-monsters-for-monstrous-deeds-to-be-accomplished/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > ['I am insecure' means: I can't cope on my own. The odds are overwhelming. I can't resist them on my own. I need us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/i-am-insecure-means-i-can-t-cope-on-my-own-the-odds-are-overwhelming/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [For one to be free there must be at least two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/for-one-to-be-free-there-must-be-at-least-two/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [It is easy now to break the vows. It is even easier to part your ways if vows haven't been taken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/it-is-easy-now-to-break-the-vows-it-is-even-easier-to-part-your-ways/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Once upon a time, when I was young, people saw a wedding as an event that determined the rest of their life. For a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/once-upon-a-time-when-i-was-young-people-saw-a-wedding-as-an-event/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [The inequality between the world's individuals is staggering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/the-inequality-between-the-world-s-individuals-is-staggering/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [If you look back on the history of the 20th century, the 19th century or even to the ancien régime of the 18th, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/if-you-look-back-on-the-history-of-the-20th-century-the-19th-century/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Madness is no madness when shared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/madness-is-no-madness-when-shared/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [After many years of thinking, reading and writing and looking, I came to believe that there are two basic, essential values which are indispensable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/after-many-years-of-thinking-reading-and-writing-and-looking-i-came/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [State governments seek local remedies for the globally fabricated deprivations and miseries in vain - just as the individuals-by-the-decree-of-fate (read: by the impact of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/state-governments-seek-local-remedies-for-the-globally-fabricated/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [“Beneath the dream of fame, another dream, a dream of no longer dissolving and staying dissolved in the grey, faceless and insipid mass of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/beneath-the-dream-of-fame-another-dream-a-dream-of-no-longer/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Why are people so concerned with relativism? If you look back in history, millions of people were killed because of someone's dogmatic views, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/why-are-people-so-concerned-with-relativism-if-you-look-back-in/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [I think that the essential instruction of the Bible is very much topical. The sole problem is that with every change of historical setting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/i-think-that-the-essential-instruction-of-the-bible-is-very-much/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [For intellectual authority, the appropriate version of Descartes 's cogito would be today: I am talked about, therefore I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/for-intellectual-authority-the-appropriate-version-of-descartes-s/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [The problem of insufficient security was, until quite recently, a matter of a minority; now it is becoming very quickly a majority matter. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/the-problem-of-insufficient-security-was-until-quite-recently-a/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) [Explore all 169 Zygmunt Bauman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) ## More Abandon quotes > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) [Kenan Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenan-malik/) > [The purpose of a spirit filled life is to demonstrate the supernatural power of our living God so that the unsaved multitudes will abandon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-l-osborn/the-purpose-of-a-spirit-filled-life-is-to-demonstrate-the/) [T.L. Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-l-osborn/) > [However, however, if the goal is to abandon America's free enterprise economy, if the goal is to convert America into a submissive member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/however-however-if-the-goal-is-to-abandon-america-s-free-enterprise/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [I would leave at once, but it would be cruel to abandon a lady in a foreign land with a maniac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-would-leave-at-once-but-it-would-be-cruel-to-abandon-a-lady-in-a/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) > [every subjective phenomenon is essentially connected with a single point of view, and it seems inevitable that an objective, physical theory will abandon that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/every-subjective-phenomenon-is-essentially-connected-with-a-single/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Every great thing starts with an idea, followed by a doubt and finally a resolve to abandon or pursue. Victory is a treacherous journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/every-great-thing-starts-with-an-idea-followed-by-a-doubt-and-finally/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [Those who have been once intoxicated with power, and have derived any kind of emolument from it, even though but for one year, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/those-who-have-been-once-intoxicated-with-power-and-have-derived-any/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/do-not-lose-hope-st-joseph-also-experienced-moments-of-difficulty-but/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. 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The ultimate high is the dance with another person, played…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/sex-is-not-the-ultimate-high-but-the-ultimate-high-hangs-out-around/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I care so deeply about this matter that I'm willing to take on the legal penalties, to sit in this prison cell, to sacrifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-care-so-deeply-about-this-matter-that-i-m-willing-to-take-on-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I've been to unpretty places with the roles I've played, and I'm attracted to reckless abandon. 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