If the stars are suns and the earth is the earth and there are men only upon this earth and anything can put an end to anything and any dog does anything like anybody does it what is the difference between eternity and anything. ~ Ch. 3
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- If everything is connected and finite, the difference between eternity and anything is unclear.
- In plain terms
- If everything ends and connects, eternity is not different from anything.
- What can you take from it?
- Consider how finiteness blurs the line between the moment and eternity.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What is eternity to you?
- Can anything truly end?
Another view
The logic relies on ambiguous premises about causality and time.
More from Gertrude Stein
A saint a real saint never does anything, a martyr does something but a really good saint does nothing, and so I wanted to have Four Saints who did nothing and…
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Permalink to quote #74 I rarely believe anything, because at the time of believing I am not really there to believe. ~ Ch. 3
Permalink to quote #71
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