quote · Legacy record
How can we satisfy ourselves without going on in infinitum? And, after all, what satisfaction is there in that infinite progression? Let us remember the story of the Indian philosopher and his elephant. It was never more applicable than to the present subject. If the material world rests upon a similar ideal world, this ideal world must rest upon some other; and so on, without end. It were better, therefore, never to look beyond the present material world.
How can we satisfy ourselves without going on in infinitum? And, after all, what satisfaction is there in that infinite progression? Let us remember the story of the Indian philosopher and his elephant. It was never more applicable than to the present subject. If the material world rests upon a similar ideal world, this ideal world must rest upon some other; and so on, without end. It were better, therefore, never to look beyond the present material world.
Approximate author period: c. 1743 AD · early modern
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- Author or tradition
- David Hume
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Approximate author period: c. 1743 AD · early modern
Approximate author-period anchor from life dates 1711 to 1776; Wikidata Q37160, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q37160 (accessed 2026-10-08). Not a quotation composition date.
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Supplied reference C; CSV row 44971; supplied attribution, independently unverified
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