--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What a brave privilege is it to be free…" description: "\"What a brave privilege is it to be free from all contentions, from all envying or being envied, from receiving or paying all kinds of ceremonies!\" — Ab..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/291/abraham-cowley-7641_all-kinds_what-a-brave-privilege-is-it-to-be-free_838173.png" --- # What a brave privilege is it to be free from all… ![“What a brave privilege is it to be free from all contentions, from all envying or being envied, from receiving or paying all kinds of ceremonies!” quote by Abraham Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/291/abraham-cowley-7641_all-kinds_what-a-brave-privilege-is-it-to-be-free_838173.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/291/abraham-cowley-7641_all-kinds_what-a-brave-privilege-is-it-to-be-free_838173.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/291/abraham-cowley-7641_all-kinds_what-a-brave-privilege-is-it-to-be-free_838173.png) > “What a brave privilege is it to be free from all contentions, from all envying or being envied, from receiving or paying all kinds of ceremonies!” [Abraham Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-cowley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freedom from rivalry and ceremony brings true peace and joy. **In simple terms:** Being free of envy and rituals feels liberating. Key Takeaway Embrace simplicity and avoid envy. Themes freedom peace simplicity Mood reflective calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - social gatherings - celebrations Key Concepts human nature social norms Questions to Reflect On - How does envy affect your happiness? - What rituals could you simplify? A Different Perspective Neglecting social rituals can alienate others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brave/) [Ceremony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ceremony/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Privilege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privilege/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) ## Related quotes > [Those of us lucky enough to have a share of privilege in the more free societies should not be asking this question, but doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/those-of-us-lucky-enough-to-have-a-share-of-privilege-in-the-more/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“When we lose the right to be different, we lose the privilege to be free. Freedom ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-evans-hughes/when-we-lose-the-right-to-be-different-we-lose-the-privilege-to-be-2/) [Charles Evans Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-evans-hughes/) > [I don't think we should be deprived of the privilege of free speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-swit/i-don-t-think-we-should-be-deprived-of-the-privilege-of-free-speech/) [Loretta Swit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-swit/) > [The privilege of a free society is that every man, woman, and child has the opportunity - and the obligation as a free people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-loesch/the-privilege-of-a-free-society-is-that-every-man-woman-and-child-has/) [Dana Loesch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-loesch/) > [When we lose the right to be different, we lose the privilege to be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-evans-hughes/when-we-lose-the-right-to-be-different-we-lose-the-privilege-to-be/) [Charles Evans Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-evans-hughes/) > [The famous are balloons far up in the sky, to be envied for their quiet freedom or shot down as enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-famous-are-balloons-far-up-in-the-sky-to-be-envied-for-their/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [Envy assails the noblest: the winds howl around the highest peaks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/envy-assails-the-noblest-the-winds-howl-around-the-highest-peaks/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Since biblical times, and probably before, the wealthy have been envied and condemned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-black/since-biblical-times-and-probably-before-the-wealthy-have-been-envied/) [Conrad Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-black/) > [The pastoral labours of the archbishop of Constantinople provoked and gradually united against him two sorts of enemies; the aspiring clergy, who envied his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/the-pastoral-labours-of-the-archbishop-of-constantinople-provoked-and/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [He will be loved when dead, who was envied when he was living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/he-will-be-loved-when-dead-who-was-envied-when-he-was-living/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Each of them berated you, because they feared and envied you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/each-of-them-berated-you-because-they-feared-and-envied-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There was a rivalry - and some pie-throwing. But that was probably because Gawker and Radar had more in common than they wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-denton/there-was-a-rivalry-and-some-pie-throwing-but-that-was-probably/) [Nick Denton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-denton/) > [If our inward griefs were written on our brows, how many who are envied now would be pitied. It would seem that they had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietro-metastasio/if-our-inward-griefs-were-written-on-our-brows-how-many-who-are/) [Pietro Metastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietro-metastasio/) > [Whatever withdraws us from the power of our senses; whatever makes the past, the distant, or the future, predominate over the present, advances us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/whatever-withdraws-us-from-the-power-of-our-senses-whatever-makes-the/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [There is no sweeter sound than the crumbling of one's fellow man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/there-is-no-sweeter-sound-than-the-crumbling-of-one-s-fellow-man/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) ## More by Abraham Cowley > [All the world's bravery that delights our eyes is but thy several liveries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-cowley/all-the-world-s-bravery-that-delights-our-eyes-is-but-thy-several/) [Abraham Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-cowley/) > [The liberty of a people consists in being governed by laws which they have made themselves, under whatsoever form it be of government; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-cowley/the-liberty-of-a-people-consists-in-being-governed-by-laws-which-they/) [Abraham Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-cowley/) > [The monster London laugh at me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-cowley/the-monster-london-laugh-at-me/) [Abraham Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-cowley/) > [His time's forever, everywhere his place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-cowley/his-time-s-forever-everywhere-his-place/) [Abraham Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-cowley/) > [I confess I love littleness almost in all things. A little convenient estate, a little cheerful house, a little company, and a little feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-cowley/i-confess-i-love-littleness-almost-in-all-things-a-little-convenient/) [Abraham Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-cowley/) > [The Sunflow'r, thinking 'twas for him foul shame To nap by daylight, strove t' excuse the blame; It was not sleep that made him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-cowley/the-sunflow-r-thinking-twas-for-him-foul-shame-to-nap-by-daylight/) [Abraham Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-cowley/) > [Nothing is to come, and nothing past: But an eternal now, does always last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-cowley/nothing-is-to-come-and-nothing-past-but-an-eternal-now-does-always/) [Abraham Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-cowley/) > [We may talk what we please," he cries in his enthusiasm for the oldest of the arts, "of lilies, and lions rampant, and spread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-cowley/we-may-talk-what-we-please-he-cries-in-his-enthusiasm-for-the-oldest/) [Abraham Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-cowley/) > [Solitude can be used well by very few people. They who do must have a knowledge of the world to see the foolishness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-cowley/solitude-can-be-used-well-by-very-few-people-they-who-do-must-have-a/) [Abraham Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-cowley/) > [Stones of small worth may lie unseen by day, But night itself does the rich gem betray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-cowley/stones-of-small-worth-may-lie-unseen-by-day-but-night-itself-does-the/) [Abraham Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-cowley/) > [Gold begets in brethren hate; Gold in families debate; Gold does friendship separate; Gold does civil wars create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-cowley/gold-begets-in-brethren-hate-gold-in-families-debate-gold-does/) [Abraham Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-cowley/) > [Poets by Death are conquer'd but the wit Of poets triumphs over it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-cowley/poets-by-death-are-conquer-d-but-the-wit-of-poets-triumphs-over-it/) [Abraham Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-cowley/) > [s a scene of changes, and to be constant in Nature were inconstancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-cowley/s-a-scene-of-changes-and-to-be-constant-in-nature-were-inconstancy/) [Abraham Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-cowley/) > [May I a small house and large garden have; And a few friends, And many books, both true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-cowley/may-i-a-small-house-and-large-garden-have-and-a-few-friends-and-many/) [Abraham Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-cowley/) > [Sleep is a god too proud to wait in palaces, and yet so humble too as not to scorn the meanest country cottages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-cowley/sleep-is-a-god-too-proud-to-wait-in-palaces-and-yet-so-humble-too-as/) [Abraham Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-cowley/) [Explore all 88 Abraham Cowley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-cowley/) ## More All kinds quotes > [I was interested in all kinds of things, whether it be Avatar, Mad Men, Troy, 300, Battlestar Gallactica, or the poems of Horace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/i-was-interested-in-all-kinds-of-things-whether-it-be-avatar-mad-men/) [Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/) > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [I'm not technically proficient enough to attempt all kinds of music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/i-m-not-technically-proficient-enough-to-attempt-all-kinds-of-music/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) > [My office in New York is overflowing with all kinds of cookbooks, and in New Orleans we have a huge culinary library. 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The best writers write children's books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-scarry/there-are-all-kinds-of-writers-the-best-writers-write-children-s-books/) [Richard Scarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-scarry/) > [We also need to make sure women can be in charge of their reproductive health. We can't defund places like Planned Parenthood, where women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrissy-teigen/we-also-need-to-make-sure-women-can-be-in-charge-of-their/) [Chrissy Teigen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrissy-teigen/) > [The single greatest pleasure that I have in doing ('Bizarre Foods') is when I meet families with 6, 7, 8-year-olds, or teenagers, who say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-zimmern/the-single-greatest-pleasure-that-i-have-in-doing-bizarre-foods-is/) [Andrew Zimmern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-zimmern/) > [I can see that I imagine all kinds of rejection that never happens. 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That actually means they like no kinds of music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/do-you-know-people-who-insist-they-like-all-kinds-of-music-that/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) Browse all 1,489 All kinds quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What a brave privilege is it to be free from all contentions, from all envying or being envied, from receiving or paying all kinds of ceremonies!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Abraham Cowley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-cowley/what-a-brave-privilege-is-it-to-be-free-from-all-contentions-from-all/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "All kinds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-cowley/what-a-brave-privilege-is-it-to-be-free-from-all-contentions-from-all/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/291/abraham-cowley-7641_all-kinds_what-a-brave-privilege-is-it-to-be-free_838173.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/291/abraham-cowley-7641_all-kinds_what-a-brave-privilege-is-it-to-be-free_838173.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/291/abraham-cowley-7641_all-kinds_what-a-brave-privilege-is-it-to-be-free_838173.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What a brave privilege is it to be free from all contentions, from all envying or being envied, from…” — Abraham Cowley", "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": "Abraham Cowley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-cowley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What a brave privilege is it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-cowley/what-a-brave-privilege-is-it-to-be-free-from-all-contentions-from-all/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-cowley/what-a-brave-privilege-is-it-to-be-free-from-all-contentions-from-all/#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 } } ] } ```