--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Should a man, to preserve his life, pay…" description: "\"“Should a man, to preserve his life, pay everything that gives life colour, scent and excitement? Can one accept a life of digestion, respiration, musc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/233/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn-671_illness_should-a-man-to-preserve-his-life-pay-ev_2610613.jpg" --- # Should a man, to preserve his life, pay everything that… ![“Should a man, to preserve his life, pay everything that gives life colour, scent and excitement? Can one accept a life of digestion, respiration, muscular and brain activity - and nothing more? Become a walking blueprint? Is this not an exorbitant price? Is it not mockery?” quote by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/233/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn-671_illness_should-a-man-to-preserve-his-life-pay-ev_2610613.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/233/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn-671_illness_should-a-man-to-preserve-his-life-pay-ev_2610613.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/233/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn-671_illness_should-a-man-to-preserve-his-life-pay-ev_2610613.jpg) > ““Should a man, to preserve his life, pay everything that gives life colour, scent and excitement? Can one accept a life of digestion, respiration, muscular and brain activity - and nothing more? Become a walking blueprint? Is this not an exorbitant price? Is it not mockery?”” [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Questioning whether a life reduced to mere survival is worth the loss of joy and meaning. **In simple terms:** Life should be more than basic survival. Key Takeaway Seek meaning beyond mere existence. Themes existentialism meaning humanity Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - career choices - health decisions - creative pursuits - spiritual practice Key Concepts philosophy ethics purpose Questions to Reflect On - What brings colour to your life? - Can you balance survival with joy? A Different Perspective Focusing solely on survival can lead to emptiness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accept Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accept-life/) [Gives Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gives-life/) [Illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illness/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Colour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-colour-2006854/) [Preserve Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preserve-life-838533/) ## Related quotes > [“Should a man, to preserve his life, pay everything that gives life colour, scent and excitement? Can one accept a life of digestion, respiration,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-i-solzhenitsyn/should-a-man-to-preserve-his-life-pay-everything-that-gives-life/) [Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-i-solzhenitsyn/) > [The life where nothing was ever unexpected. Or inconvenient. Or unusual. The life without colour, pain or past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/the-life-where-nothing-was-ever-unexpected-or-inconvenient-or-unusual/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [And Life is Colour and Warmth and Light and a striving evermore for these; and he is dead, who will not fight; and who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-grenfell/and-life-is-colour-and-warmth-and-light-and-a-striving-evermore-for/) [Julian Grenfell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-grenfell/) > [To preserve his life, should a man pay everything that gives it color, scent and excitement?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/to-preserve-his-life-should-a-man-pay-everything-that-gives-it-color/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Every creature is better alive than dead, men and moose and pine trees, and he who understands it aright will rather preserve its life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/every-creature-is-better-alive-than-dead-men-and-moose-and-pine-trees/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The only crime, the only crime is to take a life. There is nothing else.' 'And that's why you don't fight,'I say. She turns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/the-only-crime-the-only-crime-is-to-take-a-life-there-is-nothing-else/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [“We labor to preserve the life of the body, but ultimately life and death are out of our hands. If the patient lives awhile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-d-o-brien/we-labor-to-preserve-the-life-of-the-body-but-ultimately-life-and/) [Michael D. O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-d-o-brien/) > [To preserve the life of citizens, is the greatest virtue in the father of his country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/to-preserve-the-life-of-citizens-is-the-greatest-virtue-in-the-father/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [A man who possesses a veneration of life will not simply say his prayers. He will throw himself into the battle to preserve life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/a-man-who-possesses-a-veneration-of-life-will-not-simply-say-his/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [I have suffered much; preserve my life, lord, according to your word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psalm-119-107/i-have-suffered-much-preserve-my-life-lord-according-to-your-word/) [Psalm 119:107](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/psalm-119-107/) > [A brave and passionate man will kill or be killed. A brave and calm man will always preserve life. Of these two which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/a-brave-and-passionate-man-will-kill-or-be-killed-a-brave-and-calm/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [“Three men in ten conserve life; three men in ten pursue death. Three men also in ten desire to live, but there acts hasten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu-2/three-men-in-ten-conserve-life-three-men-in-ten-pursue-death-three/) [Lao-Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu-2/) > [“No, how can one preserve one's life and at the same time arrive at the truth?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-solschenizyn/no-how-can-one-preserve-one-s-life-and-at-the-same-time-arrive-at-the/) [Alexander Solschenizyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-solschenizyn/) > [The value of the arts cannot be measured by its ability to preserve life but rather to enhance existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-alderman/the-value-of-the-arts-cannot-be-measured-by-its-ability-to-preserve/) [Naomi Alderman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-alderman/) > [To live is to fight, to preserve life is to fight everything that man stands for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/to-live-is-to-fight-to-preserve-life-is-to-fight-everything-that-man/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) ## More by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn > [If you wanted to put the world to rights, who should you begin with: yourself or others?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/if-you-wanted-to-put-the-world-to-rights-who-should-you-begin-with/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“...you are strong only as long as you don't deprive people of everything . For a person you've taken everything from is no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/you-are-strong-only-as-long-as-you-don-t-deprive-people-of-everything/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Woe to that nation whose literature is cut short by the intrusion of force. This is not merely interference with freedom of the press…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/woe-to-that-nation-whose-literature-is-cut-short-by-the-intrusion-of/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Literature becomes the living memory of a nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/literature-becomes-the-living-memory-of-a-nation/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [If there were no executioners, there would be no executions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/if-there-were-no-executioners-there-would-be-no-executions/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Not everything has a name. Some things lead us into a realm beyond words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/not-everything-has-a-name-some-things-lead-us-into-a-realm-beyond/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [It is almost always impossible to evaluate at the time events which you have already experienced, and to understand their meaning with the guidance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/it-is-almost-always-impossible-to-evaluate-at-the-time-events-which/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Human nature is full of riddles; . . . one of those riddles is: how is it that people who have been crushed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/human-nature-is-full-of-riddles-one-of-those-riddles-is-how-is-it/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“It was astonishing that the pseudo wreckers, who knew perfectly well that they weren't wreckers, believed that military men and priests were being shaken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/it-was-astonishing-that-the-pseudo-wreckers-who-knew-perfectly-well/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [When the whole discussion of "developing a national idea" hastily began in post-Soviet Russia, I tried to pour cold water on it with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/when-the-whole-discussion-of-developing-a-national-idea-hastily-began/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“It was granted me to carry away from my prison years on my bent back, which nearly broke beneath its load, this essential experience;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/it-was-granted-me-to-carry-away-from-my-prison-years-on-my-bent-back/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Call no day happy 'til it is done; call no man happy til he is dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/call-no-day-happy-til-it-is-done-call-no-man-happy-til-he-is-dead/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Whenever the tissue of life is woven of legalistic relationships, this creates an atmosphere of spiritual mediocrity that paralyzes a person's noblest impulses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/whenever-the-tissue-of-life-is-woven-of-legalistic-relationships-this/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [The same old caveman feeling-greed, envy, violence, and mutual hate, which along the way assumed respectable pseudonyms like class struggle, racial struggle, mass struggle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/the-same-old-caveman-feeling-greed-envy-violence-and-mutual-hate/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Surrender one hair, and you'll end up beardless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/surrender-one-hair-and-you-ll-end-up-beardless/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) [Explore all 412 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) ## More Illness quotes > [Telling a story of illness, one pulls a thread through a narrow opening flanked on one side by shame and the other by trivia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-griffin/telling-a-story-of-illness-one-pulls-a-thread-through-a-narrow/) [Susan Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-griffin/) > [Death is in truth an illness from which we recover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/death-is-in-truth-an-illness-from-which-we-recover/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [This tendency to avoid problems and the emotional suffering inherent in them is the primary basis of all human mental illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-swindoll/this-tendency-to-avoid-problems-and-the-emotional-suffering-inherent/) [Charles R. Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-swindoll/) > [I think we need to talk about mental illness a lot more. People complain about tax dollars and say we don't have the money.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nia-long/i-think-we-need-to-talk-about-mental-illness-a-lot-more-people/) [Nia Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nia-long/) > [I've always been interested in medicine and was pleased when my brother became a doctor. But after thinking seriously about that field, I realized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-medicine-and-was-pleased-when-my/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [“Mental illness is not something you misunderstand in this era. Get educated because bias is no different than racism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/mental-illness-is-not-something-you-misunderstand-in-this-era-get/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [My illness is one often characterized by dramatic overspending - in my case through frenzied shopping sprees, credit card abuse, excessive hoarding of unnecessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-behrman/my-illness-is-one-often-characterized-by-dramatic-overspending-in-my/) [Andy Behrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-behrman/) > [Literature + Illness = Illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/literature-illness-illness/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Having an eating disorder doesn't show ‘strength.’ Strength is when are able to overcome your demons after being sick and tired for so long.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demi-lovato/having-an-eating-disorder-doesn-t-show-strength-strength-is-when-are/) [Demi Lovato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demi-lovato/) > [Sometimes, I get afraid it has defined me, that sense of grief, loss and illness. But actually, it is about allowing myself to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-i-get-afraid-it-has-defined-me-that-sense-of-grief-loss-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's more common than not that bipolar illness will start in the teens. One of the reasons I spend a lot of time on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/it-s-more-common-than-not-that-bipolar-illness-will-start-in-the/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [You cannot drive a system that's going to be aiming at preventing illness if everyone is not in it. The whole gaming of health…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-oz/you-cannot-drive-a-system-that-s-going-to-be-aiming-at-preventing/) [Mehmet Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-oz/) > [There are people with much bigger profiles than mine who are talking about mental illness. I am going to try to use whatever platform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mauro-ranallo/there-are-people-with-much-bigger-profiles-than-mine-who-are-talking/) [Mauro Ranallo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mauro-ranallo/) > [Severe illness isolates those in close contact with it, because it inevitably narrows the focus of concern. To a certain extent this can lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/severe-illness-isolates-those-in-close-contact-with-it-because-it/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) [Browse all 2,209 Illness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Should a man, to preserve his life, pay everything that gives life colour, scent and excitement? Can one accept a life of digestion, respiration, muscular and brain activity - and nothing more? Become a walking blueprint? Is this not an exorbitant price? Is it not mockery?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/should-a-man-to-preserve-his-life-pay-everything-that-gives-life-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Illness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/should-a-man-to-preserve-his-life-pay-everything-that-gives-life-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/233/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn-671_illness_should-a-man-to-preserve-his-life-pay-ev_2610613.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/233/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn-671_illness_should-a-man-to-preserve-his-life-pay-ev_2610613.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/233/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn-671_illness_should-a-man-to-preserve-his-life-pay-ev_2610613.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Should a man, to preserve his life, pay everything that gives life colour, scent and excitement? Can one…” — Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn", "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": "Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Should a man, to preserve his...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/should-a-man-to-preserve-his-life-pay-everything-that-gives-life-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/should-a-man-to-preserve-his-life-pay-everything-that-gives-life-2/#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 } } ] } ```