--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Complete possession is proved only by…" description: "\"Complete possession is proved only by giving. All you are unable to give possesses you.\" — Andre Gide" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/andre-gide-790_giving_complete-possession-is-proved-only-by-gi_2543030.png" --- # Complete possession is proved only by giving. All you are… ![“Complete possession is proved only by giving. All you are unable to give possesses you.” quote by Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/andre-gide-790_giving_complete-possession-is-proved-only-by-gi_2543030.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/andre-gide-790_giving_complete-possession-is-proved-only-by-gi_2543030.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/andre-gide-790_giving_complete-possession-is-proved-only-by-gi_2543030.png) > “Complete possession is proved only by giving. All you are unable to give possesses you.” [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True generosity is shown by giving; what you cannot give remains within you. **In simple terms:** Giving reveals what you hold inside. Key Takeaway Give to discover inner limits. Themes generosity selfknowledge paradox Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - charity - personal growth - relationships Key Concepts psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What do you keep hidden when you give? - Can you give without losing yourself? A Different Perspective Giving may deplete resources if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Complete Possession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complete-possession-1451567/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving Unable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-unable-1451571/) [Possesses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possesses/) [Possession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possession/) [Possession Proved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possession-proved-1451569/) ## Related quotes > [At no time are we ever in such complete possession of a journey, down to its last nook and cranny, as when we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukio-mishima/at-no-time-are-we-ever-in-such-complete-possession-of-a-journey-down-2/) [Yukio Mishima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukio-mishima/) > [“I felt as though I owned the whole world. And little wonder, because at no time are we ever in such complete possession of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukio-mishima/i-felt-as-though-i-owned-the-whole-world-and-little-wonder-because-at/) [Yukio Mishima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukio-mishima/) > [At no time are we ever in such complete possession of a journey, down to its last nook and cranny, as when we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukio-mishima/at-no-time-are-we-ever-in-such-complete-possession-of-a-journey-down/) [Yukio Mishima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukio-mishima/) > [The great master key to riches is nothing more or less than the self-discipline necessary to help you take full and complete possession of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/the-great-master-key-to-riches-is-nothing-more-or-less-than-the-self/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [“Perhaps this is simply the way it is with writers. It's when they don't see you that you matter. Because then you can belong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/perhaps-this-is-simply-the-way-it-is-with-writers-it-s-when-they-don/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [The surest way to lose truth is to pretend that one already wholly possesses it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-w-allport/the-surest-way-to-lose-truth-is-to-pretend-that-one-already-wholly/) [Gordon W. Allport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-w-allport/) > [“It is only when one has lost all things, that one knows that one possesses it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/it-is-only-when-one-has-lost-all-things-that-one-knows-that-one/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [In order for our country and economy to get on the right track again, we need a leader who understands how the real economy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-order-for-our-country-and-economy-to-get-on-the-right-track-again/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My dog has the intellectual capacity of a lime wedge, yet even he possesses an elaborate set of assumptions, based on his ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/my-dog-has-the-intellectual-capacity-of-a-lime-wedge-yet-even-he/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [It often happens that when a person possesses a particular ability to an extraordinary degree, nature makes up for it by leaving him or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-shea/it-often-happens-that-when-a-person-possesses-a-particular-ability-to/) [Robert Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-shea/) > [The music kind of possesses me when I sing. So whenever I start to sing on a show - I mean, first, I'm nervous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-evancho/the-music-kind-of-possesses-me-when-i-sing-so-whenever-i-start-to/) [Jackie Evancho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-evancho/) > [“She possesses what someone once described to me as all the unlovable virtues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/she-possesses-what-someone-once-described-to-me-as-all-the-unlovable/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [The hacker community may be small, but it possesses the skills that are driving the global economies of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-brooke/the-hacker-community-may-be-small-but-it-possesses-the-skills-that/) [Heather Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-brooke/) > [Is it man that possesses love, or is it not much rather love that possesses man?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-feuerbach/is-it-man-that-possesses-love-or-is-it-not-much-rather-love-that/) [Ludwig Feuerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-feuerbach/) > [Who lives content with little possesses everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-boileau-despreaux/who-lives-content-with-little-possesses-everything/) [Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-boileau-despreaux/) ## More by Andre Gide > [Without mysticism man can achieve nothing great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/without-mysticism-man-can-achieve-nothing-great/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“The things one feels are different about oneself are the things that are rare, that give each person their value - and these are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/the-things-one-feels-are-different-about-oneself-are-the-things-that/) [André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [I believe that in every circumstance I have been able to see rather clearly the most advantageous course I could follow, which is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/i-believe-that-in-every-circumstance-i-have-been-able-to-see-rather/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [Know thyself. A maxim as pernicious as it is ugly. Whoever studies himself arrest his own development. A caterpillar who seeks to know himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/know-thyself-a-maxim-as-pernicious-as-it-is-ugly-whoever-studies/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“There is a germ of revolt lying in the spirit of inquiry and critical curiosity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/there-is-a-germ-of-revolt-lying-in-the-spirit-of-inquiry-and-critical/) [André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [Oh, would that my mind could let fall its dead ideas, as the tree does its withered leaves!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/oh-would-that-my-mind-could-let-fall-its-dead-ideas-as-the-tree-does/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [God lies ahead. I convince myself and constantly repeat to myself that: He depends on us. It is through us that God is achieved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/god-lies-ahead-i-convince-myself-and-constantly-repeat-to-myself-that/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“Welcome everything that comes to you, but do not long for anything else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/welcome-everything-that-comes-to-you-but-do-not-long-for-anything-else/) [André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [There are many things that seem impossible only so long as one does not attempt them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/there-are-many-things-that-seem-impossible-only-so-long-as-one-does/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [Envying another man's happiness is madness; you wouldn't know what to do with it if you had it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/envying-another-man-s-happiness-is-madness-you-wouldn-t-know-what-to/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [So long as we live among men, let us cherish humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/so-long-as-we-live-among-men-let-us-cherish-humanity/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [It is one of life's laws that as soon as one door closes another opens. But the tragedy is we look at the closed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/it-is-one-of-life-s-laws-that-as-soon-as-one-door-closes-another/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“What would a narrative of happiness be like? All that can be described is what prepares it, and then what destroys it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/what-would-a-narrative-of-happiness-be-like-all-that-can-be-described/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [It is with noble sentiments that bad literature gets written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/it-is-with-noble-sentiments-that-bad-literature-gets-written/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“C'est dans l'extraordinaire que je me sens le plus naturel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/c-est-dans-l-extraordinaire-que-je-me-sens-le-plus-naturel/) [André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) [Explore all 304 Andre Gide quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) ## More Giving quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Some people give you that motivation to work harder simply to get the hell away from wherever they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/some-people-give-you-that-motivation-to-work-harder-simply-to-get-the/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [You've touched people and known it. You've touched people and never may know it. Either way, you have something to give. It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/you-ve-touched-people-and-known-it-you-ve-touched-people-and-never/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I received a beautiful welcome to the world of music. I want to give something back to the younger generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciano-pavarotti/i-received-a-beautiful-welcome-to-the-world-of-music-i-want-to-give/) [Luciano Pavarotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciano-pavarotti/) > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) [Riffat Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riffat-hassan/) > [Grandma, please. It’s okay. Dad’s doing a great job. I give him kudos for at least being calm and rational, and not losing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/grandma-please-it-s-okay-dad-s-doing-a-great-job-i-give-him-kudos-for/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Most paper money initially existed as a substitute for gold. That's what gave it value. But right now what gives a currency value is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/most-paper-money-initially-existed-as-a-substitute-for-gold-that-s/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [Give me strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/give-me-strength-to-walk-the-soft-earth-a-relative-to-all-that-is/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) > [I don't think my relationship with the idea of womanhood is that attached to giving birth... like, I'm fully aware that I'll never give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-harrison/i-don-t-think-my-relationship-with-the-idea-of-womanhood-is-that/) [Patti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-harrison/) [Browse all 39,303 Giving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Complete possession is proved only by giving. 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