--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The life of every man is a diary in which…" description: "\"The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another; and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/561/anonymous-1_diary_the-life-of-every-man-is-a-diary-in-whic_2432767.jpg" --- # The life of every man is a diary in which he means to… ![“The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another; and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/561/anonymous-1_diary_the-life-of-every-man-is-a-diary-in-whic_2432767.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/561/anonymous-1_diary_the-life-of-every-man-is-a-diary-in-whic_2432767.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/561/anonymous-1_diary_the-life-of-every-man-is-a-diary-in-whic_2432767.jpg) > “The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another; and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects on the gap between intentions and reality, noting that people often fall short of the lives they promised themselves to live. **In simple terms:** People often fail to live up to their own promises. Key Takeaway Align actions with your true goals. Themes self‑reflection expectations disappointment Mood reflective somber Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal planning - career goals - relationship expectations - creative projects Key Concepts intentionality self‑awareness Questions to Reflect On - What promises have you not kept? - How can you bridge intention and action? A Different Perspective It may overlook external constraints that hinder fulfillment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Diary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diary/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-life-of-every-man-is-a-diary-in-which-he-means-to-write-one-story-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The life of every person is like a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-life-of-every-person-is-like-a-diary-in-which-he-means-to-write/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A diary means yes indeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/a-diary-means-yes-indeed/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Every man is a diary in which he writes one story while intending to write another. His humblest moment is when he compares the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-b-brown/every-man-is-a-diary-in-which-he-writes-one-story-while-intending-to/) [Hugh B. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-b-brown/) > [A man's diary is a record in youth of his sentiments, in middle age of his actions, in old age of his reflections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/a-man-s-diary-is-a-record-in-youth-of-his-sentiments-in-middle-age-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [I guess whatever maturity is there may be there because I've been keeping a journal forever. In high school my friends would make fun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/i-guess-whatever-maturity-is-there-may-be-there-because-i-ve-been/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [How do people come up with a date and a time to take life from another man? Who made them God?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-do-people-come-up-with-a-date-and-a-time-to-take-life-from-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For the secret of man's being is not only to live but to have something to live for. Without a stable conception of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-the-secret-of-man-s-being-is-not-only-to-live-but-to-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life every man holds dear; but the dear man holds honor far more precious dear than life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/life-every-man-holds-dear-but-the-dear-man-holds-honor-far-more/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I wanted to live the inner life of every man I saw, look at the world through his eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-kuprin/i-wanted-to-live-the-inner-life-of-every-man-i-saw-look-at-the-world/) Aleksandr Kuprin > [Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall in love with a gorgeous redhead!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-ball/once-in-his-life-every-man-is-entitled-to-fall-in-love-with-a/) [Lucille Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-ball/) > [“I tried keeping a diary once. Not chronological, of course. But the trouble with time travel is, one never seems to find the time.’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-tried-keeping-a-diary-once-not-chronological-of-course-but-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Writing about your disappointments and your life is for your diary not Facebook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/writing-about-your-disappointments-and-your-life-is-for-your-diary/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Can you squeeze me into an empty page of your diary and psychologically save me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/can-you-squeeze-me-into-an-empty-page-of-your-diary-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Dear diary: I am going to show him what little girls are made of, Gun Powder And Lead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dear-diary-i-am-going-to-show-him-what-little-girls-are-made-of-gun/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Diary quotes > [I don't want to be singing my diary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norah-jones/i-don-t-want-to-be-singing-my-diary/) [Norah Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norah-jones/) > [“What a vast fertility of pleasure books hold for me! (...) I think I could happily live here & read forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-vast-fertility-of-pleasure-books-hold-for-me-i-think-i-could/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“The platonic love I feel for my cousin, made me write this diary ...” Leione”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pet-torres/the-platonic-love-i-feel-for-my-cousin-made-me-write-this-diary-leione/) [Pet Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pet-torres/) > [“All right, you caught me. I'm secretly obsessed with you and spend all my free time writing about you in my journal. 'Dear Diary,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-scott/all-right-you-caught-me-i-m-secretly-obsessed-with-you-and-spend-all/) [Elizabeth Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-scott/) > [I'm so open to different things. The only thing I'd say is I've set the bar pretty high in terms of good female roles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bel-powley/i-m-so-open-to-different-things-the-only-thing-i-d-say-is-i-ve-set/) [Bel Powley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bel-powley/) > ["The diary, "My diary. Little Ginny's been writing in it for months and months, telling me all her pitiful worries and woes - how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-riddle/the-diary-my-diary-little-ginny-s-been-writing-in-it-for-months-and/) [Tom Riddle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-riddle/) > [A man's diary is a record in youth of his sentiments, in middle age of his actions, in old age of his reflections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/a-man-s-diary-is-a-record-in-youth-of-his-sentiments-in-middle-age-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [I'm never without my personalised Anya Hindmarch diary - I keep my schedule online, too, but my diary is always in my bag. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aerin-lauder/i-m-never-without-my-personalised-anya-hindmarch-diary-i-keep-my/) [Aerin Lauder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aerin-lauder/) > [I keep a diary - one for each film and foreign land I travel to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-mcconaughey/i-keep-a-diary-one-for-each-film-and-foreign-land-i-travel-to/) [Matthew McConaughey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-mcconaughey/) > [Don't read my diary when I'm gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/don-t-read-my-diary-when-i-m-gone/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) > [I keep a diary because I love this writer, David Sedaris, and he writes a lot about his diary, and he inspired me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-hawke/i-keep-a-diary-because-i-love-this-writer-david-sedaris-and-he-writes/) [Maya Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-hawke/) > [Memory is the diary that chronicles things that never happened or couldn't possibly have happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/memory-is-the-diary-that-chronicles-things-that-never-happened-or/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“What will become of me? I do not know where am I going or what tomorrow will bring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-berr/what-will-become-of-me-i-do-not-know-where-am-i-going-or-what/) [Hélène Berr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-berr/) > [“I use my friends rather as giglamps : There's another field I see: by your light. Over there's a hill. I widen my landscape.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/i-use-my-friends-rather-as-giglamps-there-s-another-field-i-see-by/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [I need a moment of time for myself every day, like a child playing with his things. When I travel, I routinely find a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-need-a-moment-of-time-for-myself-every-day-like-a-child-playing/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) [Browse all 453 Diary quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diary/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another; and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-life-of-every-man-is-a-diary-in-which-he-means-to-write-one-story/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Diary" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-life-of-every-man-is-a-diary-in-which-he-means-to-write-one-story/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/561/anonymous-1_diary_the-life-of-every-man-is-a-diary-in-whic_2432767.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/561/anonymous-1_diary_the-life-of-every-man-is-a-diary-in-whic_2432767.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/561/anonymous-1_diary_the-life-of-every-man-is-a-diary-in-whic_2432767.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another; and his humblest…” — Anonymous", "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": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The life of every man is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-life-of-every-man-is-a-diary-in-which-he-means-to-write-one-story/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-life-of-every-man-is-a-diary-in-which-he-means-to-write-one-story/#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 } } ] } ```