--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The whole work of man really seems to…" description: "\"The whole work of man really seems to consist in nothing but proving to himself every minute that he is a man and not a piano key.\" — Anonymous" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c65/anonymous-1_keys_the-whole-work-of-man-really-seems-to-co_1157456.jpg" --- # The whole work of man really seems to consist in nothing… ![“The whole work of man really seems to consist in nothing but proving to himself every minute that he is a man and not a piano key.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c65/anonymous-1_keys_the-whole-work-of-man-really-seems-to-co_1157456.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c65/anonymous-1_keys_the-whole-work-of-man-really-seems-to-co_1157456.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c65/anonymous-1_keys_the-whole-work-of-man-really-seems-to-co_1157456.jpg) > “The whole work of man really seems to consist in nothing but proving to himself every minute that he is a man and not a piano key.” [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. Self‑validation comes from constantly proving one’s humanity, not being reduced to an object. **In simple terms:** We must affirm our humanity constantly. Key Takeaway Recognize personal agency. Themes identity self‑worth human dignity Mood reflective determined Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - daily self‑reflection - career decisions - interpersonal relationships Key Concepts existentialism self‑affirmation psychology Questions to Reflect On - What actions affirm your humanity? - How do you resist being objectified? A Different Perspective May overlook external constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Every Minute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-minute/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Piano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piano/) [Piano keys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piano-keys/) ## Related quotes > [“Even if many really were nothing but a piano-key, even if this were proved to him by natural science and mathematics, even then he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoevsky/even-if-many-really-were-nothing-but-a-piano-key-even-if-this-were/) [Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dostoevsky/) > [“I believe this is so and I'm prepared to vouch for it, because it seems to me that the meaning of man's life consists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/i-believe-this-is-so-and-i-m-prepared-to-vouch-for-it-because-it/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [If one man has a dollar he didn't work for, some other man worked for a dollar he didn't get.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-one-man-has-a-dollar-he-didn-t-work-for-some-other-man-worked-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-can-t-imagine-a-man-really-enjoying-a-book-and-reading-it-only-once/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [That young man with the long, auburn hair and the impudent face - that young man was not really a poet; but surely he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-young-man-with-the-long-auburn-hair-and-the-impudent-face-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [She's a keeper too bad you didn't keep her. Now she will be with a man that really knows how to treat her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/she-s-a-keeper-too-bad-you-didn-t-keep-her-now-she-will-be-with-a-man/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A man who really wants something will find a way; a man who doesnt will find an excuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-who-really-wants-something-will-find-a-way-a-man-who-doesnt/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are two things every woman really wants: one, she wants to know that a man really loves her, and two, that he isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-two-things-every-woman-really-wants-one-she-wants-to-know/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every man dies, but not every man really lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-man-dies-but-not-every-man-really-lives/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every man dies. Not every man really lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-man-dies-not-every-man-really-lives/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What I say is that, if a man really likes potatoes, he must be a pretty decent sort of fellow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-i-say-is-that-if-a-man-really-likes-potatoes-he-must-be-a-pretty/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you want to know what a man is really like, take notice of how he acts when he loses money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-want-to-know-what-a-man-is-really-like-take-notice-of-how-he/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [PIANO, n. A parlor utensil for subduing the impenitent visitor. It is operated by depressing the keys of the machine and the spirits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/piano-n-a-parlor-utensil-for-subduing-the-impenitent-visitor-it-is/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [The piano keys are black and white but they sound like a million colors in your mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-cristina-mena/the-piano-keys-are-black-and-white-but-they-sound-like-a-million/) Maria Cristina Mena > [“I remember not belonging. I was always Summer’s older sister—the plain one with the red hair and a gap between her front teeth. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodee-neathery/i-remember-not-belonging-i-was-always-summer-s-older-sister-the-plain/) [JoDee Neathery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodee-neathery/) ## 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 Greatness quotes > [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Every man who is high up likes to think that he has done it all himself, and the wife smiles and lets it go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-man-who-is-high-up-likes-to-think-that-he-has-done-it-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [We need to discover all over again that worship is natural to the Christian, as it was to the godly Israelites who wrote the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/we-need-to-discover-all-over-again-that-worship-is-natural-to-the/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Nothing brings out the lower traits of human nature like office-seeking. Men of good character and impulses are betrayed by it into all sorts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/nothing-brings-out-the-lower-traits-of-human-nature-like-office/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [Men generally decide upon a middle course, which is most hazardous, for they know neither how to be entirely good nor entirely bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/men-generally-decide-upon-a-middle-course-which-is-most-hazardous-for/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [Every man remembers his childhood as a kind of mythical age, just as every nation's childhood is its mythical age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/every-man-remembers-his-childhood-as-a-kind-of-mythical-age-just-as/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [Greatness is not guarding yourself from people. Greatness is being accepted by the people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/greatness-is-not-guarding-yourself-from-people-greatness-is-being/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [The superior man is distressed by his want (lack) of ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-superior-man-is-distressed-by-his-want-lack-of-ability/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Great men don't 'move to the center' - great men move the center!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/great-men-don-t-move-to-the-center-great-men-move-the-center/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Perfection is the enemy of greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/perfection-is-the-enemy-of-greatness/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [Men want a challenge, but they want a challenge they can win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-gaskell/men-want-a-challenge-but-they-want-a-challenge-they-can-win/) Whitney Gaskell [Browse all 7,631 Greatness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The whole work of man really seems to consist in nothing but proving to himself every minute that he is a man and not a piano key.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-whole-work-of-man-really-seems-to-consist-in-nothing-but-proving/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Greatness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-whole-work-of-man-really-seems-to-consist-in-nothing-but-proving/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c65/anonymous-1_keys_the-whole-work-of-man-really-seems-to-co_1157456.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c65/anonymous-1_keys_the-whole-work-of-man-really-seems-to-co_1157456.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c65/anonymous-1_keys_the-whole-work-of-man-really-seems-to-co_1157456.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The whole work of man really seems to consist in nothing but proving to himself every minute that he is a…” — 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 whole work of man really...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-whole-work-of-man-really-seems-to-consist-in-nothing-but-proving/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-whole-work-of-man-really-seems-to-consist-in-nothing-but-proving/#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 } } ] } ```