--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only thing about a man that is a man…" description: "\"The only thing about a man that is a man . . . is his mind. Everything else you can find in a pig or a horse.\" — Archibald MacLeish" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/archibald-macleish-7676_horse_the-only-thing-about-a-man-that-is-a-man_2667295.png" --- # The only thing about a man that is a man . . . is his… ![“The only thing about a man that is a man . . . is his mind. Everything else you can find in a pig or a horse.” quote by Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/archibald-macleish-7676_horse_the-only-thing-about-a-man-that-is-a-man_2667295.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/archibald-macleish-7676_horse_the-only-thing-about-a-man-that-is-a-man_2667295.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/archibald-macleish-7676_horse_the-only-thing-about-a-man-that-is-a-man_2667295.png) > “The only thing about a man that is a man . . . is his mind. Everything else you can find in a pig or a horse.” [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A man's true essence is his mind; physical form is interchangeable with animals. **In simple terms:** A man's mind defines him, not his body. Key Takeaway Cultivate and value mental faculties. Themes identity human nature mind vs body Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - education - leadership - personal development - creative writing Key Concepts philosophy psychology anthropology Questions to Reflect On - How does society judge identity? - Can physical traits ever define a person? A Different Perspective Physical attributes can also influence perception of identity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Horse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horse/) [Man Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-mind-269391/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind Pig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-pig-2475080/) [Pigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pigs/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Thing Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-man-478529/) ## Related quotes > [If a pig could give his mind to anything, he would not be a pig.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/if-a-pig-could-give-his-mind-to-anything-he-would-not-be-a-pig/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [The only thing about a man that is a man is his mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/the-only-thing-about-a-man-that-is-a-man-is-his-mind/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [It is such a terrifying thing to see a man cry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/it-is-such-a-terrifying-thing-to-see-a-man-cry/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [Fathering is the most masculine thing a man can do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-pittman/fathering-is-the-most-masculine-thing-a-man-can-do/) [Frank Pittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-pittman/) > [There is such a thing as a man being too proud to fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/there-is-such-a-thing-as-a-man-being-too-proud-to-fight/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [The worst thing you can do to a man is to tell him he can have what he wants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-worst-thing-you-can-do-to-a-man-is-to-tell-him-he-can-have-what/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's just a mentality-type thing, man. One guy isn't going to bring me down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deebo-samuel/it-s-just-a-mentality-type-thing-man-one-guy-isn-t-going-to-bring-me/) [Deebo Samuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deebo-samuel/) > [“The hardest thing is a man to truly know himself”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/the-hardest-thing-is-a-man-to-truly-know-himself/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [It is one thing to show a man that he is in an error, and another to put him in possession of the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-locke/it-is-one-thing-to-show-a-man-that-he-is-in-an-error-and-another-to/) [John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-locke/) > [The most beautiful thing to see in a man is when he cries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-parkin/the-most-beautiful-thing-to-see-in-a-man-is-when-he-cries/) [Sophie Parkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-parkin/) > [Fighting is the best thing a man can have in his soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renzo-gracie/fighting-is-the-best-thing-a-man-can-have-in-his-soul/) [Renzo Gracie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renzo-gracie/) > [“The first thing a man will do for his ideal is lie”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-schumpeter/the-first-thing-a-man-will-do-for-his-ideal-is-lie/) [Joseph Schumpeter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-schumpeter/) > [The most fatal thing a man can do is try to stand alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/the-most-fatal-thing-a-man-can-do-is-try-to-stand-alone/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [The history of the world shows that when a mean thing was done, man did it; when a good thing was done, man did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/the-history-of-the-world-shows-that-when-a-mean-thing-was-done-man/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [The best thing for a man to do is to be born and, being born, to die at once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietro-aretino/the-best-thing-for-a-man-to-do-is-to-be-born-and-being-born-to-die-at/) [Pietro Aretino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietro-aretino/) ## More by Archibald MacLeish > [Never in all their history have men been able truly to conceive of the world as one: a single sphere, a globe, having the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/never-in-all-their-history-have-men-been-able-truly-to-conceive-of/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [How shall freedom be defended? By arms when it is attacked by arms, by truth when it is attacked by lies, by faith when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/how-shall-freedom-be-defended-by-arms-when-it-is-attacked-by-arms-by/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [Around, around the sun we go: The moon goes round the earth. We do not die of death: We die of vertigo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/around-around-the-sun-we-go-the-moon-goes-round-the-earth-we-do-not/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [What you really have to know is one: yourself. And the only way you can know that one is in the mirror of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/what-you-really-have-to-know-is-one-yourself-and-the-only-way-you-can/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [Poets... are literal-minded men who will squeeze a word till it hurts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/poets-are-literal-minded-men-who-will-squeeze-a-word-till-it-hurts/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [“American foreign policy was a mirror image of Russian foreign policy: whatever the Russians did, we did in reverse. American domestic policies were conducted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/american-foreign-policy-was-a-mirror-image-of-russian-foreign-policy/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [To separate journalism and poetry, therefore-history and poetry-to set them up at opposite ends of the world of discourse, is to separate seeing from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/to-separate-journalism-and-poetry-therefore-history-and-poetry-to-set/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [You burned the city of London in our houses and we felt the flames.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/you-burned-the-city-of-london-in-our-houses-and-we-felt-the-flames/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [The infantile cowardice of our time which demands an external pattern, a nonhuman authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/the-infantile-cowardice-of-our-time-which-demands-an-external-pattern/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [Races didn't bother the Americans. They were something a lot better than any race. They were a People. They were the first self-constituted, self-declared,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/races-didn-t-bother-the-americans-they-were-something-a-lot-better/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [Young poets are advised by their elders to avoid the practice of journalism as they would wet socks and gin before breakfast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/young-poets-are-advised-by-their-elders-to-avoid-the-practice-of/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [There are those, I know, who will reply that the liberation of humanity, the freedom of man and mind, is nothing but a dream.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/there-are-those-i-know-who-will-reply-that-the-liberation-of-humanity/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [“What is freedom? Freedom is the right to choose: the right to create for oneself the alternatives of choice. Without the possibility of choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/what-is-freedom-freedom-is-the-right-to-choose-the-right-to-create/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [A poem should not mean but be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/a-poem-should-not-mean-but-be/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [What once was cuddled must learn to kiss The cold wonn's mouth. That's all the mystery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/what-once-was-cuddled-must-learn-to-kiss-the-cold-wonn-s-mouth-that-s/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) [Explore all 88 Archibald MacLeish quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) ## More Horse quotes > [I would drink gallons of coffee a day. Even now, off caffeine, I talk faster than anyone you've ever met. I finally recognized that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/i-would-drink-gallons-of-coffee-a-day-even-now-off-caffeine-i-talk/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The child who ran weeping to you with a cut finger is now brought home, smiling gamely, with a broken collarbone and incredible contusions-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-brown/the-child-who-ran-weeping-to-you-with-a-cut-finger-is-now-brought/) [Pam Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-brown/) > [I don't know where horse riding could have taken me, and it's something I can always go back to when I've retired from football,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millie-bright/i-don-t-know-where-horse-riding-could-have-taken-me-and-it-s/) [Millie Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millie-bright/) > [I promise myself that I will enjoy every minute of the day that is given me to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-promise-myself-that-i-will-enjoy-every-minute-of-the-day-that-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is a pity that, commonly, more care is had--yea, and that among very wise men--to find out rather a cunning man for their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/it-is-a-pity-that-commonly-more-care-is-had-yea-and-that-among-very/) [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) > [I always like to look for adventure when I go away. I have gone on several horse adventures with my wife - from Guangxi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/i-always-like-to-look-for-adventure-when-i-go-away-i-have-gone-on/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [Plato compared the intellect to a charioteer guiding the powerful horses of the passions, i.e., he gave it both the power of perception and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-cattell/plato-compared-the-intellect-to-a-charioteer-guiding-the-powerful/) [Raymond Cattell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-cattell/) > [There are those that say, if you do the uncomfortable thing long enough, it will become comfortable. But we are really not encouragers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/there-are-those-that-say-if-you-do-the-uncomfortable-thing-long/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [If some beggar steals a bridle he'll be hung by a man who's stolen a horse. There's no surer justice in the world than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peire-cardenal/if-some-beggar-steals-a-bridle-he-ll-be-hung-by-a-man-who-s-stolen-a/) [Peire Cardenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peire-cardenal/) > [Despite the reams of paperwork, obstacles worthy of a horse show, and a wait that can rival an elephant's gestation, adoption feels no different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-simon/despite-the-reams-of-paperwork-obstacles-worthy-of-a-horse-show-and-a/) [Scott Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-simon/) > [“I have never heard anyone say, 'Oh, ick! A horse!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elinor-goulding-smith/i-have-never-heard-anyone-say-oh-ick-a-horse/) [Elinor Goulding Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elinor-goulding-smith/) > [My friends and I would get up early and take our horses through the national forest. My mom was very free. It was always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-torv/my-friends-and-i-would-get-up-early-and-take-our-horses-through-the/) [Anna Torv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-torv/) > [Blind with love, my daughter has cried nightly for horses, those long-necked marchers and churners that she has mastered, any and all, reigning them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/blind-with-love-my-daughter-has-cried-nightly-for-horses-those-long/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [In the Christianity of Christendom the Cross has become something like the child’s hobby-horse and trumpet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-the-christianity-of-christendom-the-cross-has-become-something/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 3,533 Horse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horse/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The only thing about a man that is a man . . . is his mind. 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