--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The man who attempts to live for others…" description: "\"“The man who attempts to live for others is a dependent. He is a parasite in motive and makes parasites of those he serves. The relationship produces n..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/818/ayn-rand-59_generosity_the-man-who-attempts-to-live-for-others_498190.jpg" --- # The man who attempts to live for others is a dependent. He… ![“The man who attempts to live for others is a dependent. He is a parasite in motive and makes parasites of those he serves. The relationship produces nothing but mutual corruption. It is impossible in concept. The nearest approach to it in reality -- the man who lives to serve others -- is the…” quote by ayn rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/818/ayn-rand-59_generosity_the-man-who-attempts-to-live-for-others_498190.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/818/ayn-rand-59_generosity_the-man-who-attempts-to-live-for-others_498190.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/818/ayn-rand-59_generosity_the-man-who-attempts-to-live-for-others_498190.jpg) > ““The man who attempts to live for others is a dependent. He is a parasite in motive and makes parasites of those he serves. The relationship produces nothing but mutual corruption. It is impossible in concept. The nearest approach to it in reality -- the man who lives to serve others -- is the slave. If physical slavery is repulsive, how much more repulsive is the concept of servility of the spirit. The conquered slave has a vestige of honor. He has the merit of having resisted and of considering his condition evil. But the man who enslaves himself voluntarily in the name of love is the basest of creatures. He degrades the dignity of man, and he degrades the conception of love. But that is the essence of altruism”” [ayn rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Altruism is portrayed as self‑enslavement that corrupts both giver and receiver, reducing love to a loss of dignity. **In simple terms:** Self‑sacrifice harms both parties. Key Takeaway Beware of sacrificing self‑worth for others. Themes individualism self‑respect love morality Mood reflective critical Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - personal relationships - political activism - philosophical debates Key Concepts Objectivism ethical egoism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you distinguish self‑care from selfishness? - Can love be self‑affirming? A Different Perspective Altruism can coexist with healthy boundaries. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Generosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generosity/) [Live for others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-for-others/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave/) ## Related quotes > [“We are at the mercy of whoever wields authority over the things we either desire or detest. If you would be free, then, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-are-at-the-mercy-of-whoever-wields-authority-over-the-things-we/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“Is it the body you are going to serve and be a slave to or is it the spirit you are going to develop,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-mckay/is-it-the-body-you-are-going-to-serve-and-be-a-slave-to-or-is-it-the/) [David O. McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-mckay/) > [“Slavery is as much about the psychological control of the master over the slave as of the physical domination, cruelty and exploitation which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-palmer/slavery-is-as-much-about-the-psychological-control-of-the-master-over/) [Gabrielle Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-palmer/) > [As long as the mind is enslaved, the body can never be free. Psychological freedom, a firm sense of self-esteem, is the most powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/as-long-as-the-mind-is-enslaved-the-body-can-never-be-free-2/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Psychological freedom, a firm sense of self-esteem, is the most powerful weapon against the long night of physical slavery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/psychological-freedom-a-firm-sense-of-self-esteem-is-the-most/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“It would be restful to serve, if only as a slave, people who saw clearly, coldly, straight, not obliquely and with hypocrisy only, such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/it-would-be-restful-to-serve-if-only-as-a-slave-people-who-saw/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [Mental slavery is worst than physical slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hockaday/mental-slavery-is-worst-than-physical-slavery/) Dave Hockaday > [Forget yourself and live for others, for It is more blessed to give than to receive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-b-simpson/forget-yourself-and-live-for-others-for-it-is-more-blessed-to-give/) [A. B. Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-b-simpson/) > [The day you start earning will be the day youll realize, you cant spend your own earning on yourself but on those whom you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hqlinestumblr/the-day-you-start-earning-will-be-the-day-youll-realize-you-cant/) HQLinesTumblr > [All women are brought up from the very earliest years in the belief that their ideal of character is the very opposite to that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/all-women-are-brought-up-from-the-very-earliest-years-in-the-belief/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [“Live with dignity. Live for others, that is how one earns respect,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chetan-bhagat/live-with-dignity-live-for-others-that-is-how-one-earns-respect/) [Chetan Bhagat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chetan-bhagat/) > [It is easy to live for others, everybody does. I call on you to live for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/it-is-easy-to-live-for-others-everybody-does-i-call-on-you-to-live/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“is it that the moment I live for myself, everyone around me becomes miserable, but when I try to live for others, I become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sivils/is-it-that-the-moment-i-live-for-myself-everyone-around-me-becomes/) John Sivils > [They who will live for others shall have great troubles, but they shall seem to them small. Those who will live for themselves shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/they-who-will-live-for-others-shall-have-great-troubles-but-they/) [William Ralph Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/) > [So much must I live for others, that almost I am a stranger to myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-innocent-iii/so-much-must-i-live-for-others-that-almost-i-am-a-stranger-to-myself/) [Pope Innocent III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-innocent-iii/) ## More by ayn rand > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [She watched the prairies the rivers, the towns slipping past at an untouchable distance below - and she noted that the sense of detachment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-watched-the-prairies-the-rivers-the-towns-slipping-past-at-an/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“This was reality, she thought, this sense of clear outlines, of purpose, of lightness, of hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-was-reality-she-thought-this-sense-of-clear-outlines-of-purpose/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [A “collective” mind does not exist. 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To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-was-fifteen-when-it-occurred-to-her-for-the-first-time-that-women/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Fransisco, you're some kind of very high nobility, aren't you?" He answered, "Not yet. The reason my family has lasted for such a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/fransisco-you-re-some-kind-of-very-high-nobility-aren-t-you-he/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Have you felt it too? Have you seen how your best friends love everything about you- except the things that count? 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Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) [Browse all 3,867 Generosity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generosity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The man who attempts to live for others is a dependent. He is a parasite in motive and makes parasites of those he serves. The relationship produces nothing but mutual corruption. It is impossible in concept. The nearest approach to it in reality -- the man who lives to serve others -- is the slave. If physical slavery is repulsive, how much more repulsive is the concept of servility of the spirit. The conquered slave has a vestige of honor. He has the merit of having resisted and of considering his condition evil. But the man who enslaves himself voluntarily in the name of love is the basest of creatures. He degrades the dignity of man, and he degrades the conception of love. 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