--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The cemeteries are full of indispensable…" description: "\"“The cemeteries are full of indispensable men.”\" — Charles de Gaulle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32c/charles-de-gaulle-2714_cemeteries_the-cemeteries-are-full-of-indispensable_2977612.jpg" --- # The cemeteries are full of indispensable men. ![“The cemeteries are full of indispensable men.” quote by Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32c/charles-de-gaulle-2714_cemeteries_the-cemeteries-are-full-of-indispensable_2977612.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32c/charles-de-gaulle-2714_cemeteries_the-cemeteries-are-full-of-indispensable_2977612.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32c/charles-de-gaulle-2714_cemeteries_the-cemeteries-are-full-of-indispensable_2977612.jpg) > ““The cemeteries are full of indispensable men.”” [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A sardonic observation that even the most essential individuals eventually die, emphasizing mortality’s inevitability. **In simple terms:** Even essential people die. Key Takeaway Remember mortality’s universality. Themes mortality humility legacy human condition Mood reflective humble somber Type philosophical historical When to use this quote - leadership - historical analysis - personal reflection - legacy planning Key Concepts philosophy history Questions to Reflect On - How does this shape our view of legacy? - What responsibilities arise from this truth? A Different Perspective May overlook contributions of the living. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cemeteries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cemeteries/) [Cemeteries Indispensable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cemeteries-indispensable-4614329/) [Current events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/current-events/) [Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Indispensable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indispensable/) [Indispensable Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indispensable-men-2662591/) ## Related quotes > [Don't think of yourself as indispensable or infallible. The cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/don-t-think-of-yourself-as-indispensable-or-infallible-the-cemeteries/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [The graveyards are full of indispensable men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/the-graveyards-are-full-of-indispensable-men/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [Nihilists expend everything and everyone except themselves. They are the indispensable men, without whom the world might try to live almost happily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-clark-macinnes/nihilists-expend-everything-and-everyone-except-themselves-they-are/) [Helen Clark MacInnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-clark-macinnes/) > [The cemetery is filled with indispensable men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/the-cemetery-is-filled-with-indispensable-men/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [Don't think of yourself as indispensable or infallible. As Charles De Gaulle said, the cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/don-t-think-of-yourself-as-indispensable-or-infallible-as-charles-de/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [“Charles de Gaulle said? ‘The graveyards are full of indispensable men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-bushkin/charles-de-gaulle-said-the-graveyards-are-full-of-indispensable-men/) [Henry Bushkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-bushkin/) > [Many of the cemeteries are beautiful, and are kept in perfect order. When one goes from the levee or the business streets \[of New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-of-the-cemeteries-are-beautiful-and-are-kept-in-perfect-order/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Cemeteries have always had a lure for me. They are well kept, free from ambiguity, logical, virile, and alive. In cemeteries you can summon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/cemeteries-have-always-had-a-lure-for-me-they-are-well-kept-free-from/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [“..:The greatest treasures, are burried in the cemeteries. Untold stories. Undeveloped programs, quotes, notes, books, inventions, antidotes that could of saved so many lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-garcia/the-greatest-treasures-are-burried-in-the-cemeteries-untold-stories/) [Rafael Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-garcia/) > [I've always loved cemeteries since I was a kid. They're very calm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/britne-oldford/i-ve-always-loved-cemeteries-since-i-was-a-kid-they-re-very-calm/) [Britne Oldford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/britne-oldford/) > [“The ultimate symbol of our religious devotion isn’t our churches, though it’s often beside them. In the South, we understand cemeteries as our final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-ford/the-ultimate-symbol-of-our-religious-devotion-isn-t-our-churches/) [Deborah Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/) > [“When things get too much for me, I put a wild-flower book and a couple of sandwiches in my pockets and go down to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mitchell/when-things-get-too-much-for-me-i-put-a-wild-flower-book-and-a-couple/) [Joseph Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mitchell/) > [“I don’t even like cemeteries. Morgues, either, nor anatomy museums, undertakers’ parlors, funeral chapels, or any of those places where the world of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizaveta-mikhailichenko-and-yury-nesis/i-don-t-even-like-cemeteries-morgues-either-nor-anatomy-museums/) [Elizaveta Mikhailichenko and Yury Nesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizaveta-mikhailichenko-and-yury-nesis/) > [“I hear nothing. I hear nothing, but what does it mean that I hear nothing? I walk in the cemeteries of this city at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/i-hear-nothing-i-hear-nothing-but-what-does-it-mean-that-i-hear/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [The only people without problems are in cemeteries. If you don't have problems, get on your knees and pray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/the-only-people-without-problems-are-in-cemeteries-if-you-don-t-have/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) ## More by Charles de Gaulle > [Don't ask who's influenced me. A lion is made up of the lambs he's digested, and I've been reading all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/don-t-ask-who-s-influenced-me-a-lion-is-made-up-of-the-lambs-he-s/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [“Have you ever seen a dictator on a run-off ballot? \[Responding to the charges of a dictatorial bent, after being forced into a run-off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/have-you-ever-seen-a-dictator-on-a-run-off-ballot-responding-to-the/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [The future does not belong to men...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/the-future-does-not-belong-to-men/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [We are not here to laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/we-are-not-here-to-laugh/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [France cannot be France without greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/france-cannot-be-france-without-greatness/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/i-have-come-to-the-conclusion-that-politics-are-too-serious-a-matter/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [Authority doesn't work without prestige, or prestige without distance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/authority-doesn-t-work-without-prestige-or-prestige-without-distance/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [Today we are crushed by the sheer weight of the mechanized forces hurled against us, but we can still look to the future in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/today-we-are-crushed-by-the-sheer-weight-of-the-mechanized-forces/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [Difficulty attracts the man of character because it is in embracing it that he realizes himself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/difficulty-attracts-the-man-of-character-because-it-is-in-embracing/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [Only by coming to grips with difficulty can you realize your full potential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/only-by-coming-to-grips-with-difficulty-can-you-realize-your-full/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/how-can-you-govern-a-country-which-has-246-varieties-of-cheese/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/how-can-anyone-govern-a-nation-that-has-two-hundred-and-forty-six/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [Silence is the ultimate weapon of power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/silence-is-the-ultimate-weapon-of-power/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [Nothing builds authority up like silence, splendor of the strong and shelter of the weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/nothing-builds-authority-up-like-silence-splendor-of-the-strong-and/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [As an adolescent I was convinced that France would have to go through gigantic trials, that the interest of life consisted in one day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/as-an-adolescent-i-was-convinced-that-france-would-have-to-go-through/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) [Explore all 153 Charles de Gaulle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) ## More Cemeteries quotes > [The only people without problems are in cemeteries. If you don't have problems, get on your knees and pray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/the-only-people-without-problems-are-in-cemeteries-if-you-don-t-have/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [“I hear nothing. I hear nothing, but what does it mean that I hear nothing? I walk in the cemeteries of this city at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/i-hear-nothing-i-hear-nothing-but-what-does-it-mean-that-i-hear/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“I don’t even like cemeteries. Morgues, either, nor anatomy museums, undertakers’ parlors, funeral chapels, or any of those places where the world of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizaveta-mikhailichenko-and-yury-nesis/i-don-t-even-like-cemeteries-morgues-either-nor-anatomy-museums/) [Elizaveta Mikhailichenko and Yury Nesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizaveta-mikhailichenko-and-yury-nesis/) > [“When things get too much for me, I put a wild-flower book and a couple of sandwiches in my pockets and go down to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mitchell/when-things-get-too-much-for-me-i-put-a-wild-flower-book-and-a-couple/) [Joseph Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mitchell/) > [“The ultimate symbol of our religious devotion isn’t our churches, though it’s often beside them. In the South, we understand cemeteries as our final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-ford/the-ultimate-symbol-of-our-religious-devotion-isn-t-our-churches/) [Deborah Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/) > [Cemeteries have always had a lure for me. They are well kept, free from ambiguity, logical, virile, and alive. In cemeteries you can summon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/cemeteries-have-always-had-a-lure-for-me-they-are-well-kept-free-from/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [Many of the cemeteries are beautiful, and are kept in perfect order. When one goes from the levee or the business streets \[of New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-of-the-cemeteries-are-beautiful-and-are-kept-in-perfect-order/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“..:The greatest treasures, are burried in the cemeteries. Untold stories. Undeveloped programs, quotes, notes, books, inventions, antidotes that could of saved so many lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-garcia/the-greatest-treasures-are-burried-in-the-cemeteries-untold-stories/) [Rafael Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-garcia/) > [I've always loved cemeteries since I was a kid. They're very calm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/britne-oldford/i-ve-always-loved-cemeteries-since-i-was-a-kid-they-re-very-calm/) [Britne Oldford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/britne-oldford/) > [Nowadays, many Americans have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day. At cemeteries across the country, the graves of the fallen are sadly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-west/nowadays-many-americans-have-forgotten-the-meaning-and-traditions-of/) [Allen West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-west/) > [Museums are the cemeteries of the arts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-de-lamartine/museums-are-the-cemeteries-of-the-arts/) [Alphonse De Lamartine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-de-lamartine/) > [“And when my spirit wants no stimulus or nourishment save music, I know it is to be sought in cemeteries: the musicians hide in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/and-when-my-spirit-wants-no-stimulus-or-nourishment-save-music-i-know/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“They ought to bury people in hospitals and let sick people get well in the cemeteries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-zindel/they-ought-to-bury-people-in-hospitals-and-let-sick-people-get-well/) [Paul Zindel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-zindel/) > [Some lawns have all the cheer of old cemeteries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brookhiser/some-lawns-have-all-the-cheer-of-old-cemeteries/) [Richard Brookhiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brookhiser/) > [“The harbour of influence is richer in the cemeteries where people are buried with their music on their tongues unsung. Don't leave your potentials…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/the-harbour-of-influence-is-richer-in-the-cemeteries-where-people-are/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) [Browse all 39 Cemeteries quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cemeteries/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The cemeteries are full of indispensable men.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles de Gaulle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/the-cemeteries-are-full-of-indispensable-men/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cemeteries" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/the-cemeteries-are-full-of-indispensable-men/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32c/charles-de-gaulle-2714_cemeteries_the-cemeteries-are-full-of-indispensable_2977612.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32c/charles-de-gaulle-2714_cemeteries_the-cemeteries-are-full-of-indispensable_2977612.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32c/charles-de-gaulle-2714_cemeteries_the-cemeteries-are-full-of-indispensable_2977612.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The cemeteries are full of indispensable men.” — Charles de Gaulle", "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": "Charles de Gaulle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The cemeteries are full of indispensable...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/the-cemeteries-are-full-of-indispensable-men/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/the-cemeteries-are-full-of-indispensable-men/#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 } } ] } ```