--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Pick a man, any man. That man there. See…" description: "\"“Pick a man, any man. That man there. See him. That man hatless. You know his opinion of the world. You can read it in his face, in his stance. Yet his..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/516/cormac-mccarthy-181_heretic_pick-a-man-any-man-that-man-there-see-hi_3069490.jpg" --- # Pick a man, any man. That man there. See him. That man… ![“Pick a man, any man. That man there. See him. That man hatless. You know his opinion of the world. You can read it in his face, in his stance. Yet his complaint that a man’s life is no bargain masks the actual case with him. Which is that men will not do as he wishes them to. Have never done…” quote by Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/516/cormac-mccarthy-181_heretic_pick-a-man-any-man-that-man-there-see-hi_3069490.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/516/cormac-mccarthy-181_heretic_pick-a-man-any-man-that-man-there-see-hi_3069490.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/516/cormac-mccarthy-181_heretic_pick-a-man-any-man-that-man-there-see-hi_3069490.jpg) > ““Pick a man, any man. That man there. See him. That man hatless. You know his opinion of the world. You can read it in his face, in his stance. Yet his complaint that a man’s life is no bargain masks the actual case with him. Which is that men will not do as he wishes them to. Have never done, never will do. That’s the way of things with him and his life is so balked about by difficulty and become so altered of its intended architecture that he is little more than a walking hovel hardly fit to house the human spirit at all. Can he say, such a man, that there is no malign thing set against him? That there is no power and no force and no cause? What manner of heretic could doubt agency and claimant alike? Can he believe that the wreckage of his existence is unentailed? No liens, no creditors? That gods of vengeance and of compassion alike lie sleeping in their crypt and whether our cries are for an accounting or for the destruction of the ledgers altogether they must evoke only the same silence and that it is this silence which will prevail?”” [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## 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 feels trapped by fate and external forces, questioning free will and the existence of any benevolent power. **In simple terms:** Life feels predetermined and oppressive. Key Takeaway Consider how agency and destiny shape personal struggle. Themes existentialism free will destiny Mood melancholy introspective serious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - therapy - creative writing - philosophical debate Key Concepts determinism agency human suffering Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel your choices are truly free? - What can be done when life feels predetermined? A Different Perspective The dense language may obscure practical meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creditors Gods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creditors-gods-5185179/) [Existence Unentailed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence-unentailed-5185180/) [Heretic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heretic/) [Heretic Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heretic-doubt-5185177/) [Human spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-spirit/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Manner Heretic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manner-heretic-5185178/) [Philosophical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophical/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) ## Related quotes > [The priest therefore saw what the anchorite could not. That God needs no witness. Neither to himself nor against. The truth is rather that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-priest-therefore-saw-what-the-anchorite-could-not-that-god-needs/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [Now that they talk about Islam as being a violent faith, when you look at the history of Christendom, the Crusades and the many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/now-that-they-talk-about-islam-as-being-a-violent-faith-when-you-look/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Dogma demands authority, rather than intelligent thought, as the source of opinion; it requires persecution of heretics and hostility to unbelievers; it asks of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/dogma-demands-authority-rather-than-intelligent-thought-as-the-source/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Well, another female child is born into the world! Last Sunday afternoon, Harriot Eaton Stanton - oh! the little heretic thus to desecrate that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/well-another-female-child-is-born-into-the-world-last-sunday/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [“I was born a heretic. I always distrusted people who know so much about what God wants them to do to their fellows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/i-was-born-a-heretic-i-always-distrusted-people-who-know-so-much/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [I have no expertise of other religious traditions so I'm not going to opine on them, but in Islam the more you know about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haroon-moghul/i-have-no-expertise-of-other-religious-traditions-so-i-m-not-going-to/) [Haroon Moghul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haroon-moghul/) > [Tout re volutionnaire finit en oppresseur ou en he re tique. Every revolutionary ends as an oppressor or a heretic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/tout-re-volutionnaire-finit-en-oppresseur-ou-en-he-re-tique-every/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Flesh is heretic. My body is a witch. I am burning it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eavan-boland/flesh-is-heretic-my-body-is-a-witch-i-am-burning-it/) [Eavan Boland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eavan-boland/) > [Consequently, heretics and schismatics, separated from the unity of this Body, are able to receive the same Sacrament, but with no benefit to themselves;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/consequently-heretics-and-schismatics-separated-from-the-unity-of/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > ["If any man thirst, let him come and drink from the rivers of living water" (cf. John 7:38). Where shall he who thirsts come?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyprian/if-any-man-thirst-let-him-come-and-drink-from-the-rivers-of-living/) [Cyprian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyprian/) > [The only good thing that we owe to Plato and Aristotle is that they brought forward many arguments which we can use against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/girolamo-savonarola/the-only-good-thing-that-we-owe-to-plato-and-aristotle-is-that-they/) [Girolamo Savonarola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/girolamo-savonarola/) > [... faithfully and strenuously you should resist the heretics in defense of the only true and life-giving faith, which the Church has received -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-clement-i/faithfully-and-strenuously-you-should-resist-the-heretics-in-defense/) [Pope Clement I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-clement-i/) > [“Every great philosopher, in their own way, questioned the fundamental assumptions that were present in the thinking of their time”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-west/every-great-philosopher-in-their-own-way-questioned-the-fundamental/) [Steven West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-west/) > [A heretic can be tolerated. But a heresy cannot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/a-heretic-can-be-tolerated-but-a-heresy-cannot/) [Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) > [Wicked sons do not have the Holy Ghost in the same way as do beloved sons, and yet they do have Baptism. So, too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/wicked-sons-do-not-have-the-holy-ghost-in-the-same-way-as-do-beloved/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) ## More by Cormac McCarthy > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“The events of the world can have no separate life from the world. And yet the world itself can have no temporal view of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-events-of-the-world-can-have-no-separate-life-from-the-world-and/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“I had two dreams about him after he died. I dont remember the first one all that well but it was about meetin him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/i-had-two-dreams-about-him-after-he-died-i-dont-remember-the-first/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You think people was meaner then than they are now? the deputy said. The old man was looking out at the flooded town. No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-think-people-was-meaner-then-than-they-are-now-the-deputy-said/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“They set forth in a crimson dawn where sky and earth closed in a razorous plane. Out there dark little archipelagos of cloud and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-set-forth-in-a-crimson-dawn-where-sky-and-earth-closed-in-a/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Nothing. Where all was burnt to ash before them no fires were to be had and the nights were long and dark and cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/nothing-where-all-was-burnt-to-ash-before-them-no-fires-were-to-be/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [He said that whether a man's life was writ in a book someplace or whether it took its form day by day was one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-said-that-whether-a-man-s-life-was-writ-in-a-book-someplace-or/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“He lives in a room above a courtyard behind a tavern and he comes down at night like some fairybook beast to fight with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-lives-in-a-room-above-a-courtyard-behind-a-tavern-and-he-comes/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Ultimo hombre. Last man standing, must've been one. Where'd he go?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/ultimo-hombre-last-man-standing-must-ve-been-one-where-d-he-go/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“To seek out the upright. No fall but preceded by a declination. He took great marching steps into the nothingness, counting them against his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/to-seek-out-the-upright-no-fall-but-preceded-by-a-declination-he-took/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“They went through the last of the cars and then walked up the track to the locomotive and climbed up to the catwalk. Rust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-went-through-the-last-of-the-cars-and-then-walked-up-the-track/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Night fell upon them dark and starblown and the wagon grew swollen near mute with dew. On their chairs in such black immobility these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/night-fell-upon-them-dark-and-starblown-and-the-wagon-grew-swollen/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“When I was in school I studied biology. I learned that in making their experiments scientists will take some group - bacteria, mice, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/when-i-was-in-school-i-studied-biology-i-learned-that-in-making-their/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [ “We none of us knew him to speak \[Dutch\]. Asked him where he'd learned it you know what he said? What did he say.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/we-none-of-us-knew-him-to-speak-dutch-asked-him-where-he-d-learned-it/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You know that the things you put it your head stay there, right?' 'Yeah. But you remember some things, don't you?' 'Yeah. You remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-know-that-the-things-you-put-it-your-head-stay-there-right-yeah/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) [Explore all 927 Cormac McCarthy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## More Heretic quotes > [Wicked sons do not have the Holy Ghost in the same way as do beloved sons, and yet they do have Baptism. So, too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/wicked-sons-do-not-have-the-holy-ghost-in-the-same-way-as-do-beloved/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [A heretic can be tolerated. But a heresy cannot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/a-heretic-can-be-tolerated-but-a-heresy-cannot/) [Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) > [“Every great philosopher, in their own way, questioned the fundamental assumptions that were present in the thinking of their time”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-west/every-great-philosopher-in-their-own-way-questioned-the-fundamental/) [Steven West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-west/) > [... faithfully and strenuously you should resist the heretics in defense of the only true and life-giving faith, which the Church has received -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-clement-i/faithfully-and-strenuously-you-should-resist-the-heretics-in-defense/) [Pope Clement I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-clement-i/) > [The only good thing that we owe to Plato and Aristotle is that they brought forward many arguments which we can use against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/girolamo-savonarola/the-only-good-thing-that-we-owe-to-plato-and-aristotle-is-that-they/) [Girolamo Savonarola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/girolamo-savonarola/) > ["If any man thirst, let him come and drink from the rivers of living water" (cf. John 7:38). Where shall he who thirsts come?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyprian/if-any-man-thirst-let-him-come-and-drink-from-the-rivers-of-living/) [Cyprian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyprian/) > [Consequently, heretics and schismatics, separated from the unity of this Body, are able to receive the same Sacrament, but with no benefit to themselves;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/consequently-heretics-and-schismatics-separated-from-the-unity-of/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Flesh is heretic. My body is a witch. I am burning it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eavan-boland/flesh-is-heretic-my-body-is-a-witch-i-am-burning-it/) [Eavan Boland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eavan-boland/) > [Tout re volutionnaire finit en oppresseur ou en he re tique. Every revolutionary ends as an oppressor or a heretic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/tout-re-volutionnaire-finit-en-oppresseur-ou-en-he-re-tique-every/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I have no expertise of other religious traditions so I'm not going to opine on them, but in Islam the more you know about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haroon-moghul/i-have-no-expertise-of-other-religious-traditions-so-i-m-not-going-to/) [Haroon Moghul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haroon-moghul/) > [“I was born a heretic. I always distrusted people who know so much about what God wants them to do to their fellows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/i-was-born-a-heretic-i-always-distrusted-people-who-know-so-much/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [Well, another female child is born into the world! Last Sunday afternoon, Harriot Eaton Stanton - oh! the little heretic thus to desecrate that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/well-another-female-child-is-born-into-the-world-last-sunday/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [Dogma demands authority, rather than intelligent thought, as the source of opinion; it requires persecution of heretics and hostility to unbelievers; it asks of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/dogma-demands-authority-rather-than-intelligent-thought-as-the-source/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Now that they talk about Islam as being a violent faith, when you look at the history of Christendom, the Crusades and the many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/now-that-they-talk-about-islam-as-being-a-violent-faith-when-you-look/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Here's what I love: when a great writer turns me into a Jew from Chicago, a lesbian out of South Carolina, or a black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/here-s-what-i-love-when-a-great-writer-turns-me-into-a-jew-from/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) [Browse all 242 Heretic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heretic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Pick a man, any man. That man there. See him. That man hatless. You know his opinion of the world. You can read it in his face, in his stance. Yet his complaint that a man’s life is no bargain masks the actual case with him. Which is that men will not do as he wishes them to. Have never done, never will do. That’s the way of things with him and his life is so balked about by difficulty and become so altered of its intended architecture that he is little more than a walking hovel hardly fit to house the human spirit at all. Can he say, such a man, that there is no malign thing set against him? That there is no power and no force and no cause? What manner of heretic could doubt agency and claimant alike? Can he believe that the wreckage of his existence is unentailed? No liens, no creditors? 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