--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All human beings are vines. But…" description: "\"“All human beings are vines. But especially the idealist. He is a vine, and he needs to clutch and climb. And he despises the man who is a mere potato,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f5/d-h-lawrence-2-1397_idealism_all-human-beings-are-vines-but-especiall_1385538.jpg" --- # All human beings are vines. But especially the idealist… ![“All human beings are vines. But especially the idealist. He is a vine, and he needs to clutch and climb. And he despises the man who is a mere potato, or turnip, or lump of wood.” quote by D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f5/d-h-lawrence-2-1397_idealism_all-human-beings-are-vines-but-especiall_1385538.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f5/d-h-lawrence-2-1397_idealism_all-human-beings-are-vines-but-especiall_1385538.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f5/d-h-lawrence-2-1397_idealism_all-human-beings-are-vines-but-especiall_1385538.jpg) > ““All human beings are vines. But especially the idealist. He is a vine, and he needs to clutch and climb. And he despises the man who is a mere potato, or turnip, or lump of wood.”” [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Compares people to vines needing support to grow, contrasting idealists with those lacking ambition or direction. **In simple terms:** People need support to thrive; stagnation is limiting. Key Takeaway Seek supportive relationships and personal growth. Themes growth ambition support human nature Mood reflective critical Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career planning - personal development - mentorship programs - creative pursuits Key Concepts psychology metaphor self‑actualization Questions to Reflect On - What support do you need to climb? - How do you avoid becoming a “potato”? A Different Perspective Idealism may overlook practical constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Idealism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealism/) ## Related quotes > [Plant no tree sooner than the vine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alcaeus/plant-no-tree-sooner-than-the-vine/) [Alcaeus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alcaeus/) > [Plant no other tree before the vine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/plant-no-other-tree-before-the-vine/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [The branch of the vine does not worry, and toil, and rush here to seek for sunshine, and there to find rain. No; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hudson-taylor/the-branch-of-the-vine-does-not-worry-and-toil-and-rush-here-to-seek/) [Hudson Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hudson-taylor/) > [I always wanted to be a singer. I was going to finish school and go to Berkley, and then Vine came out, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lele-pons/i-always-wanted-to-be-a-singer-i-was-going-to-finish-school-and-go-to/) [Lele Pons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lele-pons/) > [Upon your shattered ruins where This vine will flourish still, as rare, As fresh, as fragrant as of old. Love will not crumble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-farjeon/upon-your-shattered-ruins-where-this-vine-will-flourish-still-as-rare/) [Eleanor Farjeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-farjeon/) > [The duty of the branch is to cling to the vine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/the-duty-of-the-branch-is-to-cling-to-the-vine/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [As the vine which has long twined its graceful foliage about the oak and been lifted by it into sunshine, will, when the hardy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/as-the-vine-which-has-long-twined-its-graceful-foliage-about-the-oak/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [What Anacharsis said of the vine may aptly enough be said of prosperity. She bears the three grapes of drunkenness, pleasure, and sorrow; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-st-john-1st-viscount-bolingbroke/what-anacharsis-said-of-the-vine-may-aptly-enough-be-said-of/) [Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-st-john-1st-viscount-bolingbroke/) > [The type of person that might thrive on Vine in a six-second clip might not be the same kind of entertainer who would shine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-oakley/the-type-of-person-that-might-thrive-on-vine-in-a-six-second-clip/) [Tyler Oakley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-oakley/) > [The vine that has been made to bear fruit in the spring, withers and dies before autumn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-rousseau/the-vine-that-has-been-made-to-bear-fruit-in-the-spring-withers-and/) [Jean-Baptiste Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-rousseau/) > [Compromise means to go just a little bit below what you know is right. 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But let him go forth, with the liberty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/like-the-cellar-growing-vine-is-the-christian-who-lives-in-the/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) ## More by D.H. Lawrence > [“It all had to be squeezed and squeezed again, to provide a thrill, to provide enjoyment. What did people mean, with their simply determined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/it-all-had-to-be-squeezed-and-squeezed-again-to-provide-a-thrill-to/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [“I WANT her though, to take the same from me. She touches me as if I were herself, her own. She has not realized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/i-want-her-though-to-take-the-same-from-me-she-touches-me-as-if-i/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [“His body was urgent against her, and she didn't have the heart anymore to fight...She saw his eyes, tense and brilliant, fierce, not loving.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/his-body-was-urgent-against-her-and-she-didn-t-have-the-heart-anymore/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [“It is not who begets us, that matters, but where fate places us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/it-is-not-who-begets-us-that-matters-but-where-fate-places-us/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [“If only you could tell them that living and spending isn't the same thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/if-only-you-could-tell-them-that-living-and-spending-isn-t-the-same/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [“Ce vreau eu sa stiu - ce ma nedumereste pe mine - este cum pot oamenii care traiesc in aceeasi tara, care vorbesc aceeasi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/ce-vreau-eu-sa-stiu-ce-ma-nedumereste-pe-mine-este-cum-pot-oamenii/) [D.h. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [“Me? Oh, intellectually I believe in having a good heart, a chirpy penis, a lively intelligence, and the courage to say ‘shit!’ in front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/me-oh-intellectually-i-believe-in-having-a-good-heart-a-chirpy-penis/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [“Couldn't one go right away, to the far ends of the earth, and be free from it all? One could not. The far ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/couldn-t-one-go-right-away-to-the-far-ends-of-the-earth-and-be-free/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [“Is there not the massive brilliant, out-flinging recklessness in the male soul, summed up in the sudden word: Andiamo! Andiamo! Let us go on.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/is-there-not-the-massive-brilliant-out-flinging-recklessness-in-the/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [“He had no particular character, having always depended on his position in society to give him position among men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/he-had-no-particular-character-having-always-depended-on-his-position/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [“she would be free of mundane care, she was a pure will towards right. She had sold herself, but she had a new freedom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/she-would-be-free-of-mundane-care-she-was-a-pure-will-towards-right/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [“Man is a mistake. He must go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/man-is-a-mistake-he-must-go/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [“Art has two great functions. First, it provides an emotional experience. And then, if we have the courage of our own feelings, it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/art-has-two-great-functions-first-it-provides-an-emotional-experience/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [“A new degree of anger came over him. What did it all matter? What did it matter if the mother talked Polish and cried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/a-new-degree-of-anger-came-over-him-what-did-it-all-matter-what-did/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [“But I will have it. I will love — it is my birthright. I will love the man I marry — that is all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/but-i-will-have-it-i-will-love-it-is-my-birthright-i-will-love-the/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) [Explore all 235 D.H. Lawrence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) ## More Idealism quotes > [“I'm an idealist who has outgrown my idealism I have nothing to do the rest of my life but do it and the rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-m-an-idealist-who-has-outgrown-my-idealism-i-have-nothing-to-do-the/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [What the nostalgic past and the imaginary future seem to share in common is a form of idealism, perhaps a dream of wholeness. Our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/what-the-nostalgic-past-and-the-imaginary-future-seem-to-share-in/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [In a democracy, the one thing that cannot be done is to destroy its trust, its hope, its idealism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-heinz/in-a-democracy-the-one-thing-that-cannot-be-done-is-to-destroy-its/) [Teresa Heinz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-heinz/) > [Love your country, not for her power or wealth, but for her selflessness and her idealism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/love-your-country-not-for-her-power-or-wealth-but-for-her/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [“David Hume, in a moment of acute skepticism, felt panicky in the solitude of his study and had to go out and join his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/david-hume-in-a-moment-of-acute-skepticism-felt-panicky-in-the/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [I see history as really cyclical in terms of the intense idealism, and the desire to create a better life outside of societal norms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/i-see-history-as-really-cyclical-in-terms-of-the-intense-idealism-and/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [I unconsciously decided that, even if it wasn't an ideal world, it should be. So I painted only the ideal aspects of it -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rockwell/i-unconsciously-decided-that-even-if-it-wasn-t-an-ideal-world-it/) [Norman Rockwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rockwell/) > [Only the broken-hearted idealist can become a cynic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-clifton/only-the-broken-hearted-idealist-can-become-a-cynic/) Mark Clifton > [Without magic, there is no art. Without art, there is no idealism. Without idealism, there is no integrity. Without integrity, there is nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/without-magic-there-is-no-art-without-art-there-is-no-idealism/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Women have been charged with deviousness and duplicity since the dawn of civilization so they have never been able to pretend that their masks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/women-have-been-charged-with-deviousness-and-duplicity-since-the-dawn/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuri-orlov/they-say-evil-prevails-when-good-men-fail-to-act-what-they-ought-to/) [Yuri Orlov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuri-orlov/) > [“The biggest catch need not be grandest at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-harglesis/the-biggest-catch-need-not-be-grandest-at-all/) [Andy Harglesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-harglesis/) > [“You know, the whole thing about perfectionism. The perfectionism is very dangerous. Because of course if your fidelity to perfectionism is too high, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/you-know-the-whole-thing-about-perfectionism-the-perfectionism-is/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“An idealist is someone who helps other people to be prosperous”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-henry-ford/an-idealist-is-someone-who-helps-other-people-to-be-prosperous/) Ford Henry Ford > [Could beauty be beaten out, O youth the cities have sent to strike at each other's strength, it is you who have kept her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilda-doolittle/could-beauty-be-beaten-out-o-youth-the-cities-have-sent-to-strike-at/) [Hilda Doolittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilda-doolittle/) [Browse all 584 Idealism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“All human beings are vines. 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