--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As I had once done thus in my breaking…" description: "\"As I had once done thus in my breaking away from my Parents, so I could not be content now, but I must go and leave the happy View I had of being a ric..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50c/daniel-defoe-1971_breaking-away_as-i-had-once-done-thus-in-my-breaking-a_457542.jpg" --- # As I had once done thus in my breaking away from my… ![“As I had once done thus in my breaking away from my Parents, so I could not be content now, but I must go and leave the happy View I had of being a rich and thriving Man in my new Plantation, only to pursue a rash and immoderate Desire of rising faster than the Nature of the Thing admitted; and…” quote by Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50c/daniel-defoe-1971_breaking-away_as-i-had-once-done-thus-in-my-breaking-a_457542.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50c/daniel-defoe-1971_breaking-away_as-i-had-once-done-thus-in-my-breaking-a_457542.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50c/daniel-defoe-1971_breaking-away_as-i-had-once-done-thus-in-my-breaking-a_457542.jpg) > “As I had once done thus in my breaking away from my Parents, so I could not be content now, but I must go and leave the happy View I had of being a rich and thriving Man in my new Plantation, only to pursue a rash and immoderate Desire of rising faster than the Nature of the Thing admitted; and thus I cast my self down again into the deepest Gulph of human Misery that ever Man fell into, or perhaps could be consistent with Life and a State of Health in the World.” [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator describes abandoning a comfortable, prosperous life to chase an excessive ambition, leading to deep misery and questioning the limits of human desire. **In simple terms:** Leaving comfort for reckless ambition brings suffering. Key Takeaway Beware overreaching ambition. Themes ambition contentment human limits consequences wealth Mood melancholic reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career advancement - entrepreneurial pursuits - personal relationships - financial speculation Key Concepts Hubris self‑destruction existential crisis Questions to Reflect On - Is your current goal worth the potential loss of peace? - How do you balance ambition with contentment? A Different Perspective Excessive ambition can cause irreversible damage to wellbeing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breaking away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaking-away/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Ambition is the immoderate desire for honor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/ambition-is-the-immoderate-desire-for-honor/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [Menon the Thessalian did not either conceal his immoderate desire of riches or his desire of commanding, in order to increase them, or of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xenophon/menon-the-thessalian-did-not-either-conceal-his-immoderate-desire-of/) [Xenophon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xenophon/) > [Immoderate desire is the mark of a child, not a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/immoderate-desire-is-the-mark-of-a-child-not-a-man/) [Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/) > [Ambition is the immoderate desire for power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/ambition-is-the-immoderate-desire-for-power/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [“In fact, he who has only beheld the misery of man has seen nothing; the misery of woman is what he must see; he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/in-fact-he-who-has-only-beheld-the-misery-of-man-has-seen-nothing-the/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [We may convert every house in the country into a charity asylum, we may fill the land with hospitals, but the misery of man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/we-may-convert-every-house-in-the-country-into-a-charity-asylum-we/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“He who has seen the misery of man only has seen nothing, he must see the misery of woman; he who has seen the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-who-has-seen-the-misery-of-man-only-has-seen-nothing-he-must-see/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I am about to be married, and am of course in all the misery of a man in pursuit of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/i-am-about-to-be-married-and-am-of-course-in-all-the-misery-of-a-man/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [For Fate has wove the thread of life with pain, And twins ev'n from the birth are Misery and Man!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/for-fate-has-wove-the-thread-of-life-with-pain-and-twins-ev-n-from/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [The misery of man proceeds not from any single crush of overwhelming evil, but from small vexations continually repeated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-misery-of-man-proceeds-not-from-any-single-crush-of-overwhelming/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [A victor only breeds hatred, while a defeated man lives in misery, but a man at peace within lives happily, abandoning up ideas of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/a-victor-only-breeds-hatred-while-a-defeated-man-lives-in-misery-but/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/they-fuck-you-up-your-mum-and-dad-they-may-not-mean-to-but-they-do/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [It is misery, you know, unspeakable misery for the man who lives alone and who detests sordid, casual affairs; not old enough to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luigi-pirandello/it-is-misery-you-know-unspeakable-misery-for-the-man-who-lives-alone/) [Luigi Pirandello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luigi-pirandello/) > [“If the essence of things is unknowable, the misery of man cannot be fathomed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/if-the-essence-of-things-is-unknowable-the-misery-of-man-cannot-be/) [Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/) > [Man hands on misery to man. It deepens like a coastal shelf. Get out as early as you can, and don't have any kids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/man-hands-on-misery-to-man-it-deepens-like-a-coastal-shelf-get-out-as/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) ## More by Daniel Defoe > [“Strah od opasnosti je deset tisuća puta snažniji nego sama opasnost kad se pojavi pred očima.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/strah-od-opasnosti-je-deset-tisu-a-puta-sna-niji-nego-sama-opasnost/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [“He told me it was for men of desperate fortunes on one hand, or of aspiring, superior fortune on the other, who when abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/he-told-me-it-was-for-men-of-desperate-fortunes-on-one-hand-or-of/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [“From this moment I began to conclude in my mind that it was possible for me to be more happy in this forsaken, solitary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/from-this-moment-i-began-to-conclude-in-my-mind-that-it-was-possible/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [Wit is the Fruitful Womb where Thoughts conceive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/wit-is-the-fruitful-womb-where-thoughts-conceive/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [Wherever God erects a house of prayer the Devil always builds a chapel there; And 't will be found, upon examination, the latter has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/wherever-god-erects-a-house-of-prayer-the-devil-always-builds-a/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [Wit, like the Belly, if it be not fed, Will starve the Members, and distract the Head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/wit-like-the-belly-if-it-be-not-fed-will-starve-the-members-and/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [“was to prepare more land, for I had now seed enough to sow above an acre of ground. Before I did this, I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/was-to-prepare-more-land-for-i-had-now-seed-enough-to-sow-above-an/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [Justice is always Violence to the Party offending, for every Man is Innocent in his own Eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/justice-is-always-violence-to-the-party-offending-for-every-man-is/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [“and in that one night's wickedness I drowned all my repentance,all my reflections upon my past conduct,and all my resolution for the future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/and-in-that-one-night-s-wickedness-i-drowned-all-my-repentance-all-my/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [“Thus fear of danger is ten thousand times more terrifying than danger itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/thus-fear-of-danger-is-ten-thousand-times-more-terrifying-than-danger/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [As for women that do not think their own safety worth their thought, that impatient of their present state, resolve as they call it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/as-for-women-that-do-not-think-their-own-safety-worth-their-thought/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [“It is as reasonable to represent one kind of imprisonment by another as it is to represent anything that really exists by that which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/it-is-as-reasonable-to-represent-one-kind-of-imprisonment-by-another/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [So possible is it for us to roll ourselves up in wickedness, till we grow invulnerable by conscience; and that sentinel, once dozed, sleeps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/so-possible-is-it-for-us-to-roll-ourselves-up-in-wickedness-till-we/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [Now, said I aloud, My dear Father's Words are come to pass: God's Justice has overtaken me, and I have none to help or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/now-said-i-aloud-my-dear-father-s-words-are-come-to-pass-god-s/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [“I stood still an hour or thereabouts without trespassing on our orders (for so long the caravan was in passing the gate), to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/i-stood-still-an-hour-or-thereabouts-without-trespassing-on-our/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) [Explore all 173 Daniel Defoe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) ## More Breaking away quotes > [To revolt within society in order to make it a little better, to bring about certain reforms, is like the revolt of prisoners to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/to-revolt-within-society-in-order-to-make-it-a-little-better-to-bring/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I was extremely close with my parents. Breaking away from that is a double-edged sword: It's something you need to do, but it's hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-cardellini/i-was-extremely-close-with-my-parents-breaking-away-from-that-is-a/) [Linda Cardellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-cardellini/) > [The danger is to cling to comfort and custom at a time when events demand breaking away from both. But it is also foolish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-moore/the-danger-is-to-cling-to-comfort-and-custom-at-a-time-when-events/) [Geoffrey Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-moore/) > [“Like a porcelain facade, her outer shell was breaking away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-kuehlke/like-a-porcelain-facade-her-outer-shell-was-breaking-away/) L.A. Kuehlke > [A lot of times, when a band finds success with a certain style or sound, they have a really hard time breaking away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-cameron/a-lot-of-times-when-a-band-finds-success-with-a-certain-style-or/) [Matt Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-cameron/) > [Breaking Away' was a great experience. It's the kind of movie that engenders a lot of goodwill from people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-christopher/breaking-away-was-a-great-experience-it-s-the-kind-of-movie-that/) Dennis Christopher > [In breaking away from the familiar and the expected, you'll be forced and privileged to face greater challenges, learn harder lessons, and really get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-cutrone/in-breaking-away-from-the-familiar-and-the-expected-you-ll-be-forced/) [Kelly Cutrone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-cutrone/) > [We are empty shells if we do not possess, if we do not fill our life with furniture, with music, with knowledge, with this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/we-are-empty-shells-if-we-do-not-possess-if-we-do-not-fill-our-life/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [Scotland has always been independent. We have our own legal system, our own culture; I don't see the issue. We are different and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-barr/scotland-has-always-been-independent-we-have-our-own-legal-system-our/) [Damian Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-barr/) > [We said that each time a country is liberated it is a defeat for the world imperialist system. But we must agree that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/we-said-that-each-time-a-country-is-liberated-it-is-a-defeat-for-the/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [ Authors and artists are still afraid of breaking away as far as \[William Burroughs\] did... And he did it in the 50s! ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yony-leyser/authors-and-artists-are-still-afraid-of-breaking-away-as-far-as/) [Yony Leyser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yony-leyser/) > [Another sleepless night, another day just washed away so you count your scars, hoping for a new day. I know you have the strength…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/another-sleepless-night-another-day-just-washed-away-so-you-count/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We were breaking away from anything that linked us to this world, but by doing that those ideas remained even stronger. Fables represent the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-abreu/we-were-breaking-away-from-anything-that-linked-us-to-this-world-but/) [Alex Abreu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-abreu/) > [“Getting away from the media was the first step of breaking away from the crowds, and let me clearly state, not in 1 day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/korel-eraybar/getting-away-from-the-media-was-the-first-step-of-breaking-away-from/) Korel Eraybar > [I am surely happy to be breaking away from the norm when it comes to my songs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-sriram/i-am-surely-happy-to-be-breaking-away-from-the-norm-when-it-comes-to/) [Sid Sriram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sid-sriram/) [Browse all 23 Breaking away quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaking-away/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As I had once done thus in my breaking away from my Parents, so I could not be content now, but I must go and leave the happy View I had of being a rich and thriving Man in my new Plantation, only to pursue a rash and immoderate Desire of rising faster than the Nature of the Thing admitted; and thus I cast my self down again into the deepest Gulph of human Misery that ever Man fell into, or perhaps could be consistent with Life and a State of Health in the World.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Daniel Defoe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/as-i-had-once-done-thus-in-my-breaking-away-from-my-parents-so-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Breaking away" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/as-i-had-once-done-thus-in-my-breaking-away-from-my-parents-so-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50c/daniel-defoe-1971_breaking-away_as-i-had-once-done-thus-in-my-breaking-a_457542.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50c/daniel-defoe-1971_breaking-away_as-i-had-once-done-thus-in-my-breaking-a_457542.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50c/daniel-defoe-1971_breaking-away_as-i-had-once-done-thus-in-my-breaking-a_457542.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As I had once done thus in my breaking away from my Parents, so I could not be content now, but I must go…” — Daniel Defoe", "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": "Daniel Defoe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "As I had once done thus...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/as-i-had-once-done-thus-in-my-breaking-away-from-my-parents-so-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/as-i-had-once-done-thus-in-my-breaking-away-from-my-parents-so-i/#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 } } ] } ```