--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Give, do not lend; after death who will…" description: "\"Give, do not lend; after death who will thank you?\" — E. M. Forster" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66e/e-m-forster-1118_after-death_give-do-not-lend-after-death-who-will-th_2427785.png" --- # Give, do not lend; after death who will thank you? ![“Give, do not lend; after death who will thank you?” quote by E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66e/e-m-forster-1118_after-death_give-do-not-lend-after-death-who-will-th_2427785.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66e/e-m-forster-1118_after-death_give-do-not-lend-after-death-who-will-th_2427785.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66e/e-m-forster-1118_after-death_give-do-not-lend-after-death-who-will-th_2427785.png) > “Give, do not lend; after death who will thank you?” [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Offering help without expectation of repayment is virtuous; after death, no one can thank you. **In simple terms:** Give freely, not for thanks. Key Takeaway Practice generosity without seeking reward. Themes generosity selflessness legacy mortality human kindness Mood warm thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - charitable giving - volunteering - mentor relationships - community building Key Concepts altruism ethical behavior spiritual reward Questions to Reflect On - What motivates you to give? - How do you balance self‑care with generosity? A Different Perspective Self‑sacrifice may lead to personal neglect. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [After death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/after-death/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death Thank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-thank-240771/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Lend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lend/) [Lend Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lend-death-240770/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Thank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thank/) ## Related quotes > [O death! We thank you for the light that you will shed upon our ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-benigne-bossuet/o-death-we-thank-you-for-the-light-that-you-will-shed-upon-our/) [Jacques-Benigne Bossuet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-benigne-bossuet/) > [I don't know how to thank everyone for all their help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-know-how-to-thank-everyone-for-all-their-help/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Thank you for being you. Accepting me in all ways, making me happy when Im sad and thanks for all the pain that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/thank-you-for-being-you-accepting-me-in-all-ways-making-me-happy-when/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ I just want to thank \[my wife\] for loving me where I was weak. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-rice/i-just-want-to-thank-my-wife-for-loving-me-where-i-was-weak/) [Ray Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-rice/) > [GOqnxm A big thank you for your post.Thanks Again. Awesome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oem-software-online/goqnxm-a-big-thank-you-for-your-post-thanks-again-awesome/) [Oem Software Online](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oem-software-online/) > [How can you thank a man for giving you what's already yours? How then can you thank him for giving you only part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/how-can-you-thank-a-man-for-giving-you-what-s-already-yours-how-then/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [I have a lot of work to do to be able to return the support I have received from so many people. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sheen/i-have-a-lot-of-work-to-do-to-be-able-to-return-the-support-i-have/) [Charlie Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sheen/) > [For me 'Thank You'. This word has a very deep meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yunho/for-me-thank-you-this-word-has-a-very-deep-meaning/) [Yunho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yunho/) > [“ 'I don't remember if I thanked you for saving me,' he said. 'So thank you.' 'You're welcome.' 'Though after this morning, I've added…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-elsborg/i-don-t-remember-if-i-thanked-you-for-saving-me-he-said-so-thank-you/) [Barbara Elsborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-elsborg/) > [I thank Him every chance I get - on my knees praying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magic-johnson/i-thank-him-every-chance-i-get-on-my-knees-praying/) [Magic Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magic-johnson/) > [A big thank you for your post.Thanks Again. Really Cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/notebook-review/a-big-thank-you-for-your-post-thanks-again-really-cool/) [Notebook Review](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/notebook-review/) > [Every night I thank God for giving me you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-night-i-thank-god-for-giving-me-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just remember: to be grateful and thank the people who are there and support you along the way is a great start to success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meryl-davis/just-remember-to-be-grateful-and-thank-the-people-who-are-there-and/) [Meryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meryl-davis/) > [“My thank-yous always come out rather labored. I often don't give them at all. People do what they're supposed to do and then wait…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/my-thank-yous-always-come-out-rather-labored-i-often-don-t-give-them/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [I want to thank each and every one of you for having extinguished yourselves this session.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gib-lewis/i-want-to-thank-each-and-every-one-of-you-for-having-extinguished/) [Gib Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gib-lewis/) ## More by E. M. Forster > [Do not be proud of your inconsistency. It is a pity, it is a pity that we should be equipped like this. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/do-not-be-proud-of-your-inconsistency-it-is-a-pity-it-is-a-pity-that/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Reverence is fatal to literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/reverence-is-fatal-to-literature/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [This element of surprise or mystery - the detective element as it is sometimes rather emptily called - is of great importance in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/this-element-of-surprise-or-mystery-the-detective-element-as-it-is/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [It is so difficult - at least, I find it difficult - to understand people who speak the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/it-is-so-difficult-at-least-i-find-it-difficult-to-understand-people/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Railway termini are our gates to the glorious and the unknown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/railway-termini-are-our-gates-to-the-glorious-and-the-unknown/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Ah, but you see, I didn't want to be fair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/ah-but-you-see-i-didn-t-want-to-be-fair/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [The final test for a novel will be our affection for it, as it is the test of our friends, and of anything else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/the-final-test-for-a-novel-will-be-our-affection-for-it-as-it-is-the/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [America is rather like life. You can usually find in it what you look for It will probably be interesting, and it is sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/america-is-rather-like-life-you-can-usually-find-in-it-what-you-look/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [A critic has no right to the narrowness which is the frequent prerogative of the creative artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/a-critic-has-no-right-to-the-narrowness-which-is-the-frequent/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [All men are equal — all men, that is to say, who possess umbrellas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/all-men-are-equal-all-men-that-is-to-say-who-possess-umbrellas/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Before the civil war, Pottibakia was a normal member of the Comity of Nations. She erected tariff walls, broke treaties, persecuted minorities, obstructed at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/before-the-civil-war-pottibakia-was-a-normal-member-of-the-comity-of/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Chess is a forcing house where the fruits of character can ripen more fully than in life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/chess-is-a-forcing-house-where-the-fruits-of-character-can-ripen-more/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [I distrust Great Men... I believe in aristocracy, though... Its members are to be found in all nations and classes, and all through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/i-distrust-great-men-i-believe-in-aristocracy-though-its-members-are/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Liking one person is an extra reason for liking another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/liking-one-person-is-an-extra-reason-for-liking-another/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [We are not concerned with the very poor. They are unthinkable, and only to be approached by the statistician or the poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/we-are-not-concerned-with-the-very-poor-they-are-unthinkable-and-only/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) [Explore all 287 E. M. Forster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) ## More After death quotes > [The world of imagination is the world of eternity. It is the divine bosom into which we shall all go after death of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/the-world-of-imagination-is-the-world-of-eternity-it-is-the-divine/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [After death there is nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/after-death-there-is-nothing/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [For days after death hair and fingernails continue to grow, but phone calls taper off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-carson/for-days-after-death-hair-and-fingernails-continue-to-grow-but-phone/) [Johnny Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-carson/) > [ Now they \[the Powers\] have started the aggression, and the extinction of our nation is imminent. If we just fold our arms and yield… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/empress-dowager-cixi/now-they-the-powers-have-started-the-aggression-and-the-extinction-of/) [Empress Dowager Cixi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/empress-dowager-cixi/) > [You're a religious man, ... You believe in God and life after death. I also believe. When we come to the other world and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/you-re-a-religious-man-you-believe-in-god-and-life-after-death-i-also/) [Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/) > [And after death something new begins, over which all the powers of the world of death can have no more control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/and-after-death-something-new-begins-over-which-all-the-powers-of-the/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [If the Soul sees, after death , what passes on this earth , and watches over the welfare of those it loves, then must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/if-the-soul-sees-after-death-what-passes-on-this-earth-and-watches/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [When we see the many grave-stones which have fallen in, which have been defaced by the footsteps of the congregation, which lie buried under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/when-we-see-the-many-grave-stones-which-have-fallen-in-which-have/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [It is for all men that come into the world once to die; and after death the judgment! And since death is a debt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rumbold/it-is-for-all-men-that-come-into-the-world-once-to-die-and-after/) [Richard Rumbold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rumbold/) > [What we should be after death, we have to attain in life, i.e. holiness and bliss. Here on earth the Kingdom of God begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paracelsus/what-we-should-be-after-death-we-have-to-attain-in-life-i-e-holiness/) [Paracelsus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paracelsus/) > [(After death.) So few people who come across, possess awareness of any kind. All they bring along with them are worthless values. All they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-matheson/after-death-so-few-people-who-come-across-possess-awareness-of-any/) [Richard Matheson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-matheson/) > [I think I have fairly heard and fairly weighed the evidence on both sides, and I remain an utter disbeliever in almost all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/i-think-i-have-fairly-heard-and-fairly-weighed-the-evidence-on-both/) [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) > [I want people to emphasize life before death as opposed to life after death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayaan-hirsi-ali/i-want-people-to-emphasize-life-before-death-as-opposed-to-life-after/) [Ayaan Hirsi Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayaan-hirsi-ali/) > [I thought of the priest who'd told me that many religions hold that it is easier to be closely connected to people we love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-thought-of-the-priest-who-d-told-me-that-many-religions-hold-that/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“And a soul would run by a living being, touch them softly on the shoulder or cheek, and continue on its way to heaven.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/and-a-soul-would-run-by-a-living-being-touch-them-softly-on-the/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) [Browse all 303 After death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/after-death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Give, do not lend; after death who will thank you?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. M. Forster" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/give-do-not-lend-after-death-who-will-thank-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "After death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/give-do-not-lend-after-death-who-will-thank-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66e/e-m-forster-1118_after-death_give-do-not-lend-after-death-who-will-th_2427785.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66e/e-m-forster-1118_after-death_give-do-not-lend-after-death-who-will-th_2427785.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66e/e-m-forster-1118_after-death_give-do-not-lend-after-death-who-will-th_2427785.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Give, do not lend; after death who will thank you?” — E. M. Forster", "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": "E. M. Forster", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Give, do not lend; after death...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/give-do-not-lend-after-death-who-will-thank-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/give-do-not-lend-after-death-who-will-thank-you/#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 } } ] } ```