--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Men are but men; we did not make ourselves." description: "\"Men are but men; we did not make ourselves.\" — Edward Young" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/edward-young-1446_greatness_men-are-but-men-we-did-not-make-ourselve_1798947.png" --- # Men are but men; we did not make ourselves. ![“Men are but men; we did not make ourselves.” quote by Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/edward-young-1446_greatness_men-are-but-men-we-did-not-make-ourselve_1798947.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/edward-young-1446_greatness_men-are-but-men-we-did-not-make-ourselve_1798947.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/edward-young-1446_greatness_men-are-but-men-we-did-not-make-ourselve_1798947.png) > “Men are but men; we did not make ourselves.” [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human beings are limited by nature and cannot escape their innate flaws. **In simple terms:** We are bound by our nature. Key Takeaway Accept human limits. Themes human nature limitations humility Mood reflective somber Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal growth - leadership - teamwork Key Concepts Existentialism self-awareness Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize your limits? - What can humility achieve? A Different Perspective Human potential is often overstated. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [We were each other's rock. 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Did you make some of those up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-lee-o-malley/i-uh-what-are-you-having-did-you-make-some-of-those-up/) [Bryan Lee O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-lee-o-malley/) > [“A new creation may look simple and you may say that anyone could have done it, but the fact is that you did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-holm-garibay/a-new-creation-may-look-simple-and-you-may-say-that-anyone-could-have/) [Ingrid Holm-Garibay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-holm-garibay/) > [No modest man ever did or ever will make a fortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wortley-montagu/no-modest-man-ever-did-or-ever-will-make-a-fortune/) [Mary Wortley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wortley-montagu/) > [All I did was make the best of the opportunity that I got in 'Company.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-oberoi/all-i-did-was-make-the-best-of-the-opportunity-that-i-got-in-company/) [Vivek Oberoi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-oberoi/) > [The No. 1 question I get from everybody is, 'How did you make it?' I'm like, Don't worry about making it. There is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-daly/the-no-1-question-i-get-from-everybody-is-how-did-you-make-it-i-m/) [Carson Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-daly/) > [Hanging out with comics, all they did was make fun of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-iglesias/hanging-out-with-comics-all-they-did-was-make-fun-of-me/) [Gabriel Iglesias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-iglesias/) > [All you ever did was make me cry. May be one day you will realize that you had a good girl in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-you-ever-did-was-make-me-cry-may-be-one-day-you-will-realize-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought about the problems I had growing up: how I prioritised football over school, but people were telling me I wouldn't make it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richarlison/i-thought-about-the-problems-i-had-growing-up-how-i-prioritised/) [Richarlison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richarlison/) > [Nature did not make me willowy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nature-did-not-make-me-willowy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Being in a minority, even a minority of one, did not make you mad. There”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/being-in-a-minority-even-a-minority-of-one-did-not-make-you-mad-there/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More by Edward Young > [Give me, indulgent gods with mind serene, And guiltless heart, to range the sylvan scene, No splendid poverty, no smiling care, No well-bred hate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/give-me-indulgent-gods-with-mind-serene-and-guiltless-heart-to-range/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [The spirit walks of every day deceased.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/the-spirit-walks-of-every-day-deceased/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [Tomorrow is a satire on today, And shows its weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/tomorrow-is-a-satire-on-today-and-shows-its-weakness/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [Be wise with speed; a fool at forty is a fool indeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/be-wise-with-speed-a-fool-at-forty-is-a-fool-indeed/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [Procrastination is the thief of time: Year after year it steals, till all are fled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/procrastination-is-the-thief-of-time-year-after-year-it-steals-till/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [ \[The\] public path of life Is dirty. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/the-public-path-of-life-is-dirty/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [He mourns the dead who lives as they desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/he-mourns-the-dead-who-lives-as-they-desire/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [Too low they build who build below the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/too-low-they-build-who-build-below-the-skies/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [We are all born originals, why is it so many of us die copies?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/we-are-all-born-originals-why-is-it-so-many-of-us-die-copies/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [“By night an atheist half believes in God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/by-night-an-atheist-half-believes-in-god/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [Britannia's shame! There took her gloomy flight, On wing impetuous, a black sullen soul . Less base the fear of death than fear of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/britannia-s-shame-there-took-her-gloomy-flight-on-wing-impetuous-a/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [The chamber where the good man meets his fate Is privileg'd beyond the common walk Of virtuous life, quite in the verge of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/the-chamber-where-the-good-man-meets-his-fate-is-privileg-d-beyond/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [Some go to Church, proud humbly to repent, And come back much more guilty than they went: One way they look, another way they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/some-go-to-church-proud-humbly-to-repent-and-come-back-much-more/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [He that is ungrateful has no guilt but one; all other crimes may pass for virtues in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/he-that-is-ungrateful-has-no-guilt-but-one-all-other-crimes-may-pass/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [The maid that loves goes out to sea upon a shattered plank, and puts her trust in miracles for safety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/the-maid-that-loves-goes-out-to-sea-upon-a-shattered-plank-and-puts/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) [Explore all 238 Edward Young quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) ## More Greatness quotes > [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Every man who is high up likes to think that he has done it all himself, and the wife smiles and lets it go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-man-who-is-high-up-likes-to-think-that-he-has-done-it-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [We need to discover all over again that worship is natural to the Christian, as it was to the godly Israelites who wrote the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/we-need-to-discover-all-over-again-that-worship-is-natural-to-the/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Nothing brings out the lower traits of human nature like office-seeking. Men of good character and impulses are betrayed by it into all sorts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/nothing-brings-out-the-lower-traits-of-human-nature-like-office/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [Men generally decide upon a middle course, which is most hazardous, for they know neither how to be entirely good nor entirely bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/men-generally-decide-upon-a-middle-course-which-is-most-hazardous-for/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [Every man remembers his childhood as a kind of mythical age, just as every nation's childhood is its mythical age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/every-man-remembers-his-childhood-as-a-kind-of-mythical-age-just-as/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [Greatness is not guarding yourself from people. Greatness is being accepted by the people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/greatness-is-not-guarding-yourself-from-people-greatness-is-being/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [The superior man is distressed by his want (lack) of ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-superior-man-is-distressed-by-his-want-lack-of-ability/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Great men don't 'move to the center' - great men move the center!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/great-men-don-t-move-to-the-center-great-men-move-the-center/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Perfection is the enemy of greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/perfection-is-the-enemy-of-greatness/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [Men want a challenge, but they want a challenge they can win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-gaskell/men-want-a-challenge-but-they-want-a-challenge-they-can-win/) Whitney Gaskell [Browse all 7,631 Greatness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Men are but men; we did not make ourselves.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Young" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/men-are-but-men-we-did-not-make-ourselves/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Greatness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/men-are-but-men-we-did-not-make-ourselves/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/edward-young-1446_greatness_men-are-but-men-we-did-not-make-ourselve_1798947.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/edward-young-1446_greatness_men-are-but-men-we-did-not-make-ourselve_1798947.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/edward-young-1446_greatness_men-are-but-men-we-did-not-make-ourselve_1798947.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Men are but men; we did not make ourselves.” — Edward Young", "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": "Edward Young", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Men are but men; we did...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/men-are-but-men-we-did-not-make-ourselves/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/men-are-but-men-we-did-not-make-ourselves/#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 } } ] } ```