--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: EVERY intention which does not assert…" description: "\"EVERY intention which does not assert itself by deeds is a vain intention, and the speech which expresses it is idle speech. It is action which proves ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0f/eliphas-levi-11993_action_every-intention-which-does-not-assert-it_2256489.jpg" --- # EVERY intention which does not assert itself by deeds is a… ![“EVERY intention which does not assert itself by deeds is a vain intention, and the speech which expresses it is idle speech. It is action which proves life and establishes will” quote by Eliphas Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0f/eliphas-levi-11993_action_every-intention-which-does-not-assert-it_2256489.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0f/eliphas-levi-11993_action_every-intention-which-does-not-assert-it_2256489.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0f/eliphas-levi-11993_action_every-intention-which-does-not-assert-it_2256489.jpg) > “EVERY intention which does not assert itself by deeds is a vain intention, and the speech which expresses it is idle speech. It is action which proves life and establishes will” [Eliphas Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliphas-levi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intentions without action are meaningless; only deeds validate will and life. **In simple terms:** Talk is cheap; actions matter. Key Takeaway Turn intentions into actions. Themes action will meaning Mood motivational pragmatic Type ethical inspirational When to use this quote - goal setting - personal development - leadership Key Concepts philosophy ethics Questions to Reflect On - What intention will you act on today? - How do you measure the worth of a deed? A Different Perspective May ignore value of contemplation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deeds/) [Deeds Vain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deeds-vain-5175537/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idle/) [Idle Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idle-speech-1155067/) [Intention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intention/) [Intention Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intention-speech-5175536/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Prove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prove/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) [Vain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vain/) [Vain Intention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vain-intention-5175535/) ## Related quotes > [“It was mortifying to find how strong the habit of idle speech may become in one’s self. 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This nation is freedom's home, and freedom's defender.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/it-is-clear-that-the-future-of-freedom-and-peace-depend-on-the/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Life is not long, and too much of it must not pass in idle deliberation how it shall be spent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/life-is-not-long-and-too-much-of-it-must-not-pass-in-idle/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [We do not know today whether we are busy or idle. In times when we thought ourselves indolent, we have afterwards discovered that much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-do-not-know-today-whether-we-are-busy-or-idle-in-times-when-we/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [These eyes, tho' clear To outward view of blemish or of spot, Bereft of light, their seeing have forgot, Nor to their idle orbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/these-eyes-tho-clear-to-outward-view-of-blemish-or-of-spot-bereft-of/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [Why, just a couple of economic seasons ago, was idle cash considered an indication of bad management or lazy management? Because it meant that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/why-just-a-couple-of-economic-seasons-ago-was-idle-cash-considered-an/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [Man preys on man; and you mourn for the idle tapestry that decorated a gothic pillar, and the dronish bell that summoned the fat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/man-preys-on-man-and-you-mourn-for-the-idle-tapestry-that-decorated-a/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [I'm homosexual. How and why are idle questions. It's a little like wanting to know why my eyes are green.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-genet/i-m-homosexual-how-and-why-are-idle-questions-it-s-a-little-like/) [Jean Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-genet/) > [Fortunately, the mind is restless; when it uncovers a layer of its own deception, gives up an illusion, exposes a lie, it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-chernin/fortunately-the-mind-is-restless-when-it-uncovers-a-layer-of-its-own/) [Kim Chernin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-chernin/) > [Nature, being a wise and provident lady, governs her parts very wisely, methodically, and orderly: Also, she is very industrious and hates to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cavendish/nature-being-a-wise-and-provident-lady-governs-her-parts-very-wisely/) [Margaret Cavendish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cavendish/) ## More by Eliphas Levi > [Judge not; speak hardly at all; love and act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliphas-levi/judge-not-speak-hardly-at-all-love-and-act/) [Eliphas Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliphas-levi/) > [Passing beauties are only the fugitive reflections of the eternal. 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Philosophical gold in religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliphas-levi/like-all-magical-mysteries-the-secrets-of-the-great-work-have-a/) [Éliphas Lévi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliphas-levi/) > [An iron chain is less difficult to break than a chain of flowers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliphas-levi/an-iron-chain-is-less-difficult-to-break-than-a-chain-of-flowers/) [Eliphas Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliphas-levi/) > [Everything is possible to him who wills only what is true! Rest in Nature, study, know, then dare; dare to will, dare to act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliphas-levi/everything-is-possible-to-him-who-wills-only-what-is-true-rest-in/) [Eliphas Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliphas-levi/) > [What is more absurd and more impious than to attribute the name of Lucifer to the devil, that is, to personified evil. The intellectual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliphas-levi/what-is-more-absurd-and-more-impious-than-to-attribute-the-name-of/) [Eliphas Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliphas-levi/) > [Nothing can resist the will of man when he knows what is true and wills what is good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliphas-levi/nothing-can-resist-the-will-of-man-when-he-knows-what-is-true-and/) [Eliphas Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliphas-levi/) > [“Man's greatest wisdom is to choose his obsession well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliphas-levi/man-s-greatest-wisdom-is-to-choose-his-obsession-well/) [Éliphas Lévi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliphas-levi/) > [There exists in nature a force which is immeasurably more powerful than steam, and by means of which a single man, who knows how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliphas-levi/there-exists-in-nature-a-force-which-is-immeasurably-more-powerful/) [Eliphas Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliphas-levi/) > [There is nothing more to controlling demons than to do good and fear nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliphas-levi/there-is-nothing-more-to-controlling-demons-than-to-do-good-and-fear/) [Eliphas Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliphas-levi/) > [The Placer is an enemy who must necessarily become our lord or our slave; one doesn't enjoy if it's not defeated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliphas-levi/the-placer-is-an-enemy-who-must-necessarily-become-our-lord-or-our/) [Eliphas Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliphas-levi/) [Explore all 53 Eliphas Levi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliphas-levi/) ## More Action quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. 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If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Every thought I have imprisioned in expression I must free by my deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/every-thought-i-have-imprisioned-in-expression-i-must-free-by-my-deeds/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. 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