--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is usually impossible for a large body…" description: "\"“It is usually impossible for a large body of people to support themselves indefinitely by borrowing money, although a few people enjoy a great success..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/357/ernest-hemingway-83_borrowing_it-is-usually-impossible-for-a-large-bod_3034746.jpg" --- # It is usually impossible for a large body of people to… ![“It is usually impossible for a large body of people to support themselves indefinitely by borrowing money, although a few people enjoy a great success at it for a time.” quote by Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/357/ernest-hemingway-83_borrowing_it-is-usually-impossible-for-a-large-bod_3034746.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/357/ernest-hemingway-83_borrowing_it-is-usually-impossible-for-a-large-bod_3034746.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/357/ernest-hemingway-83_borrowing_it-is-usually-impossible-for-a-large-bod_3034746.jpg) > ““It is usually impossible for a large body of people to support themselves indefinitely by borrowing money, although a few people enjoy a great success at it for a time.”” [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Large groups cannot sustain themselves by perpetual borrowing; occasional success is fleeting. **In simple terms:** Borrowing cannot support massive groups long‑term. Key Takeaway Promote sustainable financial practices. Themes economics sustainability debt Mood analytical cautious Type economic practical When to use this quote - government budgeting - business planning - personal finance Key Concepts finance theory social policy Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives to borrowing exist? - How to transition from debt dependence? A Different Perspective Debt cycles can be hard to break. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Borrowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borrowing/) [Borrowing money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borrowing-money/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Basically he never went to work and didn't have a job. Of course I thought he did. I thought he was on the phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christie-brinkley/basically-he-never-went-to-work-and-didn-t-have-a-job-of-course-i/) [Christie Brinkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christie-brinkley/) > [We live in an information economy. The problem is that information's usually impossible to get, at least in the right place, at the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/we-live-in-an-information-economy-the-problem-is-that-information-s/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [If you're running a business for the long term, the last thing you should be doing is borrowing money to buy back stock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-druckenmiller/if-you-re-running-a-business-for-the-long-term-the-last-thing-you/) [Stanley Druckenmiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-druckenmiller/) > [The Government has to stop borrowing as much money; if we don't, quite frankly New Zealand will be downgraded and interest rates will go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-key/the-government-has-to-stop-borrowing-as-much-money-if-we-don-t-quite/) [John Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-key/) > [Our role as producers is mainly limited to borrowing money from friends when we run short of cash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sreenivasan/our-role-as-producers-is-mainly-limited-to-borrowing-money-from/) [Sreenivasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sreenivasan/) > [We should not be borrowing money from the Chinese to bail out the Greeks. 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Intergalactic bailouts?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-hensarling/we-should-not-be-borrowing-money-from-the-chinese-to-bail-out-the/) [Jeb Hensarling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-hensarling/) > [There is no practice more dangerous than that of borrowing money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/there-is-no-practice-more-dangerous-than-that-of-borrowing-money/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [There were moments where I had no money in my account and I was borrowing money to do stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ice-spice/there-were-moments-where-i-had-no-money-in-my-account-and-i-was/) [Ice Spice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ice-spice/) > [As I have said for many years throughout this land, we're borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/as-i-have-said-for-many-years-throughout-this-land-we-re-borrowing/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [There is no practice more dangerous than that of borrowing money; for when money can be had in this way, repayment is seldom thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/there-is-no-practice-more-dangerous-than-that-of-borrowing-money-for/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Borrowing money from a bank is sometimes like borrowing money from your children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/borrowing-money-from-a-bank-is-sometimes-like-borrowing-money-from/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [I was only 21 when I bought a five-bedroom detached house in Stoke-on-Trent that was way outside of my financial status in life. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-caudwell/i-was-only-21-when-i-bought-a-five-bedroom-detached-house-in-stoke-on/) [John Caudwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-caudwell/) > [Except for the con men borrowing money they shouldn't get and the widows who have to visit with the handsome young men in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-mayer/except-for-the-con-men-borrowing-money-they-shouldn-t-get-and-the/) [Martin Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-mayer/) > [In theory, when you're working with a record label, you're just borrowing their money. And that's basically how the record industry works, right? It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carney/in-theory-when-you-re-working-with-a-record-label-you-re-just/) [Patrick Carney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carney/) > [Borrowing money on what's called 'easy terms,' is a one-way ticket to the Poor House. If you think it ain't a Sucker Game, why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/borrowing-money-on-what-s-called-easy-terms-is-a-one-way-ticket-to/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) ## More by Ernest Hemingway > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“There was no wind, and, outside now of the warm air of the cave, heavy with smoke of both tobacco and charcoal, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/there-was-no-wind-and-outside-now-of-the-warm-air-of-the-cave-heavy/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“It was not brilliant bull-fighting. It was only perfect bull-fighting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-was-not-brilliant-bull-fighting-it-was-only-perfect-bull-fighting/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [One cat just leads to another. The place is so damned big it doesn't really seem as though there were many cats until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/one-cat-just-leads-to-another-the-place-is-so-damned-big-it-doesn-t/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Creation's probably overrated. After all, God made the world in only six days and rested on the seventh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/creation-s-probably-overrated-after-all-god-made-the-world-in-only/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“Viva my husband who was Mayor of this town”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/viva-my-husband-who-was-mayor-of-this-town/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“The earth gets tired of being exploited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-earth-gets-tired-of-being-exploited/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/what-is-moral-is-what-you-feel-good-after-and-what-is-immoral-is-what/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“We drove out along the coast road. There was the green of the headlands, the white, red-roofed villas, patches of forest, and the ocean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/we-drove-out-along-the-coast-road-there-was-the-green-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [As a Nobel Prize winner I cannot but regret that the award was never given to Mark Twain, nor to Henry James, speaking only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/as-a-nobel-prize-winner-i-cannot-but-regret-that-the-award-was-never/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Oh, darling, I've been so miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/oh-darling-i-ve-been-so-miserable/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I read my own books sometimes to cheer me when it is hard to write, and then I remember that it was always difficult,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-read-my-own-books-sometimes-to-cheer-me-when-it-is-hard-to-write/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“You find everything on earth at Harry's." "Yes, my Colonel. Except, possibly, happiness." "I'll damn well find happiness, too," the Colonel assured him. "Happiness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-find-everything-on-earth-at-harry-s-yes-my-colonel-except/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“No. It's bad for me. Cole Porter wrote the words and the music. This knowledge that you're going mad for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/no-it-s-bad-for-me-cole-porter-wrote-the-words-and-the-music-this/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“everything kills everything else in some way. Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive. The boy keeps me alive, he thought. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/everything-kills-everything-else-in-some-way-fishing-kills-me-exactly/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) [Explore all 1,464 Ernest Hemingway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## More Borrowing quotes > [I would borrow money all day long, if the cost of borrowing is less than the expected return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-schneider/i-would-borrow-money-all-day-long-if-the-cost-of-borrowing-is-less/) [Brad Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-schneider/) > [ When the fountains of government \[borrowing\] abundance began to dry up, when through lack of funds and the impossibility of negotiating fresh loans the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-t-flynn/when-the-fountains-of-government-borrowing-abundance-began-to-dry-up/) [John T. Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-t-flynn/) > [By taking out a loan, I am committing myself to years of interest repayments, and therefore to years of wage slavery. And the UK…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/by-taking-out-a-loan-i-am-committing-myself-to-years-of-interest/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [Perhaps art criticism cannot be reformed in a logical sense because it was never well-formed in the first place. Art criticism has long been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elkins/perhaps-art-criticism-cannot-be-reformed-in-a-logical-sense-because/) [James Elkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elkins/) > [It’s always going to be easy to live like others or other’s life, because creating or innovating something of own is always difficult in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anuj/it-s-always-going-to-be-easy-to-live-like-others-or-other-s-life/) [Anuj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anuj/) > [A poet ought not to pick nature's pocket. Let him borrow, and so borrow as to repay by the very act of borrowing. Examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/a-poet-ought-not-to-pick-nature-s-pocket-let-him-borrow-and-so-borrow/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Several southern actors are coming to Mumbai. Likewise, many Bollywood actors are appearing down South or borrowing ideas from southern films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-charan/several-southern-actors-are-coming-to-mumbai-likewise-many-bollywood/) [Ram Charan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-charan/) > [As for borrowing Mr. Whistler's ideas about art, the only thoroughly original ideas I have heard him express have had reference to his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/as-for-borrowing-mr-whistler-s-ideas-about-art-the-only-thoroughly/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Saints and ordinary folks are the same from the start. Inquiring about a difference is like asking to borrow string when you've got a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hsu-yun/saints-and-ordinary-folks-are-the-same-from-the-start-inquiring-about/) Hsu Yun > [Borrowing money on what's called 'easy terms,' is a one-way ticket to the Poor House. If you think it ain't a Sucker Game, why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/borrowing-money-on-what-s-called-easy-terms-is-a-one-way-ticket-to/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [What I'm concerned about is endless borrowing, which is going to compromise our economy not only today but in the future. Because we know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ryan/what-i-m-concerned-about-is-endless-borrowing-which-is-going-to/) [Paul Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ryan/) > [Debt is a bottomless sea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/debt-is-a-bottomless-sea/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is a big problem. The problem is the country borrowed too much. We went on a borrowing binge, there was a housing boom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-osborne/there-is-a-big-problem-the-problem-is-the-country-borrowed-too-much/) [George Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-osborne/) > [Debtor countries may postpone the inevitable by borrowing from the IMF or U.S. Treasury to buy out bondholders. This saves the latter from taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/debtor-countries-may-postpone-the-inevitable-by-borrowing-from-the/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [We do not project power from bankruptcy court. We're borrowing a million dollars a minute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/we-do-not-project-power-from-bankruptcy-court-we-re-borrowing-a/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) [Browse all 303 Borrowing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borrowing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is usually impossible for a large body of people to support themselves indefinitely by borrowing money, although a few people enjoy a great success at it for a time.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ernest Hemingway" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-is-usually-impossible-for-a-large-body-of-people-to-support/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Borrowing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-is-usually-impossible-for-a-large-body-of-people-to-support/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/357/ernest-hemingway-83_borrowing_it-is-usually-impossible-for-a-large-bod_3034746.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/357/ernest-hemingway-83_borrowing_it-is-usually-impossible-for-a-large-bod_3034746.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/357/ernest-hemingway-83_borrowing_it-is-usually-impossible-for-a-large-bod_3034746.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is usually impossible for a large body of people to support themselves indefinitely by borrowing money…” — Ernest Hemingway", "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": "Ernest Hemingway", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It is usually impossible for a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-is-usually-impossible-for-a-large-body-of-people-to-support/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-is-usually-impossible-for-a-large-body-of-people-to-support/#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 } } ] } ```