--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The higher a man rises, the more things…" description: "\"“The higher a man rises, the more things he must do without. There’s no room on the pinnacle except for the man himself. The more perfect he is, the mo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45b/fernando-pessoa-177_quote_the-higher-a-man-rises-the-more-things-h_1628618.jpg" --- # The higher a man rises, the more things he must do… ![“The higher a man rises, the more things he must do without. There’s no room on the pinnacle except for the man himself. The more perfect he is, the more complete; and the more complete, the less other.” quote by Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45b/fernando-pessoa-177_quote_the-higher-a-man-rises-the-more-things-h_1628618.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45b/fernando-pessoa-177_quote_the-higher-a-man-rises-the-more-things-h_1628618.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45b/fernando-pessoa-177_quote_the-higher-a-man-rises-the-more-things-h_1628618.jpg) > ““The higher a man rises, the more things he must do without. There’s no room on the pinnacle except for the man himself. The more perfect he is, the more complete; and the more complete, the less other.”” [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ambition isolates; the more one achieves, the fewer companions and comforts remain. **In simple terms:** Success can lead to loneliness and loss of simple pleasures. Key Takeaway Balance ambition with meaningful connections. Themes ambition loneliness success isolation Mood contemplative somber inspirational Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - career advancement - celebrity - personal growth - spiritual seeking Key Concepts existentialism human condition Questions to Reflect On - What does true fulfillment look like beyond achievement? - How can you stay grounded while pursuing greatness? A Different Perspective Perfectionism can alienate others and diminish shared experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [Christ rises above all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-b-simpson/christ-rises-above-all-things/) [A. B. Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-b-simpson/) > [Anyone who rises above the things of this world, to which you kneel, is mightier than you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-hazm/anyone-who-rises-above-the-things-of-this-world-to-which-you-kneel-is/) [Ibn Hazm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-hazm/) > [The higher man is distinguished from the lower by his fearlessness and his readiness to challenge misfortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-higher-man-is-distinguished-from-the-lower-by-his-fearlessness/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [You are grown so very great now, yet the higher a man climbs the farther he has to fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-grown-so-very-great-now-yet-the-higher-a-man-climbs-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation ever rises higher than its women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-l-mcclung/no-nation-ever-rises-higher-than-its-women/) [Nellie L. McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-l-mcclung/) > [The higher a man stands on the social ladder, the greater the number of people he is connected with, the more power he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-higher-a-man-stands-on-the-social-ladder-the-greater-the-number/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The higher a man is in grace, the lower he will be in his own esteem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/the-higher-a-man-is-in-grace-the-lower-he-will-be-in-his-own-esteem/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Angels are spirits, flames of fire; they are higher than man, they have wider connections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-simpson/angels-are-spirits-flames-of-fire-they-are-higher-than-man-they-have/) [Matthew Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-simpson/) > [“Just as from dust is evolved the man, from the deeds which he does is evolved the higher man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/compton-gage/just-as-from-dust-is-evolved-the-man-from-the-deeds-which-he-does-is/) [Compton Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/compton-gage/) > [But the higher a man mounts, the greater may be his fall; all genius is a conquering of chaos, mystery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/but-the-higher-a-man-mounts-the-greater-may-be-his-fall-all-genius-is/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [With the I-ses higher man. Born off of Zion I-ses higher man him was the conquering lion. I-ses higher man is a de lion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-youth/with-the-i-ses-higher-man-born-off-of-zion-i-ses-higher-man-him-was/) [Big Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-youth/) > [We can have no conception of God higher than man, so our God is man, and man is God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/we-can-have-no-conception-of-god-higher-than-man-so-our-god-is-man/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“The higher a man’s conception of God, the better will he know Him. And the better he knows God, the nearer will he draw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-higher-a-man-s-conception-of-god-the-better-will-he-know-him-and-2/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The higher a man's conception of God, the better will he know Him. And the better he knows God, the nearer will he draw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-higher-a-man-s-conception-of-god-the-better-will-he-know-him-and/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [If the nature of the work is properly appreciated and applied, it will stand in the same relation to the higher faculties as food…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-kumarappa/if-the-nature-of-the-work-is-properly-appreciated-and-applied-it-will-2/) J. C. Kumarappa ## More by Fernando Pessoa > [Everything interests me, but nothing holds me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-interests-me-but-nothing-holds-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“If only, I feel now, if only I could be someone able to see all this as if he had no other relation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/if-only-i-feel-now-if-only-i-could-be-someone-able-to-see-all-this-as/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [What's given, in fact, always depends on the person or thing it's given to. A minor incident in the street brings the cook to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/what-s-given-in-fact-always-depends-on-the-person-or-thing-it-s-given/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Smell is a strange sight. It evokes sentimental landscapes through a sudden sketching of the subconscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/smell-is-a-strange-sight-it-evokes-sentimental-landscapes-through-a/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Tudo vale a pena quando a alma não é pequena”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/tudo-vale-a-pena-quando-a-alma-n-o-pequena/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“no nostalgia hurts as much as nostalgia for things that never existed!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-nostalgia-hurts-as-much-as-nostalgia-for-things-that-never-existed/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [pg.9 "In my heart there's a peaceful anguish, and my calm is made of resignation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/pg-9-in-my-heart-there-s-a-peaceful-anguish-and-my-calm-is-made-of/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“The feelings that hurt most, the motions that sting most, are those that are absurd; the longing for impossible things, precisely because they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/the-feelings-that-hurt-most-the-motions-that-sting-most-are-those/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“I try to say what I feel Without thinking about what I feel. I try to place words right next to my idea So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-try-to-say-what-i-feel-without-thinking-about-what-i-feel-i-try-to/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Have you ever considered, beloved other, how invisible we are to each other? We look at each other without seeing. We listen to each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/have-you-ever-considered-beloved-other-how-invisible-we-are-to-each/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“To associate is to die. Only my consciousness of myself is real for me; other people are hazy phenomena in this consciousness, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/to-associate-is-to-die-only-my-consciousness-of-myself-is-real-for-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“When it comes to dreams, I’m no different from the errand boy and the seamstress. The only thing that distinguishes me from them is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/when-it-comes-to-dreams-i-m-no-different-from-the-errand-boy-and-the/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“No intelligent idea can gain general acceptance unless some stupidity is mixed in with it. Collective thought is stupid because it’s collective. Nothing passes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-intelligent-idea-can-gain-general-acceptance-unless-some-stupidity/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [God gave the sea the danger and the abyss, but it was in it that He mirrored the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/god-gave-the-sea-the-danger-and-the-abyss-but-it-was-in-it-that-he/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Everything that surrounds us becomes part of us, it seeps into us with every experience of the flesh and of life and, like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-that-surrounds-us-becomes-part-of-us-it-seeps-into-us-with/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) [Explore all 781 Fernando Pessoa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## More Higher quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. 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But for me, practicing kung-fu is a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chow/i-train-my-muscles-and-i-do-a-lot-of-stretching-and-try-to-kick/) [Stephen Chow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chow/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Plainly, the environment must be a living one, directed by a higher intelligence, arranged by an adult who is prepared for his mission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/plainly-the-environment-must-be-a-living-one-directed-by-a-higher/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [At times of recession, running a budget deficit is highly desirable. Once the economy begins to recover, you have to balance the budget. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/at-times-of-recession-running-a-budget-deficit-is-highly-desirable/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Although I don't have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/although-i-don-t-have-anything-against-people-from-other-countries/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The rights essential to happiness. . . . We claim them from a higher source - from the King of kings and Lord of all the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dickinson/the-rights-essential-to-happiness-we-claim-them-from-a-higher-source/) [John Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dickinson/) > [I know there is a higher being and I respect that force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhay-deol/i-know-there-is-a-higher-being-and-i-respect-that-force/) [Abhay Deol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhay-deol/) > [You know, nothing is more important than education, because nowhere are our stakes higher; our future depends on the quality of education of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-schwarzenegger/you-know-nothing-is-more-important-than-education-because-nowhere-are/) [Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-schwarzenegger/) > [To become aware of the subtlety of nature you need to be alert. The moment you become alert you become still... thinking subsides. 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