---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why should a man be in love with his…"
description: "\"Why should a man be in love with his fetters, though of gold?\" — Francis Bacon"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb6/francis-bacon-297_fetters_why-should-a-man-be-in-love-with-his-fet_3138149.jpg"
---

#  Why should a man be in love with his fetters, though of…

![“Why should a man be in love with his fetters, though of gold?” quote by Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb6/francis-bacon-297_fetters_why-should-a-man-be-in-love-with-his-fet_3138149.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb6/francis-bacon-297_fetters_why-should-a-man-be-in-love-with-his-fet_3138149.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb6/francis-bacon-297_fetters_why-should-a-man-be-in-love-with-his-fet_3138149.jpg)

> “Why should a man be in love with his fetters, though of gold?”

[Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Loving something merely for its material value, even if it restrains you, is irrational and harmful.

**In simple terms:** Don't love harmful things just because they're valuable.

Key Takeaway

Avoid attachment to harmful luxuries.

Themes

materialism self‑control philosophy

Mood

cautionary thought‑provoking

Type

ethical philosophical

When to use this quote

- finance
- relationships
- personal growth

Key Concepts

value judgment attachment theory ethical reasoning

Questions to Reflect On

- What "golden fetters" hold you back?
- How can you value freedom over wealth?

A Different Perspective

Material allure can blind us to its costs.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Fetters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fetters/) [Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Old love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-love/)

## Related quotes

> [No man loveth his fetters, be they made of gold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-heywood/no-man-loveth-his-fetters-be-they-made-of-gold/)

[John Heywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-heywood/)

> [Fetters of gold are still fetters, and the softest lining can never make them so easy as liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-astell/fetters-of-gold-are-still-fetters-and-the-softest-lining-can-never/)

[Mary Astell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-astell/)

> [I also have in mind that seemingly wealthy, but most terribly impoverished class of all, who have accumulated dross, but know not how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-also-have-in-mind-that-seemingly-wealthy-but-most-terribly/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [You've got to be good to each other ... it really comes back to respect. I was raised in a very Catholic, Italian family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giuliana-rancic/you-ve-got-to-be-good-to-each-other-it-really-comes-back-to-respect-i/)

[Giuliana Rancic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giuliana-rancic/)

> [“Love is a word that is constantly heard, Hate is a word that is not. Love, I am told, is more precious that gold.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/love-is-a-word-that-is-constantly-heard-hate-is-a-word-that-is-not/)

[Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/)

> [Whoever makes love grow boundless, and sets his mind for seeing the end of birth, his fetters are worn thin. If he loves even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/whoever-makes-love-grow-boundless-and-sets-his-mind-for-seeing-the/)

[Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/)

> [There is a Restlessness springing from the consciousness of power not fully utilized, which must be present wherever there is unused power of whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brackett/there-is-a-restlessness-springing-from-the-consciousness-of-power-not/)

[Anna Brackett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-brackett/)

> [Your freedom when it loses its fetters becomes itself the fetter of a greater freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/your-freedom-when-it-loses-its-fetters-becomes-itself-the-fetter-of-a/)

[Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/)

> [I like to foster an atmosphere on set of collaboration and openness and risk taking. The beauty is when you have such brilliantly talented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mazer/i-like-to-foster-an-atmosphere-on-set-of-collaboration-and-openness/)

[Dan Mazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mazer/)

> [True, the movement for woman's rights has broken many old fetters, but it has also forged new ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/true-the-movement-for-woman-s-rights-has-broken-many-old-fetters-but/)

[Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/)

> [To succeed in chaining the multitude, you must seem to wear the same fetters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/to-succeed-in-chaining-the-multitude-you-must-seem-to-wear-the-same/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [We fear not God because of any compulsion; our faith is no fetter, our profession is no bondage, we are not dragged to holiness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/we-fear-not-god-because-of-any-compulsion-our-faith-is-no-fetter-our/)

[Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/)

> [... a person who is religiously enlightened appears to me to be one who has, to the best of his ability, liberated himself from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-person-who-is-religiously-enlightened-appears-to-me-to-be-one-who/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [The wise say that it is not an iron, wooden or fiber fetter which is a strong one, but the besotted hankering after trinkets,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/the-wise-say-that-it-is-not-an-iron-wooden-or-fiber-fetter-which-is-a/)

[Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/)

> [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/)

[John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/)

## More by Francis Bacon

> [Princes are like heavenly bodies, which cause good or evil times, and which have much veneration, but no rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/princes-are-like-heavenly-bodies-which-cause-good-or-evil-times-and/)

[Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/)

> [The best preservative to keep the mind in health is the faithful admonition of a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-best-preservative-to-keep-the-mind-in-health-is-the-faithful/)

[Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/)

> [Since custom is the principal magistrate of man's life, let men by all means endeavor to obtain good customs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/since-custom-is-the-principal-magistrate-of-man-s-life-let-men-by-all/)

[Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/)

> [Painting today is pure intuition and luck and taking advantage of what happens when you splash the stuff down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/painting-today-is-pure-intuition-and-luck-and-taking-advantage-of/)

[Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/)

> [I usually accept bribes from both sides so that tainted money can never influence my decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-usually-accept-bribes-from-both-sides-so-that-tainted-money-can/)

[Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/)

> [Much bending breaks the bow; much unbending the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/much-bending-breaks-the-bow-much-unbending-the-mind/)

[Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/)

> [When Christ came into the world, peace was sung; and when He went out of the world, peace was bequeathed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/when-christ-came-into-the-world-peace-was-sung-and-when-he-went-out/)

[Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/)

> [...neither is it possible to discover the more remote and deeper parts of any science, if you stand but upon the level of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/neither-is-it-possible-to-discover-the-more-remote-and-deeper-parts/)

[Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/)

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> [The human understanding, when any preposition has been once laid down... forces everything else to add fresh support and confirmation; and although more cogent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-human-understanding-when-any-preposition-has-been-once-laid-down/)

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> [I should have been, I don't know, a con-man, a robber or a prostitute. But it was vanity that made me choose painting, vanity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-should-have-been-i-don-t-know-a-con-man-a-robber-or-a-prostitute/)

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> [Wounds cannot be cured without searching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/wounds-cannot-be-cured-without-searching/)

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> [The French are wiser than they seem, and the Spaniards seem wiser than they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-french-are-wiser-than-they-seem-and-the-spaniards-seem-wiser-than/)

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> [When a man laughs at his troubles he loses a great many friends. They never forgive the loss of their prerogative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/when-a-man-laughs-at-his-troubles-he-loses-a-great-many-friends-they/)

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> [Believing that I was born for the service of mankind, and regarding the care of the commonwealth as a kind of common property which,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/believing-that-i-was-born-for-the-service-of-mankind-and-regarding/)

[Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/)

[Explore all 711 Francis Bacon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/)

## More Fetters quotes

> [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/)

[John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/)

> [To succeed in chaining the multitude, you must seem to wear the same fetters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/to-succeed-in-chaining-the-multitude-you-must-seem-to-wear-the-same/)

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> [I like to foster an atmosphere on set of collaboration and openness and risk taking. The beauty is when you have such brilliantly talented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mazer/i-like-to-foster-an-atmosphere-on-set-of-collaboration-and-openness/)

[Dan Mazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mazer/)

> [The wise say that it is not an iron, wooden or fiber fetter which is a strong one, but the besotted hankering after trinkets,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/the-wise-say-that-it-is-not-an-iron-wooden-or-fiber-fetter-which-is-a/)

[Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/)

> [... a person who is religiously enlightened appears to me to be one who has, to the best of his ability, liberated himself from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-person-who-is-religiously-enlightened-appears-to-me-to-be-one-who/)

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> [We fear not God because of any compulsion; our faith is no fetter, our profession is no bondage, we are not dragged to holiness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/we-fear-not-god-because-of-any-compulsion-our-faith-is-no-fetter-our/)

[Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/)

> [I also have in mind that seemingly wealthy, but most terribly impoverished class of all, who have accumulated dross, but know not how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-also-have-in-mind-that-seemingly-wealthy-but-most-terribly/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [True, the movement for woman's rights has broken many old fetters, but it has also forged new ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/true-the-movement-for-woman-s-rights-has-broken-many-old-fetters-but/)

[Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/)

> [Your freedom when it loses its fetters becomes itself the fetter of a greater freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/your-freedom-when-it-loses-its-fetters-becomes-itself-the-fetter-of-a/)

[Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/)

> [There is a Restlessness springing from the consciousness of power not fully utilized, which must be present wherever there is unused power of whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brackett/there-is-a-restlessness-springing-from-the-consciousness-of-power-not/)

[Anna Brackett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-brackett/)

> [Whoever makes love grow boundless, and sets his mind for seeing the end of birth, his fetters are worn thin. If he loves even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/whoever-makes-love-grow-boundless-and-sets-his-mind-for-seeing-the/)

[Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/)

> [A warlike nation like the Germans, without either cities, letters, arts, or money, found some compensation for this savage state in the enjoyment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/a-warlike-nation-like-the-germans-without-either-cities-letters-arts/)

[Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/)

> [Golden fetters are no less galling to a self-respecting man that iron ones; the sting lies in the fetters, not in the metal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/golden-fetters-are-no-less-galling-to-a-self-respecting-man-that-iron/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [No man loveth his fetters, be they made of gold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-heywood/no-man-loveth-his-fetters-be-they-made-of-gold/)

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> [Jesus lives! the same comforting, helping, instructing, loving Elder Brother, as when John leaned on His bosom, as when He lifted Peter up from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbott-eliot-kittredge/jesus-lives-the-same-comforting-helping-instructing-loving-elder/)

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