--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A slave will amuse himself in his…" description: "\"“A slave will amuse himself in his dungeon; a free man must file through his chains and dig through his prison-walls before he can frolic.”\" — George M..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/285/george-macdonald-295_free-man_a-slave-will-amuse-himself-in-his-dungeo_1139293.png" --- # A slave will amuse himself in his dungeon; a free man must… ![“A slave will amuse himself in his dungeon; a free man must file through his chains and dig through his prison-walls before he can frolic.” quote by George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/285/george-macdonald-295_free-man_a-slave-will-amuse-himself-in-his-dungeo_1139293.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/285/george-macdonald-295_free-man_a-slave-will-amuse-himself-in-his-dungeo_1139293.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/285/george-macdonald-295_free-man_a-slave-will-amuse-himself-in-his-dungeo_1139293.png) > ““A slave will amuse himself in his dungeon; a free man must file through his chains and dig through his prison-walls before he can frolic.”” [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freedom requires confronting and dismantling internal constraints before one can truly enjoy life. **In simple terms:** Freedom needs inner work. Key Takeaway Work on personal liberation. Themes freedom self‑growth constraint Mood thoughtful motivational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - therapy - personal development - creative expression - mindfulness Key Concepts psychology philosophy self‑actualization Questions to Reflect On - What internal chains hold you back? - How can you begin to break them? A Different Perspective External freedom alone is insufficient. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Free man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-man/) [Prison walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison-walls/) [Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) ## Related quotes > [“I had rather starve to death here, being a free man, than to have plenty in slavery. I cannot be a slave any more,--nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-drew/i-had-rather-starve-to-death-here-being-a-free-man-than-to-have/) Benjamin Drew > [I could, as a free man, look across the bay toward the Eastern Shore where I was born a slave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-could-as-a-free-man-look-across-the-bay-toward-the-eastern-shore/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [It is Mind which determines the change of Society, and it was because the mind at work was a Catholic mind that the slave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/it-is-mind-which-determines-the-change-of-society-and-it-was-because/) [Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/) > [“I'd rather be a free man in my grave, than to live life as a puppet or a slave”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-cliff/i-d-rather-be-a-free-man-in-my-grave-than-to-live-life-as-a-puppet-or/) [Jimmy Cliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-cliff/) > [Freedom of mind is the real freedom. A person whose mind is not free though he may not be in chains, is a slave,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/freedom-of-mind-is-the-real-freedom-a-person-whose-mind-is-not-free/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The true savage is a slave, and is always talking about what he must do; the true civilised man is a free man, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-true-savage-is-a-slave-and-is-always-talking-about-what-he-must/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [I saw that the kingdom must be interior before it can be exterior, that it is a kingdom of ideas, and not one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-whitall-smith/i-saw-that-the-kingdom-must-be-interior-before-it-can-be-exterior/) [Hannah Whitall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-whitall-smith/) > [I was born a slave, but nature gave me a soul of a free man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toussaint-louverture/i-was-born-a-slave-but-nature-gave-me-a-soul-of-a-free-man/) Toussaint Louverture > [We are all conceived in close prison; in our mothers wombs, we are close prisoners all; when we are born, we are born but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/we-are-all-conceived-in-close-prison-in-our-mothers-wombs-we-are/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [We searchers are ambitious only for life itself, for everything beautiful it can provide. Most of all we love and want to be loved.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-kavanaugh/we-searchers-are-ambitious-only-for-life-itself-for-everything/) [James Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-kavanaugh/) > [To revolt within society in order to make it a little better, to bring about certain reforms, is like the revolt of prisoners to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/to-revolt-within-society-in-order-to-make-it-a-little-better-to-bring/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [There are many more serial killers living outside the prison walls than inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-brown/there-are-many-more-serial-killers-living-outside-the-prison-walls/) [Pat Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-brown/) > [“We now dwelt in a very large prison, without walls, bounded by Canada, Mexico and two oceans. There were the jailers, the turnkeys, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/we-now-dwelt-in-a-very-large-prison-without-walls-bounded-by-canada/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [Become the sky. Take an axe to the prison wall. Escape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/become-the-sky-take-an-axe-to-the-prison-wall-escape/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Some time in our lives every man and woman of us, putting out our hands toward the stars, touch on either side our prison…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/some-time-in-our-lives-every-man-and-woman-of-us-putting-out-our/) [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) ## More by George MacDonald > [“No revelation can be other than partial. If for true revelation a man must be told all the truth, then farewell to revelation; yea,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/no-revelation-can-be-other-than-partial-if-for-true-revelation-a-man/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [In low theologies, hell is invariably the deepest truth, and the love of God is not so deep as hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/in-low-theologies-hell-is-invariably-the-deepest-truth-and-the-love/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Life and religion are one, or neither is any thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/life-and-religion-are-one-or-neither-is-any-thing/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [The region belonging to the pure intellect is straitened: the imagination labours to extend its territories, to give it room. She sweeps across the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/the-region-belonging-to-the-pure-intellect-is-straitened-the/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Come, then, affliction, if my Father wills, and be my frowning friend. A friend that frowns is better than a smiling enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/come-then-affliction-if-my-father-wills-and-be-my-frowning-friend-a/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Ah, what is it we send up thither, where our thoughts are either a dissonance or a sweetness and a grace?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/ah-what-is-it-we-send-up-thither-where-our-thoughts-are-either-a/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [You must learn to be strong in the dark as well as in the day, else you will always be only half brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/you-must-learn-to-be-strong-in-the-dark-as-well-as-in-the-day-else/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [“Few delights can equal the mere presence of one whom we trust utterly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/few-delights-can-equal-the-mere-presence-of-one-whom-we-trust-utterly/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [“You have tasted of death now,” said the old man. “Is it good?” “It is good,” said Mossy. “It is better than life.” “No,”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/you-have-tasted-of-death-now-said-the-old-man-is-it-good-it-is-good/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [ “I wish I had \[made that song\]. No, I don't That would be to take it from somebody else. But it's mine for all… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/i-wish-i-had-made-that-song-no-i-don-t-that-would-be-to-take-it-from/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Past tears are present strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/past-tears-are-present-strength/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Age is not all decay; it is the ripening, the swelling, of the fresh life within, that withers and bursts the husk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/age-is-not-all-decay-it-is-the-ripening-the-swelling-of-the-fresh/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [I want to help you grow as beautiful as God meant you to be when he thought of you first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/i-want-to-help-you-grow-as-beautiful-as-god-meant-you-to-be-when-he/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [“Immeasurably imperfect it was, but false the impression could not be, for she saw with the eyes made for seeing, and saw indeed what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/immeasurably-imperfect-it-was-but-false-the-impression-could-not-be/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Those that hope little cannot grow much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/those-that-hope-little-cannot-grow-much/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) [Explore all 720 George MacDonald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) ## More Free man quotes > [Never in all their history have men been able truly to conceive of the world as one: a single sphere, a globe, having the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/never-in-all-their-history-have-men-been-able-truly-to-conceive-of/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [“And it was then that the things I've never liked to talk about began. Not that they were particularly terrible; I've no wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-it-was-then-that-the-things-i-ve-never-liked-to-talk-about-began/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“He is a free man, not because is in a poition of political power and influence that you will never be able to achieve,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-meekins/he-is-a-free-man-not-because-is-in-a-poition-of-political-power-and/) [Evan Meekins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-meekins/) > [ The solution to this problem \[welfare-statism\] must take a positive form: the restoration of a faith in what free men can accomplish. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/the-solution-to-this-problem-welfare-statism-must-take-a-positive/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“I was just beginning to wonder how long I would have to wait when finally a guard sauntered up and said, “Galloway, get your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-galloway/i-was-just-beginning-to-wonder-how-long-i-would-have-to-wait-when/) [Noah Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-galloway/) > [“A port arrival makes you feel so free ...To realize what it is to be a free man, with a world before him;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barnaby-allen/a-port-arrival-makes-you-feel-so-free-to-realize-what-it-is-to-be-a/) Barnaby Allen > [It is Mind which determines the change of Society, and it was because the mind at work was a Catholic mind that the slave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/it-is-mind-which-determines-the-change-of-society-and-it-was-because/) [Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/) > [Let me be a free man - free to travel, free to stop, free to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/let-me-be-a-free-man-free-to-travel-free-to-stop-free-to-work/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [“I'd rather be a free man in my grave, than to live life as a puppet or a slave”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-cliff/i-d-rather-be-a-free-man-in-my-grave-than-to-live-life-as-a-puppet-or/) [Jimmy Cliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-cliff/) > [No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/no-free-man-shall-ever-be-debarred-the-use-of-arms/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [A free man is he that, in those things which by his strength and wit he is able to do, is not hindered to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/a-free-man-is-he-that-in-those-things-which-by-his-strength-and-wit/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [The free man never thinks of escape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/the-free-man-never-thinks-of-escape/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Freedom of mind is the real freedom. A person whose mind is not free though he may not be in chains, is a slave,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/freedom-of-mind-is-the-real-freedom-a-person-whose-mind-is-not-free/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Very few of our race can be said to be yet finished men. We still carry sticking to us some remains of the preceding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/very-few-of-our-race-can-be-said-to-be-yet-finished-men-we-still/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I always felt the world cannot fall apart as long as free men see the rainbow, feel the rain and hear the laugh of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-capra/i-always-felt-the-world-cannot-fall-apart-as-long-as-free-men-see-the/) [Frank Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-capra/) [Browse all 412 Free man quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-man/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A slave will amuse himself in his dungeon; a free man must file through his chains and dig through his prison-walls before he can frolic.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George MacDonald" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/a-slave-will-amuse-himself-in-his-dungeon-a-free-man-must-file/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Free man" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/a-slave-will-amuse-himself-in-his-dungeon-a-free-man-must-file/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/285/george-macdonald-295_free-man_a-slave-will-amuse-himself-in-his-dungeo_1139293.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/285/george-macdonald-295_free-man_a-slave-will-amuse-himself-in-his-dungeo_1139293.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/285/george-macdonald-295_free-man_a-slave-will-amuse-himself-in-his-dungeo_1139293.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A slave will amuse himself in his dungeon; a free man must file through his chains and dig through his…” — George MacDonald", "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": "George MacDonald", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“A slave will amuse himself in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/a-slave-will-amuse-himself-in-his-dungeon-a-free-man-must-file/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/a-slave-will-amuse-himself-in-his-dungeon-a-free-man-must-file/#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 } } ] } ```