---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is nothing to which men, while they…"
description: "\"There is nothing to which men, while they have food and drink, cannot reconcile themselves.\" — George Santayana"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c32/george-santayana-478_drink_there-is-nothing-to-which-men-while-they_3044371.png"
---

#  There is nothing to which men, while they have food and…

![“There is nothing to which men, while they have food and drink, cannot reconcile themselves.” quote by George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c32/george-santayana-478_drink_there-is-nothing-to-which-men-while-they_3044371.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c32/george-santayana-478_drink_there-is-nothing-to-which-men-while-they_3044371.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c32/george-santayana-478_drink_there-is-nothing-to-which-men-while-they_3044371.png)

> “There is nothing to which men, while they have food and drink, cannot reconcile themselves.”

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

## About This Quote

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

People can reconcile any desire when basic needs like food and drink are met, suggesting material comfort overrides moral or philosophical concerns.

**In simple terms:** Basic needs make people ignore deeper issues.

Key Takeaway

Recognize how comfort can mask deeper problems.

Themes

materialism comfort reconciliation philosophy

Mood

critical thoughtful

Type

philosophical observational

When to use this quote

- politics
- consumerism
- ethical debates

Key Concepts

human nature needs vs. values

Questions to Reflect On

- What issues do you overlook when comfortable?
- How does abundance affect moral choices?

A Different Perspective

Comfort can lead to complacency and ignore injustice.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Food and drink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food-and-drink/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/)

## Related quotes

> [Poetry and I fit together. I can't imagine being without it... It is food and drink, it is all seasons, it is the stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-bennett-hopkins/poetry-and-i-fit-together-i-can-t-imagine-being-without-it-it-is-food/)

[Lee Bennett Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-bennett-hopkins/)

> [The food and drink that goes along with football is one of the best things: hamburgers, hotdogs, chips and dips. At the stadium I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisa-miller/the-food-and-drink-that-goes-along-with-football-is-one-of-the-best/)

[Marisa Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisa-miller/)

> [First I would probably place men at the bottom of the food chain. On a grander scale, I would say they're reacting to change.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-labute/first-i-would-probably-place-men-at-the-bottom-of-the-food-chain-on-a/)

[Neil LaBute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-labute/)

> [“I saw my real gods . . the gods of most men. Food, drink, and security in conformity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/i-saw-my-real-gods-the-gods-of-most-men-food-drink-and-security-in/)

[Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/)

> [You can give men food and leisure and amusements and good conditions of work, and still they will remain unsatisfied. You can deny them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/you-can-give-men-food-and-leisure-and-amusements-and-good-conditions/)

[Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/)

> [Aphrodisiacs come in many forms: food, drink, the internet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/aphrodisiacs-come-in-many-forms-food-drink-the-internet/)

[Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/)

> [I no longer prepare food or drink with more than one ingredient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyra-mcfadden/i-no-longer-prepare-food-or-drink-with-more-than-one-ingredient/)

Cyra McFadden

> [ The heart becomes sick, as the body becomes sick, and its remedy is al-Tawbah (repentance) and protection \[from transgression\]. It becomes rusty as a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-qayyim-al-jawziyya/the-heart-becomes-sick-as-the-body-becomes-sick-and-its-remedy-is-al/)

[Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-qayyim-al-jawziyya/)

> [“Obediently, I squash into a corner with a glass of cider. A chalkboard menu declares that the special of the day is stargazy pie.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-madeleine/obediently-i-squash-into-a-corner-with-a-glass-of-cider-a-chalkboard/)

[Laura Madeleine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-madeleine/)

> […words have been all my life, all my life--this need is like the Spider's need who carries before her a huge Burden of Silk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/words-have-been-all-my-life-all-my-life-this-need-is-like-the-spider/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I feel so much the continual death of everything and everybody, and have so learned to reconcile myself to it, that the final and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/i-feel-so-much-the-continual-death-of-everything-and-everybody-and/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [“Go on, eat one," he urged. "I'm not sure …" I hesitated, not out of revulsion—these little dead creatures just looked out of place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jack/go-on-eat-one-he-urged-i-m-not-sure-i-hesitated-not-out-of-revulsion/)

Stephen Jack

> [For most of us, our protective lies or omissions are so insignificant that being found out would be only mildly embarrassing. But for some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-barton/for-most-of-us-our-protective-lies-or-omissions-are-so-insignificant/)

[Fiona Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-barton/)

> [“Our faith in Christ does not free us from works but from false opinions concerning works, that is, from the foolish presumption that justification…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/our-faith-in-christ-does-not-free-us-from-works-but-from-false/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

> [“People came to our house from far and wide. Party and military bigwigs, some guy known as the “combat commander,” the village headman, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/people-came-to-our-house-from-far-and-wide-party-and-military-bigwigs/)

[Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/)

## More by George Santayana

> [Perhaps the universe is nothing but an equilibrium of idiocies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/perhaps-the-universe-is-nothing-but-an-equilibrium-of-idiocies/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [The combative instinct is a savage prompting by which one man's good is found in another's evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-combative-instinct-is-a-savage-prompting-by-which-one-man-s-good/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [Sanctity and genius are as rebellious as vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/sanctity-and-genius-are-as-rebellious-as-vice/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [To attempt to be religious without practicing a specific religion is as possible as attempting to speak without a specific language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/to-attempt-to-be-religious-without-practicing-a-specific-religion-is/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [“The contemporary world has turned its back on the attempt and even on the desire to live reasonably.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-contemporary-world-has-turned-its-back-on-the-attempt-and-even-on/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [The pride of the artisan in his art and its uses is pride in himself...It is in his skill and ability to make things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-pride-of-the-artisan-in-his-art-and-its-uses-is-pride-in-himself/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [If pain could have cured us we should long ago have been saved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/if-pain-could-have-cured-us-we-should-long-ago-have-been-saved/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [Towers in a modern town are a frill and a survival; they seem like the raised hands of the various churches, afraid of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/towers-in-a-modern-town-are-a-frill-and-a-survival-they-seem-like-the/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [Wealth, religion, military victory have more rhetorical than efficacious worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/wealth-religion-military-victory-have-more-rhetorical-than/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [Whoever it was who searched the heavens with a telescope and found no God would not have found the human mind if he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/whoever-it-was-who-searched-the-heavens-with-a-telescope-and-found-no/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [It is easier to make a saint out of a libertine than out of a prig.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/it-is-easier-to-make-a-saint-out-of-a-libertine-than-out-of-a-prig/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [Experience is a mere whiff or rumble, produced by enormously complex and ill-deciphered causes of experience; and in the other direction, experience is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/experience-is-a-mere-whiff-or-rumble-produced-by-enormously-complex/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [Miracles are propitious accidents, the natural causes of which are too complicated to be readily understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/miracles-are-propitious-accidents-the-natural-causes-of-which-are-too/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [Memory itself is an internal rumour; and when to this hearsay within the mind we add the falsified echoes that reach us from others,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/memory-itself-is-an-internal-rumour-and-when-to-this-hearsay-within/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [Familiarity breeds contempt only when it breeds inattention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/familiarity-breeds-contempt-only-when-it-breeds-inattention/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

[Explore all 530 George Santayana quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

## More Drink quotes

> [When you drink from the stream remember the spring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverbs/when-you-drink-from-the-stream-remember-the-spring/)

Chinese Proverbs

> [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [I don't drink much anymore, but when I traveled with Frank Sinatra, God rest his soul, I used to drink like I could do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/i-don-t-drink-much-anymore-but-when-i-traveled-with-frank-sinatra-god/)

[Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/)

> [I would drink gallons of coffee a day. Even now, off caffeine, I talk faster than anyone you've ever met. I finally recognized that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/i-would-drink-gallons-of-coffee-a-day-even-now-off-caffeine-i-talk/)

[Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/)

> [I do a lot of vocal exercises and drink hot tea, which I hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darci-lynne-farmer/i-do-a-lot-of-vocal-exercises-and-drink-hot-tea-which-i-hate/)

[Darci Lynne Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darci-lynne-farmer/)

> [“Never date a man who can’t out-drink you in tequila.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-l-maxwell/never-date-a-man-who-can-t-out-drink-you-in-tequila/)

[Gina L. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-l-maxwell/)

> [I'm Catholic and I can't commit suicide, but I plan to drink myself to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-m-catholic-and-i-can-t-commit-suicide-but-i-plan-to-drink-myself-to/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [“Obediently, I squash into a corner with a glass of cider. A chalkboard menu declares that the special of the day is stargazy pie.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-madeleine/obediently-i-squash-into-a-corner-with-a-glass-of-cider-a-chalkboard/)

[Laura Madeleine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-madeleine/)

> [I still get nervous about singing. I drink tea with honey and lemon before every concert. And I need to have scented candles in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-j-blige/i-still-get-nervous-about-singing-i-drink-tea-with-honey-and-lemon/)

[Mary J. Blige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-j-blige/)

> [“I don't drink since it ruined the best thing I ever had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-lauren/i-don-t-drink-since-it-ruined-the-best-thing-i-ever-had/)

[Kimberly Lauren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-lauren/)

> [Before everyshow I do like a thousand... I drink ten glasses of water!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-brothers/before-everyshow-i-do-like-a-thousand-i-drink-ten-glasses-of-water/)

[Jonas Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-brothers/)

> [I've never even been into those supplements or any of that. I don't even drink energy shakes. I'm not into that kind of stuff.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-pierce/i-ve-never-even-been-into-those-supplements-or-any-of-that-i-don-t/)

[Paul Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-pierce/)

> [I get pretty focused when I start working on something. And I drink a lot of water, way more than most people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-woodman/i-get-pretty-focused-when-i-start-working-on-something-and-i-drink-a/)

[Nick Woodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-woodman/)

> [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [I spend a lot of time loathing the sentences that I put down on the page. Once I'm past that phase, it doesn't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/i-spend-a-lot-of-time-loathing-the-sentences-that-i-put-down-on-the/)

[Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/)

Browse all 5,653 Drink quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "There is nothing to which men, while they have food and drink, cannot reconcile themselves.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "George Santayana"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/there-is-nothing-to-which-men-while-they-have-food-and-drink-cannot/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Drink"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/there-is-nothing-to-which-men-while-they-have-food-and-drink-cannot/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c32/george-santayana-478_drink_there-is-nothing-to-which-men-while-they_3044371.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c32/george-santayana-478_drink_there-is-nothing-to-which-men-while-they_3044371.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c32/george-santayana-478_drink_there-is-nothing-to-which-men-while-they_3044371.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“There is nothing to which men, while they have food and drink, cannot reconcile themselves.” — George Santayana",
                "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 Santayana",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "There is nothing to which men,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/there-is-nothing-to-which-men-while-they-have-food-and-drink-cannot/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/there-is-nothing-to-which-men-while-they-have-food-and-drink-cannot/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
