--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do not read, as children do, to amuse…" description: "\"Do not read, as children do, to amuse yourself, or like the ambitious, for the purpose of instruction. No, read in order to live.\" — Gustave Flaubert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9eb/gustave-flaubert-354_ambitious_do-not-read-as-children-do-to-amuse-your_2352308.jpg" --- # Do not read, as children do, to amuse yourself, or like… ![“Do not read, as children do, to amuse yourself, or like the ambitious, for the purpose of instruction. No, read in order to live.” quote by Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9eb/gustave-flaubert-354_ambitious_do-not-read-as-children-do-to-amuse-your_2352308.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9eb/gustave-flaubert-354_ambitious_do-not-read-as-children-do-to-amuse-your_2352308.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9eb/gustave-flaubert-354_ambitious_do-not-read-as-children-do-to-amuse-your_2352308.jpg) > “Do not read, as children do, to amuse yourself, or like the ambitious, for the purpose of instruction. No, read in order to live.” [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading should be an immersive, life‑affirming experience, not merely a pastime or instruction. **In simple terms:** Read to live fully, not just for fun or learning. Key Takeaway Engage deeply with texts to enrich life. Themes reading living education experience Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - classroom - personal study - travel - reflection Key Concepts Immersive reading life‑enriching literature personal growth Questions to Reflect On - How does reading change your perspective? - What books have reshaped your life? A Different Perspective Some readers may find deep immersion overwhelming or time‑consuming. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambitious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious/) [Amuse Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amuse-like-5730889/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Instruction Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instruction-read-5730890/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Purpose Instruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-instruction-5730888/) [Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read/) [Read Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-children-1195499/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“Do not read as children do to enjoy themselves, or, as the ambitious do to educate themselves. No, read to live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/do-not-read-as-children-do-to-enjoy-themselves-or-as-the-ambitious-do/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Read to your children all of the time Novels and nursery rhymes Autobiographies, even the newspaper It doesn't mater; it's quality time Because once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-mali/read-to-your-children-all-of-the-time-novels-and-nursery-rhymes/) [Taylor Mali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-mali/) > [When I read to children, I try to become the characters. It's great if you can make a separate voice for each character. Sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-andrews/when-i-read-to-children-i-try-to-become-the-characters-it-s-great-if/) [Julie Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-andrews/) > [I rarely read children's books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-rarely-read-children-s-books/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [“Read to your children. Open their minds and fill them with imagination and wonder. Create Awesome by being awesome.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/love-the-stacks-bookstore/read-to-your-children-open-their-minds-and-fill-them-with-imagination/) [Love The Stacks Bookstore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/love-the-stacks-bookstore/) > [To tell the truth, I don't read children's books. I'm an adult. I just write them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-steig/to-tell-the-truth-i-don-t-read-children-s-books-i-m-an-adult-i-just/) [William Steig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-steig/) > [I love to be read to, I love to read aloud and I love to read to children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-hoberman/i-love-to-be-read-to-i-love-to-read-aloud-and-i-love-to-read-to/) [Mary Ann Hoberman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-hoberman/) > [People are usually surprised to hear this, but I don't really read children's books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/people-are-usually-surprised-to-hear-this-but-i-don-t-really-read/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [Just as my father read to us as children, I used to read to my own children and now read to my grandchildren.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camilla-duchess-of-cornwall/just-as-my-father-read-to-us-as-children-i-used-to-read-to-my-own/) [Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilla-duchess-of-cornwall/) > [I'm sure most parents read to their children to explain what certain things mean. So books are a good way to convey a message…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/i-m-sure-most-parents-read-to-their-children-to-explain-what-certain/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [Children won't just love to read. Children learn what they live, parents are responsible for instilling that in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/children-won-t-just-love-to-read-children-learn-what-they-live/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think that it's not enough to do the little Band-Aid things of having celebrities come and read to children. Not that we don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-think-that-it-s-not-enough-to-do-the-little-band-aid-things-of/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [“In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn't read all the time -- none,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-my-whole-life-i-have-known-no-wise-people-over-a-broad-subject/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can still remember. I was ill, and I was seven, and my father didn't want me to just read children's books. He came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/i-can-still-remember-i-was-ill-and-i-was-seven-and-my-father-didn-t/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [“The writer whose words are going to be read by children has a heavy responsibility. And yet, despite the undeniable fact that the children’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/the-writer-whose-words-are-going-to-be-read-by-children-has-a-heavy/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) ## More by Gustave Flaubert > [As for the piano, the faster her fingers flew over it, the more he marveled. She struck the keys with aplomb and ran from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/as-for-the-piano-the-faster-her-fingers-flew-over-it-the-more-he/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Caught up in life, you see it badly. You suffer from it or enjoy it too much. The artist, in my opinion, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/caught-up-in-life-you-see-it-badly-you-suffer-from-it-or-enjoy-it-too/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“When one does something, one must do it wholly and well. Those bastard existences where you sell suet all day and write poetry at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-one-does-something-one-must-do-it-wholly-and-well-those-bastard/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Isn’t ‘not to be bored’ one of the principal goals of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/isn-t-not-to-be-bored-one-of-the-principal-goals-of-life/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Love is a springtime plant that perfumes everything with its hope, even the ruins to which it clings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/love-is-a-springtime-plant-that-perfumes-everything-with-its-hope/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“But her life was as cold as an attic facing north; and boredom, like a silent spider, was weaving its web in the shadows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/but-her-life-was-as-cold-as-an-attic-facing-north-and-boredom-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [When you reduce a woman to writing, she makes you think of a thousand other women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-you-reduce-a-woman-to-writing-she-makes-you-think-of-a-thousand/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/travel-makes-one-modest-you-see-what-a-tiny-place-you-occupy-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“We must not touch our idols; the gilt sticks to our fingers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/we-must-not-touch-our-idols-the-gilt-sticks-to-our-fingers/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [A superhuman will is needed in order to write, and I am only a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/a-superhuman-will-is-needed-in-order-to-write-and-i-am-only-a-man/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The writer must wade into life as into the sea, but only up to the navel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-writer-must-wade-into-life-as-into-the-sea-but-only-up-to-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [COLD. Healthier than heat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/cold-healthier-than-heat/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [And indeed, what is better than to sit by one's fireside in the evening with a book, while the wind beats against the window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by-one-s-fireside-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [One's existence should be in two parts: one should live like a bourgeois and think like a demigod.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/one-s-existence-should-be-in-two-parts-one-should-live-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Emma was no asleep, she was pretending to be asleep; and, while he was dozing off at her side, she lay awake, dreaming other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/emma-was-no-asleep-she-was-pretending-to-be-asleep-and-while-he-was/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) [Explore all 526 Gustave Flaubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## More Ambitious quotes > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [I want my squad to be confident, ambitious. They have to believe in big things and we have to set targets internally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-howe/i-want-my-squad-to-be-confident-ambitious-they-have-to-believe-in-big/) [Eddie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-howe/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [“Getting rich is easy, staying rich is impressive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-trip/getting-rich-is-easy-staying-rich-is-impressive/) [Don Trip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-trip/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Business is always a struggle. There are always obstacles and competitors. There is never an open road, except the wide road that leads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kirubi/business-is-always-a-struggle-there-are-always-obstacles-and/) [Chris Kirubi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kirubi/) > [I am ambitious to do more than what has been offered me. I want to be the best in whatever career I choose and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uday-chopra/i-am-ambitious-to-do-more-than-what-has-been-offered-me-i-want-to-be/) [Uday Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uday-chopra/) > [There are four varieties in society — the lovers, the ambitious, observers, and fools. The fools are the happiest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippolyte-taine/there-are-four-varieties-in-society-the-lovers-the-ambitious/) [Hippolyte Taine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippolyte-taine/) > [People who are ambitious - politicians who crave power - think that they're in control of it, but at some point, the movement that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/people-who-are-ambitious-politicians-who-crave-power-think-that-they/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [I'm not ambitious. Not a bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-m-not-ambitious-not-a-bit/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [Aggressive and hard-charging women violate unwritten rules about acceptable social conduct. Men are continually applauded for being ambitious and powerful and successful, but women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/aggressive-and-hard-charging-women-violate-unwritten-rules-about/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [I understood early on that I was not the best-looking girl in the room. But I knew my advantage was a hard work ethic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-o-connor/i-understood-early-on-that-i-was-not-the-best-looking-girl-in-the/) [Erin O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-o-connor/) > [It is ordained that to the ambitious, who derive no satisfaction from the gifts of life and the beauty of the world, life shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/it-is-ordained-that-to-the-ambitious-who-derive-no-satisfaction-from/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [If Reagan and John Paul II were linked by anything, it was a grand, ambitious, and generous idea of Western political civilization, one in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/if-reagan-and-john-paul-ii-were-linked-by-anything-it-was-a-grand/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [To talk only about national security, national defense, means to be selfish, ambitious. It is discrimination, isolation. "It is just me. What do I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/to-talk-only-about-national-security-national-defense-means-to-be/) [Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/) [Browse all 1,269 Ambitious quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Do not read, as children do, to amuse yourself, or like the ambitious, for the purpose of instruction. No, read in order to live.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gustave Flaubert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/do-not-read-as-children-do-to-amuse-yourself-or-like-the-ambitious/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambitious" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/do-not-read-as-children-do-to-amuse-yourself-or-like-the-ambitious/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9eb/gustave-flaubert-354_ambitious_do-not-read-as-children-do-to-amuse-your_2352308.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9eb/gustave-flaubert-354_ambitious_do-not-read-as-children-do-to-amuse-your_2352308.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9eb/gustave-flaubert-354_ambitious_do-not-read-as-children-do-to-amuse-your_2352308.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Do not read, as children do, to amuse yourself, or like the ambitious, for the purpose of instruction. No…” — Gustave Flaubert", "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": "Gustave Flaubert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Do not read, as children do,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/do-not-read-as-children-do-to-amuse-yourself-or-like-the-ambitious/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/do-not-read-as-children-do-to-amuse-yourself-or-like-the-ambitious/#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 } } ] } ```