--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But perhaps a man is not required to bury…" description: "\"But perhaps a man is not required to bury himself.\" — Henry David Thoreau" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d9/henry-david-thoreau-20_bury_but-perhaps-a-man-is-not-required-to-bur_494037.jpg" --- # But perhaps a man is not required to bury himself. ![“But perhaps a man is not required to bury himself.” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d9/henry-david-thoreau-20_bury_but-perhaps-a-man-is-not-required-to-bur_494037.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d9/henry-david-thoreau-20_bury_but-perhaps-a-man-is-not-required-to-bur_494037.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d9/henry-david-thoreau-20_bury_but-perhaps-a-man-is-not-required-to-bur_494037.jpg) > “But perhaps a man is not required to bury himself.” [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. One need not abandon oneself to be meaningful; existence can be lived without self‑destruction. **In simple terms:** Living fully doesn’t require self‑destruction. Key Takeaway Embrace life without self‑sacrifice. Themes existence self meaning autonomy Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal growth - creative work - mindful living - spiritual practice Key Concepts philosophy individualism self‑realization Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to live fully without self‑destruction? - How can we honor our existence responsibly? A Different Perspective Neglecting self‑care can still be harmful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [“If a lady should do this, Raisa wondered, should a man do the same? Is he required to?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cinda-williams-chima/if-a-lady-should-do-this-raisa-wondered-should-a-man-do-the-same-is/) [Cinda Williams Chima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cinda-williams-chima/) > [“The fewer sacrifices a man is required to make, the more loath he will be to make those few. His”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-fewer-sacrifices-a-man-is-required-to-make-the-more-loath-he-will/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I'd like to get married because I like the idea of a man being required by law to sleep with me every night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-snow/i-d-like-to-get-married-because-i-like-the-idea-of-a-man-being/) [Carrie Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-snow/) > [What if man were required to educate his children without the help of talking animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/what-if-man-were-required-to-educate-his-children-without-the-help-of/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [“There's no getting away from the fact that, if ever a man required watching, it's Steggles. Machiavelli could have taken his correspondence course.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/there-s-no-getting-away-from-the-fact-that-if-ever-a-man-required/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [...A man is not required to run faster than he is able but it is a requirement to run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallin-h-oaks/a-man-is-not-required-to-run-faster-than-he-is-able-but-it-is-a/) [Dallin H. Oaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallin-h-oaks/) > [I am not afraid that I shall exaggerate the value and significance of life, but that I shall not be up to the occasion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-that-i-shall-exaggerate-the-value-and-significance-of/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Every man should stand for a force which is perfectly irresistible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/every-man-should-stand-for-a-force-which-is-perfectly-irresistible/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [There's also the tradition of voodoo, the Haitian magic arts, in New Orleans. And because New Orleans is below sea level, when they bury…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-trammell/there-s-also-the-tradition-of-voodoo-the-haitian-magic-arts-in-new/) [Sam Trammell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-trammell/) > [“Sweetheart, I’ll be a Marine ‘til they bury my cold, dead, decrepit ass in the ground a good fifty or sixty years from now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-tenorio/sweetheart-i-ll-be-a-marine-til-they-bury-my-cold-dead-decrepit-ass/) [Dee Tenorio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-tenorio/) > [“The seed we bury in soil, Flourish, even after we die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neymat-khan/the-seed-we-bury-in-soil-flourish-even-after-we-die/) [Neymat Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neymat-khan/) > [I once said, 'We will bury you,' and I got into trouble with it. Of course we will not bury you with a shovel.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/i-once-said-we-will-bury-you-and-i-got-into-trouble-with-it-of-course/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [“Bury us, and mark our names above. Let us be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/bury-us-and-mark-our-names-above-let-us-be-free/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [I have to stay here and bury her," he whispered. "Here, between RiverClan and ThunderClan. After this, not even her own Clan will want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-hunter/i-have-to-stay-here-and-bury-her-he-whispered-here-between-riverclan/) [Erin Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-hunter/) > [What you try to bury just ends up burying you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-wagner/what-you-try-to-bury-just-ends-up-burying-you/) [Jane Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-wagner/) ## More by Henry David Thoreau > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Men say they know many things; But lo! they have taken wings, — The arts and sciences, And a thousand appliances; The wind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-say-they-know-many-things-but-lo-they-have-taken-wings-the-arts/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or back gammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-voting-is-a-sort-of-gaming-like-checkers-or-back-gammon-with-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-for-doing-good-that-is-one-of-the-professions-which-is-full/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [A traveler who looks at things with an impartial eye may see what the oldest inhabitant has not observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-traveler-who-looks-at-things-with-an-impartial-eye-may-see-what-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be directed in their proper channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-still-youthful-energies-of-the-globe-have-only-to-be-directed-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Concord's little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/concord-s-little-arch-does-not-span-all-our-fate-nor-is-what/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The lumberers rarely trouble themselves to put out their fires, such is the dampness of the primitive forest; and this is one cause, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-lumberers-rarely-trouble-themselves-to-put-out-their-fires-such/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-he-has-obtained-those-things-which-are-necessary-to-life-there/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Wealth is measured by the level of experience in all aspects of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wealth-is-measured-by-the-level-of-experience-in-all-aspects-of-life/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Explore all 3,376 Henry David Thoreau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More Bury quotes > [What you try to bury just ends up burying you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-wagner/what-you-try-to-bury-just-ends-up-burying-you/) [Jane Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-wagner/) > [I have to stay here and bury her," he whispered. "Here, between RiverClan and ThunderClan. After this, not even her own Clan will want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-hunter/i-have-to-stay-here-and-bury-her-he-whispered-here-between-riverclan/) [Erin Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-hunter/) > [“Bury us, and mark our names above. Let us be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/bury-us-and-mark-our-names-above-let-us-be-free/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [I once said, 'We will bury you,' and I got into trouble with it. Of course we will not bury you with a shovel.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/i-once-said-we-will-bury-you-and-i-got-into-trouble-with-it-of-course/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [“The seed we bury in soil, Flourish, even after we die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neymat-khan/the-seed-we-bury-in-soil-flourish-even-after-we-die/) [Neymat Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neymat-khan/) > [“Sweetheart, I’ll be a Marine ‘til they bury my cold, dead, decrepit ass in the ground a good fifty or sixty years from now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-tenorio/sweetheart-i-ll-be-a-marine-til-they-bury-my-cold-dead-decrepit-ass/) [Dee Tenorio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-tenorio/) > [There's also the tradition of voodoo, the Haitian magic arts, in New Orleans. And because New Orleans is below sea level, when they bury…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-trammell/there-s-also-the-tradition-of-voodoo-the-haitian-magic-arts-in-new/) [Sam Trammell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-trammell/) > [“You did anything to bury me, but you forgot that I was a seed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinos-christianopoulos/you-did-anything-to-bury-me-but-you-forgot-that-i-was-a-seed/) Dinos Christianopoulos > [True to my religion, true everything Im too different. So when I die, bury me next to 2 bitches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/2-chainz/true-to-my-religion-true-everything-im-too-different-so-when-i-die/) [2 Chainz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/2-chainz/) > [“A seed only realizes its potential the day you bury it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/a-seed-only-realizes-its-potential-the-day-you-bury-it/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [Cant break me down, bury me bury me, I am finished with you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/30-seconds-to-mars/cant-break-me-down-bury-me-bury-me-i-am-finished-with-you/) [30 Seconds To Mars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/30-seconds-to-mars/) > [What made it special made it dangerous, so I bury it... and forget.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bush/what-made-it-special-made-it-dangerous-so-i-bury-it-and-forget/) [Kate Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bush/) > [A person you bury in ur heart you can neva 4get](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/a-person-you-bury-in-ur-heart-you-can-neva-4get/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [“If love weighs you down and casts a shadow on your life then it isn’t love. Love is light and makes you light.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/if-love-weighs-you-down-and-casts-a-shadow-on-your-life-then-it-isn-t/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“Adulthood involves learning to conclusively bury a great many of our hopes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/adulthood-involves-learning-to-conclusively-bury-a-great-many-of-our/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) Browse all 220 Bury quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But perhaps a man is not required to bury himself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry David Thoreau" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/but-perhaps-a-man-is-not-required-to-bury-himself/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bury" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/but-perhaps-a-man-is-not-required-to-bury-himself/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d9/henry-david-thoreau-20_bury_but-perhaps-a-man-is-not-required-to-bur_494037.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d9/henry-david-thoreau-20_bury_but-perhaps-a-man-is-not-required-to-bur_494037.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d9/henry-david-thoreau-20_bury_but-perhaps-a-man-is-not-required-to-bur_494037.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But perhaps a man is not required to bury himself.” — Henry David Thoreau", "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": "Henry David Thoreau", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "But perhaps a man is not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/but-perhaps-a-man-is-not-required-to-bury-himself/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/but-perhaps-a-man-is-not-required-to-bury-himself/#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 } } ] } ```