--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is worth the while to live respectably…" description: "\"It is worth the while to live respectably unto ourselves. We can possibly get along with a neighbor, even with a bedfellow, whom we respect but very li..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2d/henry-david-thoreau-20_bedfellows_it-is-worth-the-while-to-live-respectabl_1623033.jpg" --- # It is worth the while to live respectably unto ourselves… ![“It is worth the while to live respectably unto ourselves. We can possibly get along with a neighbor, even with a bedfellow, whom we respect but very little; but as soon as it comes to this, that we do not respect ourselves, then wedo not get along at all, no matter how much money we are paid for…” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2d/henry-david-thoreau-20_bedfellows_it-is-worth-the-while-to-live-respectabl_1623033.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2d/henry-david-thoreau-20_bedfellows_it-is-worth-the-while-to-live-respectabl_1623033.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2d/henry-david-thoreau-20_bedfellows_it-is-worth-the-while-to-live-respectabl_1623033.jpg) > “It is worth the while to live respectably unto ourselves. We can possibly get along with a neighbor, even with a bedfellow, whom we respect but very little; but as soon as it comes to this, that we do not respect ourselves, then wedo not get along at all, no matter how much money we are paid for halting.” [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. Living honorably requires self‑respect; without it, relationships and work become meaningless regardless of pay. **In simple terms:** Self‑respect is essential for meaningful life. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑respect before external success. Themes integrity self‑respect relationships Mood reflective serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - workplace - family life - community involvement Key Concepts moral philosophy personal ethics Questions to Reflect On - What does self‑respect look like in daily actions? - Can you respect others without respecting yourself? A Different Perspective Self‑respect alone may not resolve external conflicts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bedfellows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bedfellows/) [Comes Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comes-respect-299054/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Live Respectably](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-respectably-299052/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Neighbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbor/) [Paid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paid/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Respectably](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respectably-299055/) [Respectably Unto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respectably-unto-299053/) ## Related quotes > [To do common things perfectly is far better worth our endeavor than to do uncommon things respectably.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/to-do-common-things-perfectly-is-far-better-worth-our-endeavor-than/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [I find when I'm perceived as male in society, there is an enormous amount of pressure, but it comes with respect, so it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rain-dove/i-find-when-i-m-perceived-as-male-in-society-there-is-an-enormous/) [Rain Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rain-dove/) > [I really do think Trump's election comes down to respect. It comes down to being gracious. It comes down to really showing compassion for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-vance/i-really-do-think-trump-s-election-comes-down-to-respect-it-comes/) [James Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-vance/) > [I've been saying for the last nine years, our power comes as much from - our respect in the world comes as much from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/i-ve-been-saying-for-the-last-nine-years-our-power-comes-as-much-from/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [I could speak for hours about equality and what needs to change in football and in society as a whole. But in the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-hegerberg/i-could-speak-for-hours-about-equality-and-what-needs-to-change-in/) [Ada Hegerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-hegerberg/) > [I'm big when it comes to respect. But it's a two-way street, in my eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demarcus-cousins/i-m-big-when-it-comes-to-respect-but-it-s-a-two-way-street-in-my-eyes/) [DeMarcus Cousins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demarcus-cousins/) > [Resurrection, like politics, makes strange bedfellows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jose-farmer/resurrection-like-politics-makes-strange-bedfellows/) [Philip Jose Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jose-farmer/) > [I like to piece together different guitarists, unlikely bedfellows. You have Jonny Greenwood playing next to Nile Rodgers on the same track, so it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-ferry/i-like-to-piece-together-different-guitarists-unlikely-bedfellows-you/) [Bryan Ferry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-ferry/) > [Ancient wisdom and quantum physicists make unlikely bedfellows: In quantum mechanics the observer determines (or even brings into being) what is observed, and so,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/ancient-wisdom-and-quantum-physicists-make-unlikely-bedfellows-in/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [War makes strangers bedfellows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-winsor/war-makes-strangers-bedfellows/) [Kathleen Winsor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-winsor/) > [For corporations to be bedfellows with the arts is good business for both. The architecture that houses a company is a more visible statement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/for-corporations-to-be-bedfellows-with-the-arts-is-good-business-for/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [The bedfellows politics made are never strange. It only seems that way to those who have not watched the courtship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-achard/the-bedfellows-politics-made-are-never-strange-it-only-seems-that-way/) [Marcel Achard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-achard/) > [Politics make strange bedfellows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dudley-warner/politics-make-strange-bedfellows/) [Charles Dudley Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dudley-warner/) > [Celebrity and charity have been bedfellows for many years. The key is to try and choose practical, sound and effective ones. There is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-zane/celebrity-and-charity-have-been-bedfellows-for-many-years-the-key-is/) [Billy Zane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-zane/) > [This cold weather has set all the young Folks to providing Bedfellows. I have signed two or three Licences every Day \[as a Fairfax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young-folks-to-providing-bedfellows/) [George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/) ## 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 Bedfellows quotes > [This cold weather has set all the young Folks to providing Bedfellows. I have signed two or three Licences every Day \[as a Fairfax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young-folks-to-providing-bedfellows/) [George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/) > [Celebrity and charity have been bedfellows for many years. The key is to try and choose practical, sound and effective ones. There is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-zane/celebrity-and-charity-have-been-bedfellows-for-many-years-the-key-is/) [Billy Zane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-zane/) > [Politics make strange bedfellows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dudley-warner/politics-make-strange-bedfellows/) [Charles Dudley Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dudley-warner/) > [The bedfellows politics made are never strange. It only seems that way to those who have not watched the courtship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-achard/the-bedfellows-politics-made-are-never-strange-it-only-seems-that-way/) [Marcel Achard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-achard/) > [For corporations to be bedfellows with the arts is good business for both. The architecture that houses a company is a more visible statement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/for-corporations-to-be-bedfellows-with-the-arts-is-good-business-for/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [War makes strangers bedfellows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-winsor/war-makes-strangers-bedfellows/) [Kathleen Winsor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-winsor/) > [Ancient wisdom and quantum physicists make unlikely bedfellows: In quantum mechanics the observer determines (or even brings into being) what is observed, and so,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/ancient-wisdom-and-quantum-physicists-make-unlikely-bedfellows-in/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [I like to piece together different guitarists, unlikely bedfellows. You have Jonny Greenwood playing next to Nile Rodgers on the same track, so it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-ferry/i-like-to-piece-together-different-guitarists-unlikely-bedfellows-you/) [Bryan Ferry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-ferry/) > [Resurrection, like politics, makes strange bedfellows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jose-farmer/resurrection-like-politics-makes-strange-bedfellows/) [Philip Jose Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jose-farmer/) > [“The reason politics makes strange bedfellows is because they all like the same bunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/los-angeles-times/the-reason-politics-makes-strange-bedfellows-is-because-they-all-like/) [Los Angeles Times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/los-angeles-times/) > [In a sense, the music business and I haven't always been the best of bedfellows. Artists often have to fight their corner. Your music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lennox/in-a-sense-the-music-business-and-i-haven-t-always-been-the-best-of/) [Annie Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lennox/) > [Sexual attraction makes the strangest bedfellows of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/sexual-attraction-makes-the-strangest-bedfellows-of-all/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [War makes strange bedfellows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-thomas/war-makes-strange-bedfellows/) [Helen Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-thomas/) > [“Religion makes strange bedfellows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/religion-makes-strange-bedfellows/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [Art and business may be strange bedfellows, but an artist must make room in her bed for both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/art-and-business-may-be-strange-bedfellows-but-an-artist-must-make/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) [Browse all 31 Bedfellows quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bedfellows/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is worth the while to live respectably unto ourselves. 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