---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sobriety, severity, and self-respect are…"
description: "\"Sobriety, severity, and self-respect are the foundations of all true sociality.\" — Henry David Thoreau"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/henry-david-thoreau-20_foundation_sobriety-severity-and-self-respect-are-t_2258250.jpg"
---

#  Sobriety, severity, and self-respect are the foundations…

![“Sobriety, severity, and self-respect are the foundations of all true sociality.” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/henry-david-thoreau-20_foundation_sobriety-severity-and-self-respect-are-t_2258250.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/henry-david-thoreau-20_foundation_sobriety-severity-and-self-respect-are-t_2258250.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/henry-david-thoreau-20_foundation_sobriety-severity-and-self-respect-are-t_2258250.jpg)

> “Sobriety, severity, and self-respect are the foundations of all true sociality.”

[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.

Sobriety, severity, and self‑respect are essential for genuine social connections.

**In simple terms:** Self‑respect, moderation, and seriousness build true community.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate these virtues.

Themes

ethics social bonds personal conduct

Mood

reflective ethical

Type

philosophical social

When to use this quote

- building trust
- community leadership
- conflict resolution

Key Concepts

sobriety severity self‑respect

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you practice self‑respect without rigidity?
- What role does moderation play in social harmony?

A Different Perspective

Overemphasis on severity may alienate others.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-respect/) [Sobriety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sobriety/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/)

## Related quotes

> [Art and literature need extreme sociality to a degree that even dolphins don't have. We are the only large mammalian species that has such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boyd/art-and-literature-need-extreme-sociality-to-a-degree-that-even/)

[Brian Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boyd/)

> [People don't have an ongoing relation unless it's a form of debt because everything is an exchange, so ongoing relationships are incomplete exchanges, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/people-don-t-have-an-ongoing-relation-unless-it-s-a-form-of-debt/)

[David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/)

> [“Human sociality is often assumed to be entirely a matter of culture, originating from the age of life when children are taught to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wade/human-sociality-is-often-assumed-to-be-entirely-a-matter-of-culture/)

[Nicholas Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wade/)

> [We are somehow natured, not just to reproduce, but for sociality and even for culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/we-are-somehow-natured-not-just-to-reproduce-but-for-sociality-and/)

[Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/)

> [“Mutual tolerance between two or more females is the first step towards sociality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-michener/mutual-tolerance-between-two-or-more-females-is-the-first-step/)

Paul Michener

> [Not by constraint or severity shall you have access to true wisdom, but by abandonment, and childlike mirth-fulness. If you would know aught, be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/not-by-constraint-or-severity-shall-you-have-access-to-true-wisdom/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [Yet some can be patriotic who have no self-respect, and sacrifice the greater to the less. They love the soil which makes their graves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/yet-some-can-be-patriotic-who-have-no-self-respect-and-sacrifice-the/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [In slave times the Negro was kept subservient and submissive by the frequency and severity of the scourging, but, with freedom, a new system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/in-slave-times-the-negro-was-kept-subservient-and-submissive-by-the/)

[Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/)

> [If a close examination of the evidences of Christianity may be expected of one class of men more than another, it would seem incumbent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-greenleaf/if-a-close-examination-of-the-evidences-of-christianity-may-be/)

[Simon Greenleaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-greenleaf/)

> [Here one must think profoundly to the very basis and resist all sentimental weakness: life itself is essentially appropriation, injury, conquest of the strange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/here-one-must-think-profoundly-to-the-very-basis-and-resist-all/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Men had better be without education than be educated by their rulers; for their education is but the mere breaking in of the steer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hodgskin/men-had-better-be-without-education-than-be-educated-by-their-rulers/)

Thomas Hodgskin

> [Summer, as my friend Coleridge waggishly writes, has set in with its usual severity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/summer-as-my-friend-coleridge-waggishly-writes-has-set-in-with-its/)

[Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/)

> [If you take every challenge everyone has in their life and multiply it in severity you get what it's like in the life of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-wallace/if-you-take-every-challenge-everyone-has-in-their-life-and-multiply/)

[Dee Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-wallace/)

> [A great reserve and severity of manners are necessary for the command of those who are older than ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/a-great-reserve-and-severity-of-manners-are-necessary-for-the-command/)

[Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/)

> [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/)

[Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/)

## 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 Foundation quotes

> [Love is the foundation from which your decisions about your life should be made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-the-foundation-from-which-your-decisions-about-your-life/)

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

> [You can't have the fruits without the roots. It's the principle of sequencing: Private Victories proceed Public Victories. Self-mastery and self-discipline are the foundation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/you-can-t-have-the-fruits-without-the-roots-it-s-the-principle-of/)

[Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/)

> [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/)

[Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/)

> [A face is too slight a foundation for happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wortley-montagu/a-face-is-too-slight-a-foundation-for-happiness/)

[Mary Wortley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wortley-montagu/)

> [In comparative terms, there's no poverty in America by a long shot. Heritage Foundation political scientist Robert Rector has worked up figures showing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/in-comparative-terms-there-s-no-poverty-in-america-by-a-long-shot/)

[P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/)

> [Trust is the foundation of real teamwork (there is nothing touchy-feely about this).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-lencioni/trust-is-the-foundation-of-real-teamwork-there-is-nothing-touchy/)

[Patrick Lencioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-lencioni/)

> [A loving family provides the foundation children need to succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bunning/a-loving-family-provides-the-foundation-children-need-to-succeed/)

[Jim Bunning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bunning/)

> [Everyone who makes music is a good collaborator at their foundation because in order to make music, you have to connect to it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/everyone-who-makes-music-is-a-good-collaborator-at-their-foundation/)

[Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/)

> [The laws keep up their credit, not by being just, but because they are laws; 'tis the mystic foundation of their authority; they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-laws-keep-up-their-credit-not-by-being-just-but-because-they-are/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [I was raised playing music in coffeehouses and I feel that was the foundation for my career. I think it is important that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/i-was-raised-playing-music-in-coffeehouses-and-i-feel-that-was-the/)

[Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/)

> [The foundation of the Christian's peace is everlasting; it is what no time, no change can destroy. It will remain when the body dies;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-edwards/the-foundation-of-the-christian-s-peace-is-everlasting-it-is-what-no/)

[Jonathan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-edwards/)

> [Butter, cream, and bacon. That's such a great foundation right there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ree-drummond/butter-cream-and-bacon-that-s-such-a-great-foundation-right-there/)

[Ree Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ree-drummond/)

> [God established the family as the foundation of civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-evans/god-established-the-family-as-the-foundation-of-civilization/)

[Tony Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-evans/)

> [To succeed, you will soon learn, as I did, the importance of a solid foundation in the basics of education - literacy, both verbal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/to-succeed-you-will-soon-learn-as-i-did-the-importance-of-a-solid/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [Coral reefs represent some of the worlds most spectacular beauty spots, but they are also the foundation of marine life: without them many of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheherazade-goldsmith/coral-reefs-represent-some-of-the-worlds-most-spectacular-beauty/)

[Sheherazade Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheherazade-goldsmith/)

Browse all 3,310 Foundation quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Sobriety, severity, and self-respect are the foundations of all true sociality.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Henry David Thoreau"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/sobriety-severity-and-self-respect-are-the-foundations-of-all-true/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Foundation"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/sobriety-severity-and-self-respect-are-the-foundations-of-all-true/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/henry-david-thoreau-20_foundation_sobriety-severity-and-self-respect-are-t_2258250.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/henry-david-thoreau-20_foundation_sobriety-severity-and-self-respect-are-t_2258250.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/henry-david-thoreau-20_foundation_sobriety-severity-and-self-respect-are-t_2258250.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Sobriety, severity, and self-respect are the foundations of all true sociality.” — 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": "Sobriety, severity, and self-respect are the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/sobriety-severity-and-self-respect-are-the-foundations-of-all-true/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/sobriety-severity-and-self-respect-are-the-foundations-of-all-true/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
