--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only law which is really lived up to…" description: "\"The only law which is really lived up to wholeheartedly and with a vengeance is the law of conformity.\" — Henry Miller" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/henry-miller-179_conformity_the-only-law-which-is-really-lived-up-to_1380923.jpg" --- # The only law which is really lived up to wholeheartedly… ![“The only law which is really lived up to wholeheartedly and with a vengeance is the law of conformity.” quote by Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/henry-miller-179_conformity_the-only-law-which-is-really-lived-up-to_1380923.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/henry-miller-179_conformity_the-only-law-which-is-really-lived-up-to_1380923.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/henry-miller-179_conformity_the-only-law-which-is-really-lived-up-to_1380923.jpg) > “The only law which is really lived up to wholeheartedly and with a vengeance is the law of conformity.” [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that conformity is the most pervasive and forceful law governing human behavior. **In simple terms:** People are strongly pressured to conform. Key Takeaway Question and resist societal pressure. Themes conformity social pressure human behavior Mood critical reflective Type philosophical social When to use this quote - workplace culture - peer groups - media influence - education systems Key Concepts psychology sociology norms Questions to Reflect On - What are the benefits of conformity? - When is nonconformity essential? A Different Perspective Conformity can also provide social cohesion and safety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conformity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformity/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Vengeance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vengeance/) ## Related quotes > [The pseudo-conscience ... demands not obedience to the inner law of our being, but conformity to super-imposed convention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-g-wickes/the-pseudo-conscience-demands-not-obedience-to-the-inner-law-of-our/) [Frances G. Wickes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-g-wickes/) > [Lady Justice doesn't have empathy for anyone. She rules strictly based upon the law, and that's really the only way that our system can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-long/lady-justice-doesn-t-have-empathy-for-anyone-she-rules-strictly-based/) [Wendy Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-long/) > [Before I had decided to get into politics, I was laying the groundwork to have a career in the law, but that was really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/before-i-had-decided-to-get-into-politics-i-was-laying-the-groundwork/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I always know that people will only remember me for my efforts in Calgary which, I must admit, seem without doubt to have kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-the-eagle/i-always-know-that-people-will-only-remember-me-for-my-efforts-in/) [Eddie the Eagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-the-eagle/) > [As a lawyer, particularly in criminal law, you really do have to try to tell your story to the jury and hope that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-clark/as-a-lawyer-particularly-in-criminal-law-you-really-do-have-to-try-to/) [Marcia Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-clark/) > [I had a very good friend who was two years older than I was, and she was in law school, and she said, 'It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-jarrett/i-had-a-very-good-friend-who-was-two-years-older-than-i-was-and-she/) [Valerie Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-jarrett/) > [Moore's law is really about economics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-moore/moore-s-law-is-really-about-economics/) [Gordon Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-moore/) > [If you just technically adhere to the law, sometimes that's enough, sometimes it's not; it's really hard to predict. There is definitely a possibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/if-you-just-technically-adhere-to-the-law-sometimes-that-s-enough/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [When I began we did not really have a lot of First Amendment law. It is really surprising to think of it this way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-abrams/when-i-began-we-did-not-really-have-a-lot-of-first-amendment-law-it/) [Floyd Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-abrams/) > [I'm very grateful I went to school to study law, particularly tax law, which really is interesting to me and very useful to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armin-van-buuren/i-m-very-grateful-i-went-to-school-to-study-law-particularly-tax-law/) [Armin van Buuren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armin-van-buuren/) > [Do everything with your whole heart, or not at all. Don't put up with lies or with people who lie to you. Don't risk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/do-everything-with-your-whole-heart-or-not-at-all-don-t-put-up-with/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [I certainly embrace all the movement that's going on these days about equality for women and equal rights. In general, I would apply that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-andrews/i-certainly-embrace-all-the-movement-that-s-going-on-these-days-about/) [Julie Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-andrews/) > [I think when you move past your fear and you go after your dreams wholeheartedly, you become free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ll-cool-j/i-think-when-you-move-past-your-fear-and-you-go-after-your-dreams/) [LL Cool J](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ll-cool-j/) > [Design is all about relationships. Unfortunately, many designers don’t fully appreciate this. Some of the best design work I’ve ever done was drinking coffee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-burka/design-is-all-about-relationships-unfortunately-many-designers-don-t/) Daniel Burka > [The truly still mind, with which you were born, is the mind that moves freely. Without ignoring anything, it reacts wholeheartedly to everything it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soko-morinaga/the-truly-still-mind-with-which-you-were-born-is-the-mind-that-moves/) [Soko Morinaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soko-morinaga/) ## More by Henry Miller > [“I reached out for something to attach myself to—and I found nothing. But in reaching out, in the effort to grasp, to attach myself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-reached-out-for-something-to-attach-myself-to-and-i-found-nothing/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“I saw the errors I had made and assumed full responsibility for everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-saw-the-errors-i-had-made-and-assumed-full-responsibility-for/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [The monstrous thing is not that men have created roses out of this dung heap, but that, for some reason or other, they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-monstrous-thing-is-not-that-men-have-created-roses-out-of-this/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [They never opened the door which leads to the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/they-never-opened-the-door-which-leads-to-the-soul/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“(...)I decided to let myself drift with the tide, to make not the least resistance to fate, no matter in what form it presented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-decided-to-let-myself-drift-with-the-tide-to-make-not-the-least/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“If it be knowledge or wisdom one is seeking, then one had better go direct to the source. And the source is not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/if-it-be-knowledge-or-wisdom-one-is-seeking-then-one-had-better-go/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“In the egocentric prism the helpless victim is walled in by the very light which he refracts. The ego dies in its own glass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/in-the-egocentric-prism-the-helpless-victim-is-walled-in-by-the-very/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“When one spends what he has on himself, when one has a thoroughly good time with his own money, people are apt to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/when-one-spends-what-he-has-on-himself-when-one-has-a-thoroughly-good/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [Paint what you like and die happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/paint-what-you-like-and-die-happy/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [She may be lying in bed reading a book, she may be making love with a prize fighter, or she may be running like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/she-may-be-lying-in-bed-reading-a-book-she-may-be-making-love-with-a/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“And no one sets about saving the world unless he has first experienced the miracle of personal salvation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/and-no-one-sets-about-saving-the-world-unless-he-has-first/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“He looks about the room at the few sticks of furniture, at the dirty bed sheets and the wash basin with the dirty water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/he-looks-about-the-room-at-the-few-sticks-of-furniture-at-the-dirty/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“Since then, of course, I have discovered what every madman in Paris discovers sooner of later; that there are no ready made infernos for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/since-then-of-course-i-have-discovered-what-every-madman-in-paris/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“Looking back upon my career, I see myself as a person capable of undertaking almost any task, any vocation. It was the monotony and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/looking-back-upon-my-career-i-see-myself-as-a-person-capable-of/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“The word in your mouth is anarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-word-in-your-mouth-is-anarchy/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) [Explore all 894 Henry Miller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) ## More Conformity quotes > [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/) Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless > [“All to often, on the long road up, young leaders become servants of what is rather than shapers of what might be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/all-to-often-on-the-long-road-up-young-leaders-become-servants-of/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [The Chains of conformity click in tiresomely monotonous unison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-sweet/the-chains-of-conformity-click-in-tiresomely-monotonous-unison/) [Leonard Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-sweet/) > [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [A self is a frightening thing to waste, it's the lens through which one's whole life is viewed, and few people are willing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/a-self-is-a-frightening-thing-to-waste-it-s-the-lens-through-which/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [Ideation is not a synonym for innovation, conformity is not its simple antonym, and innovation is not the automatic consequence of "creative thinking.".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/ideation-is-not-a-synonym-for-innovation-conformity-is-not-its-simple/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [“I lead with the knowingness that my reality conforms to my wishes and desires instantly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-s-baker/i-lead-with-the-knowingness-that-my-reality-conforms-to-my-wishes-and/) [Robin S. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-s-baker/) > [Alas, everything that men say to one another is alike; the ideas they exchange are almost always the same, in their conversation. But inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/alas-everything-that-men-say-to-one-another-is-alike-the-ideas-they/) [Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) > [The search for truth is a cooperative, unending endeavor. We can, and should, engage in it to the extent we can and encourage others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-search-for-truth-is-a-cooperative-unending-endeavor-we-can-and/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Seeds have the power to preserve species, to enhance cultural as well as genetic diversity, to counter economic monopoly and to check the advance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/seeds-have-the-power-to-preserve-species-to-enhance-cultural-as-well/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“Brontë was attempting to depict a character that adheres to the unchanging principles of her faith though she refused conformity to the particular practices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-swallow-prior/bront-was-attempting-to-depict-a-character-that-adheres-to-the/) [Karen Swallow Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-swallow-prior/) > [Officers conditioned to conformity in peacetime cannot be expected to behave boldly and flexibly in combat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-yingling/officers-conditioned-to-conformity-in-peacetime-cannot-be-expected-to/) Paul Yingling > [The more civilized a nation, the more conformed its population, until that civilization's last age arrives, when multiplicity wages war with conformity. The former…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/the-more-civilized-a-nation-the-more-conformed-its-population-until/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/society-everywhere-is-in-conspiracy-against-the-manhood-of-every-one/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Deaths, births, and marriages, considering how much they are separately dependent on the freedom of the human will, should seem to be subject to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/deaths-births-and-marriages-considering-how-much-they-are-separately/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) [Browse all 937 Conformity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The only law which is really lived up to wholeheartedly and with a vengeance is the law of conformity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry Miller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-only-law-which-is-really-lived-up-to-wholeheartedly-and-with-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conformity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-only-law-which-is-really-lived-up-to-wholeheartedly-and-with-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/henry-miller-179_conformity_the-only-law-which-is-really-lived-up-to_1380923.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/henry-miller-179_conformity_the-only-law-which-is-really-lived-up-to_1380923.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/henry-miller-179_conformity_the-only-law-which-is-really-lived-up-to_1380923.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The only law which is really lived up to wholeheartedly and with a vengeance is the law of conformity.” — Henry Miller", "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 Miller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The only law which is really...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-only-law-which-is-really-lived-up-to-wholeheartedly-and-with-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-only-law-which-is-really-lived-up-to-wholeheartedly-and-with-a/#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 } } ] } ```