--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My position is such that there is no…" description: "\"My position is such that there is no necessity for me to enter into competition with struggling humanity. As to expensive and ruinous pleasures, I am a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/658/henryk-sienkiewicz-10837_competition_my-position-is-such-that-there-is-no-nec_62723.jpg" --- # My position is such that there is no necessity for me to… ![“My position is such that there is no necessity for me to enter into competition with struggling humanity. As to expensive and ruinous pleasures, I am a sceptic who knows how much they are worth, or rather, knows that they are not worth anything.” quote by Henryk Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/658/henryk-sienkiewicz-10837_competition_my-position-is-such-that-there-is-no-nec_62723.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/658/henryk-sienkiewicz-10837_competition_my-position-is-such-that-there-is-no-nec_62723.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/658/henryk-sienkiewicz-10837_competition_my-position-is-such-that-there-is-no-nec_62723.jpg) > “My position is such that there is no necessity for me to enter into competition with struggling humanity. As to expensive and ruinous pleasures, I am a sceptic who knows how much they are worth, or rather, knows that they are not worth anything.” [Henryk Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henryk-sienkiewicz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker rejects competing with humanity’s struggles and dismisses costly, harmful pleasures as valueless. **In simple terms:** Rejects competition and material excess. Key Takeaway Value humility over rivalry. Themes humility skepticism materialism existentialism Mood contemplative skeptical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - philosophical discourse - personal reflection - ethical debates - literary analysis Key Concepts competition pleasure value human condition Practical Applications - moral education - critical thinking curricula Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to be 'not in competition' with humanity? - How can we assess the true worth of pleasure? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Competition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competition/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Pleasures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasures/) [Sceptic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sceptic/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) ## Related quotes > [Ennui, the parent of expensive and ruinous vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ninon-de-l-enclos/ennui-the-parent-of-expensive-and-ruinous-vices/) [Ninon de L'Enclos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ninon-de-l-enclos/) > [I'm a natural sceptic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-m-a-natural-sceptic/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [The conduct of a man, who studies philosophy in this careless manner, is more truly sceptical than that of any one, who feeling inhimself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-conduct-of-a-man-who-studies-philosophy-in-this-careless-manner/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“You are a sceptic." "Never! Scepticism is the beginning of faith." "What are you?" "To define is to limit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/you-are-a-sceptic-never-scepticism-is-the-beginning-of-faith-what-are/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Seeing clearly within himself and always able to dodge around the ends of any position, including his own, Shaw assumed from the start the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/seeing-clearly-within-himself-and-always-able-to-dodge-around-the/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [If you are only skeptical, then no new ideas make it through to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/if-you-are-only-skeptical-then-no-new-ideas-make-it-through-to-you/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [I note that warmists are often banging on about the fact that sceptics like Christopher Booker and myself 'only' have arts degrees. 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In Limbo one has natural happiness without the beatific vision; no harps; no communal order; but wine and conversation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/limbo-is-the-place-in-limbo-one-has-natural-happiness-without-the/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [The want of faith, as well as faith itself, is best shewn by works. If a sceptic avoid the fire as much as those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-reid/the-want-of-faith-as-well-as-faith-itself-is-best-shewn-by-works-if-a/) [Thomas Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-reid/) > [Never trust anyone who has no doubts. And I'm not talking about scepticism either: scepticism can be a healthy thing. You can have an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-bragg/never-trust-anyone-who-has-no-doubts-and-i-m-not-talking-about/) [Billy Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-bragg/) ## More by Henryk Sienkiewicz > [An excessive preponderance of an idealistic mood is harmful to society: it creates daydreaming, political Don Quixotism, hope for heavenly intervention. This is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henryk-sienkiewicz/an-excessive-preponderance-of-an-idealistic-mood-is-harmful-to/) [Henryk Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henryk-sienkiewicz/) > [The sky is one whole, the water another; and between those two infinities the soul of man is in loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henryk-sienkiewicz/the-sky-is-one-whole-the-water-another-and-between-those-two/) [Henryk Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henryk-sienkiewicz/) > [“He would not now conduct little Nell to the coast; he would not convey her by a steamer to Port Said, would not surrender…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henryk-sienkiewicz/he-would-not-now-conduct-little-nell-to-the-coast-he-would-not-convey/) [Henryk Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henryk-sienkiewicz/) > [But the French writers always had more originality and independence than others, and that regulator, which elsewhere was religion, long since ceased to exist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henryk-sienkiewicz/but-the-french-writers-always-had-more-originality-and-independence/) [Henryk Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henryk-sienkiewicz/) > [I consider that in dialectics I am the equal of Socrates. 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I sometimes think it is the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henryk-sienkiewicz/it-is-an-altogether-wrong-idea-that-the-modern-product-of/) [Henryk Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henryk-sienkiewicz/) > [“without noise of drums or”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henryk-sienkiewicz/without-noise-of-drums-or/) [Henryk Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henryk-sienkiewicz/) > [On an exhausted field, only weeds grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henryk-sienkiewicz/on-an-exhausted-field-only-weeds-grow/) [Henryk Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henryk-sienkiewicz/) > [“Bright, dreadful flashes of lightning rent the darkness and Kali's reply was drowned by a peal of thunder which shook heaven and the wilderness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henryk-sienkiewicz/bright-dreadful-flashes-of-lightning-rent-the-darkness-and-kali-s/) [Henryk Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henryk-sienkiewicz/) > [If the infinity of the sea may call out thus, perhaps when a man is growing old, calls come to him, too, from another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henryk-sienkiewicz/if-the-infinity-of-the-sea-may-call-out-thus-perhaps-when-a-man-is/) [Henryk Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henryk-sienkiewicz/) [Explore all 57 Henryk Sienkiewicz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henryk-sienkiewicz/) ## More Competition quotes > [The Copa del Rey is a different competition. It is football in its purest form and is different from the continuity of the league.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-laudrup/the-copa-del-rey-is-a-different-competition-it-is-football-in-its/) [Michael Laudrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-laudrup/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. 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But a person's value isn't something that can be ranked, is it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hotaru-odagiri/at-times-competition-can-be-a-good-thing-but-a-person-s-value-isn-t/) [Hotaru Odagiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hotaru-odagiri/) > [Our competition has always been anything that is wasting your time when you're bored at work. In a broad sense. We want people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-ohanian/our-competition-has-always-been-anything-that-is-wasting-your-time/) [Alexis Ohanian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-ohanian/) > [I've always considered making it legal for Americans to import their prescription drugs a free-trade issue. Imports create competition and keep domestic industry more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-grassley/i-ve-always-considered-making-it-legal-for-americans-to-import-their/) [Chuck Grassley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-grassley/) > [Honestly, we’ll compete with everybody. I love competition. 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