--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Obedient to no man, dependent only on…" description: "\"“Obedient to no man, dependent only on weather and season, without a goal before them or a roof above them, owning nothing, open to every whim of fate,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/hermann-hesse-130_ambition_obedient-to-no-man-dependent-only-on-wea_2911251.png" --- # Obedient to no man, dependent only on weather and season… ![“Obedient to no man, dependent only on weather and season, without a goal before them or a roof above them, owning nothing, open to every whim of fate, the homeless wanderers lead their childlike, brave, shabby existence. They are the sons of Adam, who was driven out of Paradise; the brothers of…” quote by Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/hermann-hesse-130_ambition_obedient-to-no-man-dependent-only-on-wea_2911251.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/hermann-hesse-130_ambition_obedient-to-no-man-dependent-only-on-wea_2911251.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/hermann-hesse-130_ambition_obedient-to-no-man-dependent-only-on-wea_2911251.png) > ““Obedient to no man, dependent only on weather and season, without a goal before them or a roof above them, owning nothing, open to every whim of fate, the homeless wanderers lead their childlike, brave, shabby existence. They are the sons of Adam, who was driven out of Paradise; the brothers of the animals, of innocence. Out of heaven's hand they accept what is given them from moment to moment: sun, rain, fog, snow, warmth, cold, comfort, and hardship; time does not exist for them and neither does history, or ambition, or that bizarre idol called progress and evolution, in which houseowners believe so desperately. A wayfarer may be delicate or crude, artful or awkward, brave or cowardly—he is always a child at heart, living in the first day of creation, before the beginning of the history of the world, his life always guided by a few simple instincts and needs. He may be intelligent or stupid; he may be deeply aware of the fleeting fragility of all living things, of how pettily and fearfully each living creature carries its bit of warm blood through the glaciers of cosmic space, or he may merely follow the commands of his poor stomach with childlike greed—he is always the opponent, the deadly enemy of the established proprietor, who hates him, despises him, or fears him, because he does not wish to be reminded that all existence is transitory, that life is constantly wilting, that merciless icy death fills the cosmos all around.”” [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage celebrates the freedom and authenticity of those who live without material possessions or societal goals, embracing the present moment and natural instincts while rejecting imposed progress and ownership. **In simple terms:** Living simply and freely, guided by basic needs, rejects society’s ambitions. Key Takeaway Embrace simplicity and presence. Themes freedom authenticity nature rebellion impermanence Mood contemplative melancholic reverent Type philosophical poetic inspirational When to use this quote - travelers - homeless - artists - philosophers - spiritual seekers Key Concepts existentialism minimalism nature philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What does true freedom mean to you? - How can you balance simplicity with responsibility? A Different Perspective Such a life may lack security and long‑term planning, making survival precarious. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Childishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childishness/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [First Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-day/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Innocence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innocence/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Living things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-things/) [Wanderer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanderer/) [Wanderers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanderers/) [Wayfarer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wayfarer/) ## Related quotes > [The sons of Adam are formed from dust; if not humble as the dust, they fall short of being men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saadi/the-sons-of-adam-are-formed-from-dust-if-not-humble-as-the-dust-they/) [Saadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saadi/) > [“We are all one From the tiniest atom to the largest sun It's ironic they say we are the sons of Adam.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-v-williams/we-are-all-one-from-the-tiniest-atom-to-the-largest-sun-it-s-ironic/) Donald V. Williams > [“My name is Samaranth,” said the great red beast, “and all those you see around you declined my invitation, opting instead to help themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-owen/my-name-is-samaranth-said-the-great-red-beast-and-all-those-you-see/) [James A. Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-owen/) > [The sons of Adam are limbs of each other, Having been created of one essence. When the calamity of time affects one limb, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saadi/the-sons-of-adam-are-limbs-of-each-other-having-been-created-of-one/) [Saadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saadi/) > [“The sons of Adam are limbs of a frame, for in creation, from one soul they came. If hard times cause one member to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharghzadeh/the-sons-of-adam-are-limbs-of-a-frame-for-in-creation-from-one-soul/) Sharghzadeh > [“Live in this world as if you are a stranger or a wayfarer”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prophet-muhammad-salla-allahu-alaihi-wasallam/live-in-this-world-as-if-you-are-a-stranger-or-a-wayfarer/) Prophet Muhammad Salla-Allahu alaihi wasallam > [“O wayfarer! Yearn finds quench, not in meadows, seashores or altitude of mountain peaks; but when being becomes dance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shah-asad-rizvi/o-wayfarer-yearn-finds-quench-not-in-meadows-seashores-or-altitude-of-2/) [Shah Asad Rizvi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shah-asad-rizvi/) > [Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a wayfarer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prophet-muhammad/be-in-this-world-as-if-you-were-a-stranger-or-a-wayfarer/) [Prophet Muhammad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prophet-muhammad/) > [We started Wayfarer Entertainment to create content that we felt could actually inspire people to be the best version of themselves. We take life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-baldoni/we-started-wayfarer-entertainment-to-create-content-that-we-felt/) [Justin Baldoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-baldoni/) > [“How could I tell him that I now wanted what he had once wanted----to travel on trains and fall in love with girls with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/how-could-i-tell-him-that-i-now-wanted-what-he-had-once-wanted-to/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [The wayfarer, Perceiving the pathway to truth, Was struck with astonishment. It was thickly grown with weeds. "Ha," he said, "I see that none…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-crane/the-wayfarer-perceiving-the-pathway-to-truth-was-struck-with/) [Stephen Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-crane/) > [“He was not just the common wayfarer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-a-franz/he-was-not-just-the-common-wayfarer/) Ronald A. Franz > [“Ô, the wine of a woman from heaven is sent, more perfect than all that a man can invent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-payne/the-wine-of-a-woman-from-heaven-is-sent-more-perfect-than-all-that-a/) [Roman Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-payne/) > [(Be in the world like you're weird, or wayfarer), and was the son of Umar says](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-feel-dreams-of-my-life-and-i-feel-dreams-of/be-in-the-world-like-you-re-weird-or-wayfarer-and-was-the-son-of-umar/) I Feel Dreams Of My Life And I Feel Dreams Of > [“O wayfarer! Yearn finds quench, not in meadows, seashores or altitude of mountain peaks; but when being and dance are one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shah-asad-rizvi/o-wayfarer-yearn-finds-quench-not-in-meadows-seashores-or-altitude-of/) [Shah Asad Rizvi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shah-asad-rizvi/) ## More by Hermann Hesse > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Fortunately, like most children, I had learned what is most valuable, most indispensable for life before school years began, taught by apple trees, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/fortunately-like-most-children-i-had-learned-what-is-most-valuable/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“The mistaken and unhappy notion that a man is an enduring unity is known to you. It is also known to you that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-mistaken-and-unhappy-notion-that-a-man-is-an-enduring-unity-is/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“... it would be better for our country and the world in general, if at least the few people who were capable of thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-would-be-better-for-our-country-and-the-world-in-general-if-at/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The bird fights its way out of the egg. The egg is the world. Who would be born must first destroy a world. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-bird-fights-its-way-out-of-the-egg-the-egg-is-the-world-who-would/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/everything-becomes-a-little-different-as-soon-as-it-is-spoken-out-loud/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [It may be important to great thinkers to examine the world, to explain and despise it. But I think it is only important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-may-be-important-to-great-thinkers-to-examine-the-world-to-explain/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“..it is useless for you to build walls and dormitories and chapels and churches. Death looks through the window and laughs..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-is-useless-for-you-to-build-walls-and-dormitories-and-chapels-and/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“When the world is at peace, when all things are tranquil and all men obey their superiors in all their courses, then music can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/when-the-world-is-at-peace-when-all-things-are-tranquil-and-all-men/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [A mere nothing suffices — and the lightning strikes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-mere-nothing-suffices-and-the-lightning-strikes/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“And if time is not real, then the dividing line that seems to lie between this world and eternity, between suffering and bliss, between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/and-if-time-is-not-real-then-the-dividing-line-that-seems-to-lie/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Beautiful was this world, looking at it thus, without searching, thus simply, thus childlike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/beautiful-was-this-world-looking-at-it-thus-without-searching-thus/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Were not the gods forms created like me and you, mortal, transient?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/were-not-the-gods-forms-created-like-me-and-you-mortal-transient/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) [Explore all 951 Hermann Hesse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) ## More Ambition quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-s-worth-is-no-greater-than-the-worth-of-his-ambitions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [Work towards your goal and dont watch the post size,its either they hate,or like you.there is no room for both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-buabeng/work-towards-your-goal-and-dont-watch-the-post-size-its-either-they/) [Isaac Buabeng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-buabeng/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There's nothing worse than a leader who lacks ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-leader-who-lacks-ambition/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If i can't even protect my captain's dream, then whatever ambition i have is nothing but talk..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoro/if-i-can-t-even-protect-my-captain-s-dream-then-whatever-ambition-i/) [Zoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoro/) > [It may seem unattainable but if you put actions, your heart and your mind into it, you will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/it-may-seem-unattainable-but-if-you-put-actions-your-heart-and-your/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) [Browse all 4,601 Ambition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Obedient to no man, dependent only on weather and season, without a goal before them or a roof above them, owning nothing, open to every whim of fate, the homeless wanderers lead their childlike, brave, shabby existence. They are the sons of Adam, who was driven out of Paradise; the brothers of the animals, of innocence. Out of heaven's hand they accept what is given them from moment to moment: sun, rain, fog, snow, warmth, cold, comfort, and hardship; time does not exist for them and neither does history, or ambition, or that bizarre idol called progress and evolution, in which houseowners believe so desperately. A wayfarer may be delicate or crude, artful or awkward, brave or cowardly—he is always a child at heart, living in the first day of creation, before the beginning of the history of the world, his life always guided by a few simple instincts and needs. 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