--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fathers must always be giving if they…" description: "\"“Fathers must always be giving if they would be happy themselves; always giving — they would not be fathers else.”\" — Honoré de Balzac" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/honor-de-balzac-197_fathers_fathers-must-always-be-giving-if-they-wo_2717099.png" --- # Fathers must always be giving if they would be happy… ![“Fathers must always be giving if they would be happy themselves; always giving — they would not be fathers else.” quote by Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/honor-de-balzac-197_fathers_fathers-must-always-be-giving-if-they-wo_2717099.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/honor-de-balzac-197_fathers_fathers-must-always-be-giving-if-they-wo_2717099.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/honor-de-balzac-197_fathers_fathers-must-always-be-giving-if-they-wo_2717099.png) > ““Fathers must always be giving if they would be happy themselves; always giving — they would not be fathers else.”” [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fathers must constantly give to stay happy; without giving, they cease to be fathers. **In simple terms:** Fatherhood requires selfless giving. Key Takeaway Practice generosity in parenting. Themes family generosity identity Mood reflective emotional Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - childrearing - relationship counseling - personal growth Key Concepts parental roles self-sacrifice Questions to Reflect On - What balance exists between giving and self-care? - How does generosity shape family dynamics? A Different Perspective Giving can lead to burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fathers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fathers/) [Fathers Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fathers-giving-2853971/) [Generosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generosity/) [Giving Fathers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-fathers-2853970/) [Giving Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-happy-2462956/) [Happy Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-giving-1432041/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) ## Related quotes > [“All i care about is giving you the happy ever after you want. In our own messy, complicated way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-dillon/all-i-care-about-is-giving-you-the-happy-ever-after-you-want-in-our/) [Lucy Dillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-dillon/) > [Kindness is not only sharing but making your heart happy by what one is giving out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/kindness-is-not-only-sharing-but-making-your-heart-happy-by-what-one/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Parents were invented to make children happy by giving them something to ignore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/parents-were-invented-to-make-children-happy-by-giving-them-something/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [Before giving, the mind of the giver is happy; while giving, the mind of the giver is made peaceful; and having given, the mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/before-giving-the-mind-of-the-giver-is-happy-while-giving-the-mind-of/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Giving kindness can make people happy than giving money¦](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humaira/giving-kindness-can-make-people-happy-than-giving-money/) [Humaira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humaira/) > [“What do we know of the world, of business, or men, or life? 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My faith is the faith of my fathers - I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/i-believe-in-my-mormon-faith-and-i-endeavor-to-live-by-it-my-faith-is/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [“There are women who will never get to know their fathers and won't get over it. There are women who have had to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-van-jordan/there-are-women-who-will-never-get-to-know-their-fathers-and-won-t/) [A. Van Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-van-jordan/) > [“Few sons are like their fathers--most are worse, few better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/few-sons-are-like-their-fathers-most-are-worse-few-better/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [A happy family needs a loving and caring father, and he who knows how to be a mother sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-happy-family-needs-a-loving-and-caring-father-and-he-who-knows-how/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Honoré de Balzac > [“Oh, my friend, when you love, love a woman whom you are sure that you can love always. Never forsake a woman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/oh-my-friend-when-you-love-love-a-woman-whom-you-are-sure-that-you/) [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“You have broken the ice, though you have not even scratched its glossy surface: you have placed your hand upon the croup of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/you-have-broken-the-ice-though-you-have-not-even-scratched-its-glossy/) [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [In a world of hunchbacks, a fine figure becomes a monstrosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/in-a-world-of-hunchbacks-a-fine-figure-becomes-a-monstrosity/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [It is quite right what they say: the three most beautiful sights in the world are a ship in full sail, a galloping horse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/it-is-quite-right-what-they-say-the-three-most-beautiful-sights-in/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [My writing table has seen all my wretchedness, knows all my plans, has overheard all my thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/my-writing-table-has-seen-all-my-wretchedness-knows-all-my-plans-has/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Foppery, being the chronic condition of women, is not so much noticed as it is when it breaks out on the person of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/foppery-being-the-chronic-condition-of-women-is-not-so-much-noticed/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [A married woman is a slave you must know how to seat upon a throne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/a-married-woman-is-a-slave-you-must-know-how-to-seat-upon-a-throne/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Rich men are resolved to be astonished at nothing. When they see a masterpiece, they must needs at one glance recognize some flaw to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/rich-men-are-resolved-to-be-astonished-at-nothing-when-they-see-a/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [I am a galley slave to pen and ink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/i-am-a-galley-slave-to-pen-and-ink/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [One can imagine the look the two lovers exchanged; it was like a flame, for virtuous lovers have not a shred of hypocrisy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/one-can-imagine-the-look-the-two-lovers-exchanged-it-was-like-a-flame/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [White and shining virgin of all human virtues, ark of the covenant between earth and heaven, tender and strong companion partaking of the lion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/white-and-shining-virgin-of-all-human-virtues-ark-of-the-covenant/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [All men can bear a familiar, definite misfortune better than the cruel alternations of a fate which, from one moment to another, brings excessive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/all-men-can-bear-a-familiar-definite-misfortune-better-than-the-cruel/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [The mind, too, has its regimen. It needs gymnastics, just like the body does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/the-mind-too-has-its-regimen-it-needs-gymnastics-just-like-the-body/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Hatred like love feeds on the merest trifles. Everything adds to it. Just as the being we love can do no wrong, so the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/hatred-like-love-feeds-on-the-merest-trifles-everything-adds-to-it/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [All human power is a compound of time and patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/all-human-power-is-a-compound-of-time-and-patience/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) [Explore all 793 Honoré de Balzac quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) ## More Fathers quotes > [A happy family needs a loving and caring father, and he who knows how to be a mother sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-happy-family-needs-a-loving-and-caring-father-and-he-who-knows-how/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Few sons are like their fathers--most are worse, few better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/few-sons-are-like-their-fathers-most-are-worse-few-better/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“There are women who will never get to know their fathers and won't get over it. There are women who have had to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-van-jordan/there-are-women-who-will-never-get-to-know-their-fathers-and-won-t/) [A. Van Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-van-jordan/) > [I believe in my Mormon faith, and I endeavor to live by it. My faith is the faith of my fathers - I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/i-believe-in-my-mormon-faith-and-i-endeavor-to-live-by-it-my-faith-is/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [On Father's Day, we pay tribute to all in our society who have taken on the responsibilitie s and joys of fatherhood. Whether our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/on-father-s-day-we-pay-tribute-to-all-in-our-society-who-have-taken/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Being a role model is the most powerful form of educating...too often fathers neglect it because they get so caught up in making a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wooden/being-a-role-model-is-the-most-powerful-form-of-educating-too-often/) [John Wooden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wooden/) > [Conservatism is about the basic rights of individuals. God created us. As far as the government goes, the Founding Fathers based the Constitution off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wurzelbacher/conservatism-is-about-the-basic-rights-of-individuals-god-created-us/) [Joe Wurzelbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wurzelbacher/) > [“You can know a thing to death and be for all purposes completely ignorant of it. A man can know his father, or his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/you-can-know-a-thing-to-death-and-be-for-all-purposes-completely/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [For a man, there's a big responsibility that comes with having a boy because men are made by their fathers. If you've got a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafe-spall/for-a-man-there-s-a-big-responsibility-that-comes-with-having-a-boy/) [Rafe Spall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafe-spall/) > [According to fathers, their kids are always good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeetendra/according-to-fathers-their-kids-are-always-good/) [Jeetendra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeetendra/) > [The most powerful teaching a child will ever receive will come from concerned and righteous fathers and mothers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/the-most-powerful-teaching-a-child-will-ever-receive-will-come-from/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Fathers never have exactly the daughters they want because they invent a notion a them that the daughters have to conform to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/fathers-never-have-exactly-the-daughters-they-want-because-they/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [In colonial America, the father was the primary parent. . . . Over the past two hundred years, each generation of fathers has hadless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-pittman/in-colonial-america-the-father-was-the-primary-parent-over-the-past/) [Frank Pittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-pittman/) > [We long for our father. We wear his clothes, and actually try to fill his shoes. . . . We hang on to him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-pittman/we-long-for-our-father-we-wear-his-clothes-and-actually-try-to-fill/) [Frank Pittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-pittman/) > [A lot fathers showin off instead of showin up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wale/a-lot-fathers-showin-off-instead-of-showin-up/) [Wale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wale/) [Browse all 871 Fathers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fathers/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Fathers must always be giving if they would be happy themselves; always giving — they would not be fathers else.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Honoré de Balzac" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/fathers-must-always-be-giving-if-they-would-be-happy-themselves/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fathers" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/fathers-must-always-be-giving-if-they-would-be-happy-themselves/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/honor-de-balzac-197_fathers_fathers-must-always-be-giving-if-they-wo_2717099.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/honor-de-balzac-197_fathers_fathers-must-always-be-giving-if-they-wo_2717099.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/honor-de-balzac-197_fathers_fathers-must-always-be-giving-if-they-wo_2717099.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Fathers must always be giving if they would be happy themselves; always giving — they would not be fathers…” — Honoré de Balzac", "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": "Honoré de Balzac", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Fathers must always be giving if...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/fathers-must-always-be-giving-if-they-would-be-happy-themselves/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/fathers-must-always-be-giving-if-they-would-be-happy-themselves/#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 } } ] } ```