---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Be ashamed to die until you have won some…"
description: "\"Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for mankind\" — Horace Mann"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/269/horace-mann-2022_ashamed_be-ashamed-to-die-until-you-have-won-som_2503630.png"
---

#  Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for…

![“Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for mankind” quote by Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/269/horace-mann-2022_ashamed_be-ashamed-to-die-until-you-have-won-som_2503630.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/269/horace-mann-2022_ashamed_be-ashamed-to-die-until-you-have-won-som_2503630.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/269/horace-mann-2022_ashamed_be-ashamed-to-die-until-you-have-won-som_2503630.png)

> “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for mankind”

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

One should strive for meaningful contributions to humanity before death.

**In simple terms:** Seek meaningful achievements before dying.

Key Takeaway

Aim for lasting impact.

Themes

legacy humanitarianism achievement purpose social responsibility

Mood

inspirational hopeful

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

- volunteering
- public service
- scientific discovery
- artistic creation

Key Concepts

ethics philosophy history

Questions to Reflect On

- What legacy do you wish to leave?
- How can everyday actions contribute to humanity?

A Different Perspective

Great deeds are rare and demanding.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Ashamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashamed/) [Ashamed Die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashamed-die-326479/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Victory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victory/) [Victory Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victory-mankind-1086350/)

## Related quotes

> [Be ashamed to die until you have won a victory for mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-ashamed-to-die-until-you-have-won-a-victory-for-mankind/)

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

> [So, in the infinitely nobler battle in which you are engaged against error and wrong, if ever repulsed or stricken down, may you always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/so-in-the-infinitely-nobler-battle-in-which-you-are-engaged-against/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [You should avoid hedging, at least that's what I think. You should be ashamed to die until you've made some contribution to mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-johns/you-should-avoid-hedging-at-least-that-s-what-i-think-you-should-be/)

[Vernon Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-johns/)

> [I beseech you to treasure up in your hearts these my parting words: Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/i-beseech-you-to-treasure-up-in-your-hearts-these-my-parting-words-be/)

[Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/)

> [Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/be-ashamed-to-die-until-you-have-won-some-victory-for-humanity/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [The victory of mankind is not found upon the blade, but upon mankind's integrity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaitlyn-norton/the-victory-of-mankind-is-not-found-upon-the-blade-but-upon-mankind-s/)

[Kaitlyn Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaitlyn-norton/)

> [“Until you have done something for humanity,” wrote the great American educator Horace Mann, “you should be ashamed to die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/until-you-have-done-something-for-humanity-wrote-the-great-american/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [Be ashamed to die until you have done something good for mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-johnson/be-ashamed-to-die-until-you-have-done-something-good-for-mankind/)

[Vernon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-johnson/)

> [Once upon a time our traditional goal in war and can anyone doubt that we are at war? - was victory. Once upon a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/once-upon-a-time-our-traditional-goal-in-war-and-can-anyone-doubt/)

[Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/)

> [Sometimes the greatest victories we can make for mankind are the victories we make over ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-fesler/sometimes-the-greatest-victories-we-can-make-for-mankind-are-the/)

[Wes Fesler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-fesler/)

> [Let us do our duty in our shop or our kitchen, in the market, the street, the office, the school, the home, just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/let-us-do-our-duty-in-our-shop-or-our-kitchen-in-the-market-the/)

[Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/)

> [I know what you're thinking... and you oughtta be ashamed of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-preston/i-know-what-you-re-thinking-and-you-oughtta-be-ashamed-of-yourself/)

[Robert Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-preston/)

> [Don't ever sell mankind short by saying there's anything they can't do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredric-brown/don-t-ever-sell-mankind-short-by-saying-there-s-anything-they-can-t-do/)

[Fredric Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredric-brown/)

> [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

## More by Horace Mann

> [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [The earth endured Christ's ministry only three years;--not three weeks after his real character and purposes were generally known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/the-earth-endured-christ-s-ministry-only-three-years-not-three-weeks/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [If evil is inevitable, how are the wicked accountable? Nay, why do we call men wicked at all? Evil is inevitable, but is also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/if-evil-is-inevitable-how-are-the-wicked-accountable-nay-why-do-we/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [The soul of the truly benevolent man does not seem to reside much in his own body. Its life, to a great extent, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/the-soul-of-the-truly-benevolent-man-does-not-seem-to-reside-much-in/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [The pulpit only "teaches" to be honest; the market-place "trains" to overreaching and fraud; and teaching has not a tithe of the efficiency of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/the-pulpit-only-teaches-to-be-honest-the-market-place-trains-to/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [On entering this world our starting-point is ignorance. None, however, but idiots remain there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/on-entering-this-world-our-starting-point-is-ignorance-none-however/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [So, in the infinitely nobler battle in which you are engaged against error and wrong, if ever repulsed or stricken down, may you always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/so-in-the-infinitely-nobler-battle-in-which-you-are-engaged-against/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [We conceive of immortality as having a beginning, but no end; but we conceive of eternity as having neither beginning nor end. Hence it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/we-conceive-of-immortality-as-having-a-beginning-but-no-end-but-we/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [In our country and in our times no man is worthy the honored name of statesman who does not include the highest practicable education…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/in-our-country-and-in-our-times-no-man-is-worthy-the-honored-name-of/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [Genius may conceive but patient labor must consummate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/genius-may-conceive-but-patient-labor-must-consummate/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [Even the choicest literature should be taken as the condiment, and not as the sustenance of life. It should be neither the warp nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/even-the-choicest-literature-should-be-taken-as-the-condiment-and-not/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [Of all "rights" which command attention at the present time among us, woman's rights seem to take precedence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/of-all-rights-which-command-attention-at-the-present-time-among-us/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [After a child has arrived at the legal age for attending school,-whether he be the child of noble or of peasant,-the only two absolute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/after-a-child-has-arrived-at-the-legal-age-for-attending-school/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [Let the Common School be expanded to its capabilities, let it be worked with the efficiency of which it is susceptible, and nine tenths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/let-the-common-school-be-expanded-to-its-capabilities-let-it-be/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [Resistance to improvement contradicts the noblest instincts of the race. It begets its opposite. The fanaticism of reform is only the raging of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/resistance-to-improvement-contradicts-the-noblest-instincts-of-the/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

[Explore all 191 Horace Mann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

## More Ashamed quotes

> [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [I know what you're thinking... and you oughtta be ashamed of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-preston/i-know-what-you-re-thinking-and-you-oughtta-be-ashamed-of-yourself/)

[Robert Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-preston/)

> [You never meet the writer when you're making a TV movie in America - they're too ashamed to show up and see how their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-don-baker/you-never-meet-the-writer-when-you-re-making-a-tv-movie-in-america/)

[Joe Don Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-don-baker/)

> [I'm not ashamed of the things I believe and why I believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/i-m-not-ashamed-of-the-things-i-believe-and-why-i-believe-them/)

[Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/)

> [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [“with her own life. And I was ashamed.” Humiliated. Broken. Miserable. If Wilcher had stood by Jaymee, if her father hadn’t berated her, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-green/with-her-own-life-and-i-was-ashamed-humiliated-broken-miserable-if/)

[Stacy Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-green/)

> [You should avoid hedging, at least that's what I think. You should be ashamed to die until you've made some contribution to mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-johns/you-should-avoid-hedging-at-least-that-s-what-i-think-you-should-be/)

[Vernon Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-johns/)

> [There was no mistake in us making abortion legal and available on demand. That was what we call progress. Just like it was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/there-was-no-mistake-in-us-making-abortion-legal-and-available-on/)

[Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/)

> [“When all are undressed, one is somehow not ashamed, but when one's the only one undressed and everybody is looking, it's degrading,' he kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/when-all-are-undressed-one-is-somehow-not-ashamed-but-when-one-s-the/)

[Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/)

> [There are a great many colored people who are ashamed of the cake-walk, but I think they ought to be proud of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/there-are-a-great-many-colored-people-who-are-ashamed-of-the-cake/)

[James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/)

> [I love him who is ashamed when the dice fall in his favour, and who then asketh: "Am I a dishonest player?" - for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/i-love-him-who-is-ashamed-when-the-dice-fall-in-his-favour-and-who/)

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

> [“Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/whoever-is-ashamed-of-me-and-my-words-the-son-of-man-will-be-ashamed/)

[Zondervan Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan-publishing/)

> [You were never created to live depressed, defeated, guilty, condemned, ashamed or unworthy. You were created to be victorious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/you-were-never-created-to-live-depressed-defeated-guilty-condemned/)

[Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/)

> [I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not ashamed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-never-wonder-to-see-men-wicked-but-i-often-wonder-to-see-them-not/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

> [“To survive during the Khmer Rouge, you had to steal, cheat, lie, point fingers at others, even kill. And now you are ashamed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-brinkley/to-survive-during-the-khmer-rouge-you-had-to-steal-cheat-lie-point/)

[Joel Brinkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-brinkley/)

[Browse all 1,607 Ashamed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashamed/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for mankind",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Horace Mann"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/be-ashamed-to-die-until-you-have-won-some-victory-for-mankind/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Ashamed"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/be-ashamed-to-die-until-you-have-won-some-victory-for-mankind/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/269/horace-mann-2022_ashamed_be-ashamed-to-die-until-you-have-won-som_2503630.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/269/horace-mann-2022_ashamed_be-ashamed-to-die-until-you-have-won-som_2503630.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/269/horace-mann-2022_ashamed_be-ashamed-to-die-until-you-have-won-som_2503630.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for mankind” — Horace Mann",
                "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": "Horace Mann",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Be ashamed to die until you...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/be-ashamed-to-die-until-you-have-won-some-victory-for-mankind/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/be-ashamed-to-die-until-you-have-won-some-victory-for-mankind/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
