---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People do not like to lose their lives…"
description: "\"“People do not like to lose their lives. That is the reason why they should not take other people's.”\" — Ivy Compton-Burnett"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/ivy-compton-burnett-10491_people_people-do-not-like-to-lose-their-lives-t_179960.jpg"
---

#  People do not like to lose their lives. That is the reason…

![“People do not like to lose their lives. That is the reason why they should not take other people's.” quote by Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/ivy-compton-burnett-10491_people_people-do-not-like-to-lose-their-lives-t_179960.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/ivy-compton-burnett-10491_people_people-do-not-like-to-lose-their-lives-t_179960.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/ivy-compton-burnett-10491_people_people-do-not-like-to-lose-their-lives-t_179960.jpg)

> ““People do not like to lose their lives. That is the reason why they should not take other people's.””

[Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/)

## About This Quote

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

People resist losing their own lives, so they should not take others' lives, respecting the desire for self-preservation.

**In simple terms:** Respect others' desire to live.

Key Takeaway

Do not harm others.

Themes

ethics life respect

Mood

thoughtful serious

Type

philosophical ethical

When to use this quote

- medical decisions
- war
- capital punishment
- self-defense
- policy making

Key Concepts

self-preservation morality human rights

Questions to Reflect On

- When is it justified to end a life?
- How do cultural values influence this view?

A Different Perspective

Complex moral dilemmas may arise.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/)

## Related quotes

> [People come into our lives for reason. I'm a firm believer of that. We just don't know what there for until we really find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccarty/people-come-into-our-lives-for-reason-i-m-a-firm-believer-of-that-we/)

[Kevin McCarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccarty/)

> [“People learn, early in their lives, what is their reason for being. Maybe that's why they give up on it so early, too. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/people-learn-early-in-their-lives-what-is-their-reason-for-being/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

> [We can live nuanced, complicated, exciting lives with no reason for limitation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-skolnik/we-can-live-nuanced-complicated-exciting-lives-with-no-reason-for/)

[Michael Skolnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-skolnik/)

> [“I’ve heard it said, that people, come into our lives for a reason. Bringing something we must learn and we aren’t, to help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-schwartz/i-ve-heard-it-said-that-people-come-into-our-lives-for-a-reason/)

[Stephen Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-schwartz/)

> [Pain doesn't show up in our lives for no reason... It's a sign that something in our lives needs to change...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/pain-doesn-t-show-up-in-our-lives-for-no-reason-it-s-a-sign-that/)

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

> [“But as with so many things in our lives, the reason for doing something is not the important thing. It is the fact of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/but-as-with-so-many-things-in-our-lives-the-reason-for-doing/)

[Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/)

> [I believe people are in our lives for a reason. We're here to learn from each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-anderson/i-believe-people-are-in-our-lives-for-a-reason-we-re-here-to-learn/)

[Gillian Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-anderson/)

> [“There're moments in our lives, when reason fails.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hlovate/there-re-moments-in-our-lives-when-reason-fails/)

Hlovate

> [God elininates those from our lives for a reason…But only those who can harm us! 8)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dub-tepper/god-elininates-those-from-our-lives-for-a-reason-but-only-those-who/)

DUB$TEPPER

> [That which lives on reason lives against the spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paracelsus/that-which-lives-on-reason-lives-against-the-spirit/)

[Paracelsus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paracelsus/)

> [Mental illness and gun violence are not directly correlated, but when the two go hand in hand, Americans - often children - lose their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-gonzalez/mental-illness-and-gun-violence-are-not-directly-correlated-but-when/)

[Emma Gonzalez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-gonzalez/)

> [We didn't lose as many lives as had been predicted although we're still in the process of finding those we lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-blanco/we-didn-t-lose-as-many-lives-as-had-been-predicted-although-we-re/)

[Kathleen Blanco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-blanco/)

> [I don't cheer when people lose their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-mcguinness/i-don-t-cheer-when-people-lose-their-lives/)

[Martin McGuinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-mcguinness/)

> [We can win the struggle to avoid responsibility for our personal lives, but if we do, what we lose is our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-coudert/we-can-win-the-struggle-to-avoid-responsibility-for-our-personal/)

[Jo Coudert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-coudert/)

> [“You say we could lose our lives for this child. I would consider that the greatest honor that could come to my family.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corrie-ten-boom/you-say-we-could-lose-our-lives-for-this-child-i-would-consider-that/)

[Corrie Ten Boom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corrie-ten-boom/)

## More by Ivy Compton-Burnett

> [Our desires have a way of getting bigger with our incomes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/our-desires-have-a-way-of-getting-bigger-with-our-incomes/)

[Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/)

> [I never know why self-sacrifice is noble. Why is it better to sacrifice oneself than someone else?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/i-never-know-why-self-sacrifice-is-noble-why-is-it-better-to/)

[Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/)

> [My youth is escaping without giving me anything it owes me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/my-youth-is-escaping-without-giving-me-anything-it-owes-me/)

[Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/)

> [It will be a beautiful family talk, mean and worried and full of sorrow and spite and excitement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/it-will-be-a-beautiful-family-talk-mean-and-worried-and-full-of/)

[Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/)

> [Never is a long word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/never-is-a-long-word/)

[Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/)

> [A person who can really be called an unselfish person, has no place in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/a-person-who-can-really-be-called-an-unselfish-person-has-no-place-in/)

[Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/)

> [We do not discuss the members of our family to their faces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/we-do-not-discuss-the-members-of-our-family-to-their-faces/)

[Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/)

> [The plot is not very important to me, though a novel must have one, of course. It's just a line to hang the washing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/the-plot-is-not-very-important-to-me-though-a-novel-must-have-one-of/)

[Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/)

> [Time is not a great healer. It is an indifferent and perfunctory one. Sometimes it does not heal at all. And sometimes when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/time-is-not-a-great-healer-it-is-an-indifferent-and-perfunctory-one/)

[Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/)

> [There are different kinds of wrong. The people sinned against are not always the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/there-are-different-kinds-of-wrong-the-people-sinned-against-are-not/)

[Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/)

> [Pushing forty? She's hanging on for dear life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/pushing-forty-she-s-hanging-on-for-dear-life/)

[Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/)

> [Well, Buttermere, this is a day that is good to live and breathe in, that makes a man feel in his prime. Standing here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/well-buttermere-this-is-a-day-that-is-good-to-live-and-breathe-in/)

[Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/)

> [Civilized life exacts its toll.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/civilized-life-exacts-its-toll/)

[Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/)

> [We none of us talk to people as we do behind their backs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/we-none-of-us-talk-to-people-as-we-do-behind-their-backs/)

[Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/)

> [There isn't much to say. I haven't been at all deedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/there-isn-t-much-to-say-i-haven-t-been-at-all-deedy/)

[Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/)

[Explore all 65 Ivy Compton-Burnett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/)

## More People quotes

> [If I am going to be phased out by whatever powers, then I want people to know that it is not because I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parvathy/if-i-am-going-to-be-phased-out-by-whatever-powers-then-i-want-people/)

[Parvathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parvathy/)

> [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/)

[Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/)

> [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/)

[Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/)

> [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/)

[Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/)

> [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/)

[Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/)

> [I feel like I definitely have a real sporty style, more so than a lot of people in G.O.O.D. Music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-sean/i-feel-like-i-definitely-have-a-real-sporty-style-more-so-than-a-lot/)

[Big Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-sean/)

> [I feel like the future is unwritten. So many of the things that we write now haven't been about educating people on the environment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flansburgh/i-feel-like-the-future-is-unwritten-so-many-of-the-things-that-we/)

[John Flansburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flansburgh/)

> [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/)

[Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/)

> [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/)

[Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/)

> [For us who are now in power, we need to be challenged to serve the people and ignore our own egos and personal interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/for-us-who-are-now-in-power-we-need-to-be-challenged-to-serve-the/)

[Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/)

> [When I was trying to come up with a stage name, I thought 'Lord' was super rad, but really masculine - ever since I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorde/when-i-was-trying-to-come-up-with-a-stage-name-i-thought-lord-was/)

[Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorde/)

> [By eating many fruits and vegetables in place of fast food and junk food, people could avoid obesity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-murdock/by-eating-many-fruits-and-vegetables-in-place-of-fast-food-and-junk/)

[David H. Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-murdock/)

> [Some people give you that motivation to work harder simply to get the hell away from wherever they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/some-people-give-you-that-motivation-to-work-harder-simply-to-get-the/)

[Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/)

> [Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they're wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/pain-is-meant-to-wake-us-up-people-try-to-hide-their-pain-but-they-re/)

[Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/)

[Browse all 211,607 People quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“People do not like to lose their lives. That is the reason why they should not take other people's.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ivy Compton-Burnett"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/people-do-not-like-to-lose-their-lives-that-is-the-reason-why-they/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "People"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/people-do-not-like-to-lose-their-lives-that-is-the-reason-why-they/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/ivy-compton-burnett-10491_people_people-do-not-like-to-lose-their-lives-t_179960.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/ivy-compton-burnett-10491_people_people-do-not-like-to-lose-their-lives-t_179960.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/ivy-compton-burnett-10491_people_people-do-not-like-to-lose-their-lives-t_179960.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“People do not like to lose their lives. That is the reason why they should not take other people's.” — Ivy Compton-Burnett",
                "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": "Ivy Compton-Burnett",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“People do not like to lose...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/people-do-not-like-to-lose-their-lives-that-is-the-reason-why-they/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/people-do-not-like-to-lose-their-lives-that-is-the-reason-why-they/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
