--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Quit thy childhood, my friend, and wake up!" description: "\"Quit thy childhood, my friend, and wake up!\" — Jean-Jacques Rousseau" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_childhood_quit-thy-childhood-my-friend-and-wake-up_1036340.png" --- # Quit thy childhood, my friend, and wake up! ![“Quit thy childhood, my friend, and wake up!” quote by Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_childhood_quit-thy-childhood-my-friend-and-wake-up_1036340.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_childhood_quit-thy-childhood-my-friend-and-wake-up_1036340.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_childhood_quit-thy-childhood-my-friend-and-wake-up_1036340.png) > “Quit thy childhood, my friend, and wake up!” [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encourages abandoning childish naiveté to embrace mature awareness and responsibility. **In simple terms:** Leave childish ways, become aware. Key Takeaway Seek growth beyond childish habits. Themes maturity awakening self‑improvement Mood reflective serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - personal growth - life transitions - self‑reflection Key Concepts philosophy personal development Questions to Reflect On - What childish habits still hold you back? - How can you gently awaken to responsibility? A Different Perspective Maturity is a gradual process, not a sudden switch. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Friend Wake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend-wake-2396061/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Quit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quit/) [Quit Thy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quit-thy-2396059/) [Quitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quitting/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Thy Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thy-childhood-2396060/) [Wake up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wake-up/) ## Related quotes > [“I think how much depends upon a best friend. When you wake up in the morning you swing your legs out of bed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-how-much-depends-upon-a-best-friend-when-you-wake-up-in-the/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“No, fly me, fly me, far as pole from pole; Rise Alps between us! and whole oceans roll! Ah, come not, write not, think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/no-fly-me-fly-me-far-as-pole-from-pole-rise-alps-between-us-and-whole/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [It's ok to FAIL it's not ok to Quit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-gardner/it-s-ok-to-fail-it-s-not-ok-to-quit/) [Chris Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-gardner/) > [If I have my health I can carry on. There will be a point when I do quit but I have absolutely no idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-ferguson/if-i-have-my-health-i-can-carry-on-there-will-be-a-point-when-i-do/) [Alex Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-ferguson/) > [If you quit you will always have a 'what if'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cham-reboces/if-you-quit-you-will-always-have-a-what-if/) [Cham Reboces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cham-reboces/) > [If I was traded to the Giants, I'd quit baseball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rocky-colavito/if-i-was-traded-to-the-giants-i-d-quit-baseball/) [Rocky Colavito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rocky-colavito/) > [To quit smoking, you must first want to quit, but then you must also do the quitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/to-quit-smoking-you-must-first-want-to-quit-but-then-you-must-also-do/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Always quit for the day when you know what you want to do next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/always-quit-for-the-day-when-you-know-what-you-want-to-do-next/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [You know you can do more, but everyone expects you to quit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-elkeles/you-know-you-can-do-more-but-everyone-expects-you-to-quit/) [Simone Elkeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-elkeles/) > [Everybody comes to a point in their life when they want to quit. But it's what you do at that moment that determines who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-goggins/everybody-comes-to-a-point-in-their-life-when-they-want-to-quit-but/) [David Goggins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-goggins/) > [Hey, maybe instead of going to college, you should drop out and I could quit my job and we can form an all-girl band…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-palladino/hey-maybe-instead-of-going-to-college-you-should-drop-out-and-i-could/) [Daniel Palladino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-palladino/) > [Being able to quit things that don't work is integral to being a winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-able-to-quit-things-that-don-t-work-is-integral-to-being-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Things can always get worse, but only quitters quit!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ultra-maniac-nina-sakura/things-can-always-get-worse-but-only-quitters-quit/) [Ultra Maniac Nina Sakura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ultra-maniac-nina-sakura/) > [I worked at a Sport Chek in Vancouver, only so I could get the discount off snowboard gear. But I hated the job so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/missy-peregrym/i-worked-at-a-sport-chek-in-vancouver-only-so-i-could-get-the/) [Missy Peregrym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/missy-peregrym/) > [Raise up the people beside you & quit worshipping those above you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-brogan/raise-up-the-people-beside-you-quit-worshipping-those-above-you/) [Chris Brogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-brogan/) ## More by Jean-Jacques Rousseau > [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Take the course opposite to custom and you will almost always do well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/take-the-course-opposite-to-custom-and-you-will-almost-always-do-well/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Everything we do not have at our birth and which we need when we are grown is given to us by education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/everything-we-do-not-have-at-our-birth-and-which-we-need-when-we-are/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The first person who, having enclosed a plot of land, took it into his head to say this is mine and found people simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/the-first-person-who-having-enclosed-a-plot-of-land-took-it-into-his/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [...in respect of riches, no citizen shall ever be wealthy enough to buy another, and none poor enough to be forced to sell himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/in-respect-of-riches-no-citizen-shall-ever-be-wealthy-enough-to-buy/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Take from the philosopher the pleasure of being heard and his desire for knowledge ceases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/take-from-the-philosopher-the-pleasure-of-being-heard-and-his-desire/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Men, in general, are not this or that, they are what they are made to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/men-in-general-are-not-this-or-that-they-are-what-they-are-made-to-be/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [I would rather be a man of paradoxes than a man of prejudices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/i-would-rather-be-a-man-of-paradoxes-than-a-man-of-prejudices/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [“O Fabricius! What would your great soul have thought, if to your own misfortune you had been called back to life and had seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/o-fabricius-what-would-your-great-soul-have-thought-if-to-your-own/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [“The sword wears out its sheath, as it is sometimes said. That is my story. My passions have made me live, and my passions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/the-sword-wears-out-its-sheath-as-it-is-sometimes-said-that-is-my/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Whence do I get my rules of conduct? I find them in my heart. Whatever I feel to be good is good. Whatever I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/whence-do-i-get-my-rules-of-conduct-i-find-them-in-my-heart-whatever/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [“If one divided all of human science into two parts - the one common to all men, the other particular to the learned -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/if-one-divided-all-of-human-science-into-two-parts-the-one-common-to/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The social compact sets up among the citizens as equality of such kind, that they all bind themselves to observe the same conditions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/the-social-compact-sets-up-among-the-citizens-as-equality-of-such/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [I do not know is a phrase which becomes us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/i-do-not-know-is-a-phrase-which-becomes-us/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [“How could I become wicked, when I had nothing but examples of gentleness before my eyes, and none around me but the best people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/how-could-i-become-wicked-when-i-had-nothing-but-examples-of/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) [Explore all 518 Jean-Jacques Rousseau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) ## More Childhood quotes > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/) [Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/) > [“From childhood’s hour I have not been As others were—I have not seen As others saw—I could not bring My passions from a common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/from-childhood-s-hour-i-have-not-been-as-others-were-i-have-not-seen/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [We were so poor as kids. I didn't even see a bathtub, running water, hot water, commode - we didn't have any of that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/we-were-so-poor-as-kids-i-didn-t-even-see-a-bathtub-running-water-hot/) [Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/) > [I had a rough upbringing. Group homes. Foster homes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-shamrock/i-had-a-rough-upbringing-group-homes-foster-homes/) [Frank Shamrock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-shamrock/) > [When I talk about my childhood I used to say it as if it was scripted and I'd make jokes because it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-katona/when-i-talk-about-my-childhood-i-used-to-say-it-as-if-it-was-scripted/) [Kerry Katona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-katona/) > [Every man remembers his childhood as a kind of mythical age, just as every nation's childhood is its mythical age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/every-man-remembers-his-childhood-as-a-kind-of-mythical-age-just-as/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [It's a very familiar type of place where people either go to their house on the lake or they get together in different places.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-carell/it-s-a-very-familiar-type-of-place-where-people-either-go-to-their/) [Steve Carell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-carell/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [Downstairs in my house, I have a museum room. I keep all of my awards down there, and childhood photos, and even all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-kelly/downstairs-in-my-house-i-have-a-museum-room-i-keep-all-of-my-awards/) [R. Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-kelly/) > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [On paper, it looks rough, but I had a great childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-morton/on-paper-it-looks-rough-but-i-had-a-great-childhood/) [Samantha Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-morton/) > [Let positive, strong, helpful thoughts enter into your brains from very childhood. Lay yourselves open to these thoughts, and not to weakening and paralysing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/let-positive-strong-helpful-thoughts-enter-into-your-brains-from-very/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I always knew that I was kind of bored; the regular life of a child didn't fit me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-ricci/i-always-knew-that-i-was-kind-of-bored-the-regular-life-of-a-child/) [Christina Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-ricci/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I'm not sure I would have ever started to draw, let alone write, if my childhood hadn't been so happy. It was a mixture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/i-m-not-sure-i-would-have-ever-started-to-draw-let-alone-write-if-my/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) [Browse all 5,837 Childhood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Quit thy childhood, my friend, and wake up!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jean-Jacques Rousseau" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/quit-thy-childhood-my-friend-and-wake-up/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Childhood" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/quit-thy-childhood-my-friend-and-wake-up/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_childhood_quit-thy-childhood-my-friend-and-wake-up_1036340.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_childhood_quit-thy-childhood-my-friend-and-wake-up_1036340.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_childhood_quit-thy-childhood-my-friend-and-wake-up_1036340.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Quit thy childhood, my friend, and wake up!” — Jean-Jacques Rousseau", "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": "Jean-Jacques Rousseau", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Quit thy childhood, my friend, and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/quit-thy-childhood-my-friend-and-wake-up/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/quit-thy-childhood-my-friend-and-wake-up/#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 } } ] } ```