--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All men are mortal, and therefore all men…" description: "\"All men are mortal, and therefore all men are losers; our profoundest loyalty goes out to the failed.\" — John Updike" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/john-updike-396_failure_all-men-are-mortal-and-therefore-all-men_915096.png" --- # All men are mortal, and therefore all men are losers; our… ![“All men are mortal, and therefore all men are losers; our profoundest loyalty goes out to the failed.” quote by John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/john-updike-396_failure_all-men-are-mortal-and-therefore-all-men_915096.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/john-updike-396_failure_all-men-are-mortal-and-therefore-all-men_915096.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/john-updike-396_failure_all-men-are-mortal-and-therefore-all-men_915096.png) > “All men are mortal, and therefore all men are losers; our profoundest loyalty goes out to the failed.” [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Everyone will die, and society often celebrates failure, creating a paradox of loyalty to losers. **In simple terms:** All die; society sometimes admires failure. Key Takeaway Recognize the value of effort over outcomes. Themes mortality failure loyalty paradox Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career evaluation - sports fandom - academic grading Key Concepts existentialism social values success metrics Questions to Reflect On - Why do we idolize losers? - How can we shift focus to effort? A Different Perspective Failure can also inspire growth and learning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Loser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loser/) [Losers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/losers/) [Loyalty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loyalty/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mortals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortals/) ## Related quotes > [“A blanket could be used to separate the winners from the losers. With the exception of me, all men are losers, and only the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-blanket-could-be-used-to-separate-the-winners-from-the-losers-with/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Cattle die kinsmen die all men are mortal. Words of praise will never perish nor a noble name. - The Havamal; Book of Viking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-havamal/cattle-die-kinsmen-die-all-men-are-mortal-words-of-praise-will-never/) the Havamal > [All men are mortal. Socrates was mortal. Therefore, all men are Socrates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/all-men-are-mortal-socrates-was-mortal-therefore-all-men-are-socrates/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [All men think all men mortal, but themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/all-men-think-all-men-mortal-but-themselves/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [The gods are immortal men, and men are mortal gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus/the-gods-are-immortal-men-and-men-are-mortal-gods/) [Heraclitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus/) > [“Men are men, mortal or not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kc-randall/men-are-men-mortal-or-not/) [KC Randall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kc-randall/) > [The thinker dies, but his thoughts are beyond the reach of destruction. Men are mortal; but ideas are immortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-thinker-dies-but-his-thoughts-are-beyond-the-reach-of-destruction/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All men think that all men are mortal but themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/all-men-think-that-all-men-are-mortal-but-themselves/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [Men are mortal, but ideas are immortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/men-are-mortal-but-ideas-are-immortal/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [A: Socrates is a man. B: All men are mortal. C: All men are Socrates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/a-socrates-is-a-man-b-all-men-are-mortal-c-all-men-are-socrates/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [Men are mortal. So are ideas. An idea needs propagation as much as a plant needs watering. Otherwise both will wither and die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/men-are-mortal-so-are-ideas-an-idea-needs-propagation-as-much-as-a/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) > [Literature is not a sack race. There aren't real winners and losers in the Republic of Letters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baxter/literature-is-not-a-sack-race-there-aren-t-real-winners-and-losers-in/) [Charles Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baxter/) > [Those Aussie rugby fans are a bunch of sore losers. I hate 'em all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonny-wilkinson/those-aussie-rugby-fans-are-a-bunch-of-sore-losers-i-hate-em-all/) [Jonny Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonny-wilkinson/) > [Always leave a sinking ship. There's no virtue in hanging on to losers. And stocks don't have feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-dunnan/always-leave-a-sinking-ship-there-s-no-virtue-in-hanging-on-to-losers/) [Nancy Dunnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-dunnan/) > [Winners are losers who got up and gave it one more try.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/winners-are-losers-who-got-up-and-gave-it-one-more-try/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) ## More by John Updike > [Life is a roller coaster, you have your ups and downs unless you fall off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/life-is-a-roller-coaster-you-have-your-ups-and-downs-unless-you-fall/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [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 assume my stance, and take back the club, low, slowly; at the top, my eyes fog over, and my joints dip and swirl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-assume-my-stance-and-take-back-the-club-low-slowly-at-the-top-my/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The New England spirit does not seek solutions in a crowd; raw light and solitariness are less dreaded than welcomed as enhancers of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-new-england-spirit-does-not-seek-solutions-in-a-crowd-raw-light/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I imagine most of that stuff on the information highway is roadkill anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-imagine-most-of-that-stuff-on-the-information-highway-is-roadkill/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Families, doing everything for each other out of imagined obligation and always getting in each other's way, what a tangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/families-doing-everything-for-each-other-out-of-imagined-obligation/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The fucking world is running out of gas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-fucking-world-is-running-out-of-gas/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The theme of old age doesn't seem to fascinate Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-theme-of-old-age-doesn-t-seem-to-fascinate-hollywood/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The mind cannot fall asleep as long as it watches itself. Only when the mind moves unwatched and becomes absorbed in images that tug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-mind-cannot-fall-asleep-as-long-as-it-watches-itself-only-when/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“it was somehow wonderful of her to be, in every detail, herself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/it-was-somehow-wonderful-of-her-to-be-in-every-detail-herself/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [In fiction, imaginary people become realer to us than any named celebrity glimpsed in a series of rumored events, whose causes and subtler ramifications…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/in-fiction-imaginary-people-become-realer-to-us-than-any-named/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Her hair had been going gray as long as he could remember; she bundled it behind in a bun held with hairpins that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/her-hair-had-been-going-gray-as-long-as-he-could-remember-she-bundled/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Possession diminishes perception of value, immediately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/possession-diminishes-perception-of-value-immediately/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I can't bear to finish things, beyond a certain point they get heavy. There's something so dead about a finished painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-can-t-bear-to-finish-things-beyond-a-certain-point-they-get-heavy/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Some people find fall depressing, others hate spring. I've always been a spring person myself. All that growth, you can feel Nature groaning, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/some-people-find-fall-depressing-others-hate-spring-i-ve-always-been/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) [Explore all 592 John Updike quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## More Failure quotes > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“Rhiannon's Law #28: If you're going to fuck up, be sure to fuck up good and proper. Nothing makes failure acceptable, so you might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rhiannon-s-law-28-if-you-re-going-to-fuck-up-be-sure-to-fuck-up-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Failure is a part of life and you have to learn to deal with it. Failure is something that is part of life's cycle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/failure-is-a-part-of-life-and-you-have-to-learn-to-deal-with-it/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [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/) > [First action was a mistake. What about the second? third? fourth and fifth?...Mehn you are bad...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/first-action-was-a-mistake-what-about-the-second-third-fourth-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God's love never fail :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-s-love-never-fail/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don’t you just hate nights like that, when you think over every mistake you’ve made, every hurt you’ve received, every bit of meanness you’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/don-t-you-just-hate-nights-like-that-when-you-think-over-every/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“Our failure to understand another being's inner reality doesn't make that reality any less real, or any less valuable to that being. (p.255)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/our-failure-to-understand-another-being-s-inner-reality-doesn-t-make/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 27,498 Failure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All men are mortal, and therefore all men are losers; our profoundest loyalty goes out to the failed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Updike" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/all-men-are-mortal-and-therefore-all-men-are-losers-our-profoundest/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Failure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/all-men-are-mortal-and-therefore-all-men-are-losers-our-profoundest/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/john-updike-396_failure_all-men-are-mortal-and-therefore-all-men_915096.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/john-updike-396_failure_all-men-are-mortal-and-therefore-all-men_915096.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/john-updike-396_failure_all-men-are-mortal-and-therefore-all-men_915096.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All men are mortal, and therefore all men are losers; our profoundest loyalty goes out to the failed.” — John Updike", "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": "John Updike", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "All men are mortal, and therefore...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/all-men-are-mortal-and-therefore-all-men-are-losers-our-profoundest/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/all-men-are-mortal-and-therefore-all-men-are-losers-our-profoundest/#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 } } ] } ```