--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The truly free man is he who can decline…" description: "\"The truly free man is he who can decline a dinner invitation without giving an excuse.\" — Jules Renard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2f/jules-renard-3609_decline_the-truly-free-man-is-he-who-can-decline_3030439.jpg" --- # The truly free man is he who can decline a dinner… ![“The truly free man is he who can decline a dinner invitation without giving an excuse.” quote by Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2f/jules-renard-3609_decline_the-truly-free-man-is-he-who-can-decline_3030439.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2f/jules-renard-3609_decline_the-truly-free-man-is-he-who-can-decline_3030439.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2f/jules-renard-3609_decline_the-truly-free-man-is-he-who-can-decline_3030439.jpg) > “The truly free man is he who can decline a dinner invitation without giving an excuse.” [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True freedom includes the ability to decline social obligations without justification. **In simple terms:** A free person can refuse a dinner invite freely. Key Takeaway Value autonomy. Themes freedom social norms personal choice Mood independent confident Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - social gatherings - networking - personal life Key Concepts assertiveness boundary setting Questions to Reflect On - When is it okay to decline without excuse? - How does this affect social dynamics? A Different Perspective May strain relationships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decline/) [Decline Dinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decline-dinner-2793197/) [Dinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner/) [Dinner Invitation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner-invitation-4947548/) [Excuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excuse/) [Free man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-man/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Invitations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invitations/) [Man Decline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-decline-4947547/) [Management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/management/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Time management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-management/) [Truly Free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truly-free/) ## Related quotes > [Now that you're an adult, you might still feel a pang of guilt when you decline a dinner invitation in favor of a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/now-that-you-re-an-adult-you-might-still-feel-a-pang-of-guilt-when-2/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [A dinner invitation, once accepted, is a sacred obligation. If you die before the dinner takes place, your executor must attend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ward-mcallister/a-dinner-invitation-once-accepted-is-a-sacred-obligation-if-you-die/) [Ward McAllister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ward-mcallister/) > [The truly free man is the one who can turn down an invitation to dinner without giving an excuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/the-truly-free-man-is-the-one-who-can-turn-down-an-invitation-to/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [“For Mum a dinner invitation can solve any of the world’s wrongs and make them right. I mean, obviously if someone had sat down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-field/for-mum-a-dinner-invitation-can-solve-any-of-the-world-s-wrongs-and/) [Elle Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elle-field/) > [“Now that you’re an adult, you might still feel a pang of guilt when you decline a dinner invitation in favor of a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/now-that-you-re-an-adult-you-might-still-feel-a-pang-of-guilt-when/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“A truly free man is not free 'from' anything, nor free 'to' anything, he is just free. Free within himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilyas-kassam/a-truly-free-man-is-not-free-from-anything-nor-free-to-anything-he-is/) [Ilyas Kassam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilyas-kassam/) > [“He is a truly free man, who does not need money to live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nael-gharzeddine/he-is-a-truly-free-man-who-does-not-need-money-to-live/) [Nael Gharzeddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nael-gharzeddine/) > [Man is only truly free only among equally free men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/man-is-only-truly-free-only-among-equally-free-men/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [“It is the right of a free individual to be unhindered in their liberty! Especially to fail in their endeavors! Only in this manner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-parfitt/it-is-the-right-of-a-free-individual-to-be-unhindered-in-their/) [Keith Parfitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-parfitt/) > [Make me a captive Lord, then I shall be truly free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/make-me-a-captive-lord-then-i-shall-be-truly-free/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [We will only truly be free when those in bondage are finally free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-will-only-truly-be-free-when-those-in-bondage-are-finally-free/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [“Freedom cannot be labeled nor won nor envied. Only when one doesn't realize what freedom is, is one truly free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-j-niko/freedom-cannot-be-labeled-nor-won-nor-envied-only-when-one-doesn-t/) [D.J. Niko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-j-niko/) > [“Perhaps, there is no such person who can be called truly free, but only those who can be deemed so by comparison.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/perhaps-there-is-no-such-person-who-can-be-called-truly-free-but-only/) [Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/) > [I don't think any human being is truly free. We're so tethered to our own insecurities and hampered by our fears and our prejudices.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-saliers/i-don-t-think-any-human-being-is-truly-free-we-re-so-tethered-to-our/) [Emily Saliers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-saliers/) > [But only in their dreams can men be truly free. It was always thus and always thus will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/but-only-in-their-dreams-can-men-be-truly-free-it-was-always-thus-and/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) ## More by Jules Renard > [Broken china lasts longer than unbroken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/broken-china-lasts-longer-than-unbroken/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [Words are the small change of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/words-are-the-small-change-of-thought/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [There is nothing like literature: I lose a cow, I write about her death, and my writing pays me enough to buy another cow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/there-is-nothing-like-literature-i-lose-a-cow-i-write-about-her-death/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [There is a justice, but we do not always see it. Discreet, smiling, it is there, at one side, a little behind injustice, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/there-is-a-justice-but-we-do-not-always-see-it-discreet-smiling-it-is/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [There are no friends; only moments of friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/there-are-no-friends-only-moments-of-friendship/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [In morals, always do as others do; in art, never.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/in-morals-always-do-as-others-do-in-art-never/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [The only man who is really free is the one who can turn down an invitation to dinner without giving an excuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/the-only-man-who-is-really-free-is-the-one-who-can-turn-down-an/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [Don't tell a woman she's pretty; tell her there's no other woman like her, and all roads will open to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/don-t-tell-a-woman-she-s-pretty-tell-her-there-s-no-other-woman-like/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [“There are moments when everything goes well; don't be frightened, it won't last.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/there-are-moments-when-everything-goes-well-don-t-be-frightened-it/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [We are ignorant of the Beyond because this ignorance is the condition of our own life. Just as ice cannot know fire except by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/we-are-ignorant-of-the-beyond-because-this-ignorance-is-the-condition/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [Some people are so boring that they make you waste an entire day in five minutes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/some-people-are-so-boring-that-they-make-you-waste-an-entire-day-in/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [An optimist is a driver who thinks that empty space at the curb won't have a hydrant beside it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/an-optimist-is-a-driver-who-thinks-that-empty-space-at-the-curb-won-t/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [The bourgeois are other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/the-bourgeois-are-other-people/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [Somewhere in the shadow cast by every famous man is a feminine victim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/somewhere-in-the-shadow-cast-by-every-famous-man-is-a-feminine-victim/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [The ideal of calm exists in a sitting cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/the-ideal-of-calm-exists-in-a-sitting-cat/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) [Explore all 121 Jules Renard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) ## More Decline quotes > [Among the many factors that make a return to halcyon days of the first decades of the postwar era virtually impossible is the decline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gilpin/among-the-many-factors-that-make-a-return-to-halcyon-days-of-the/) [Robert Gilpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gilpin/) > [When a man imagines, even after years of striving, that he has attained perfection, his decline begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-martin/when-a-man-imagines-even-after-years-of-striving-that-he-has-attained/) [Theodore Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-martin/) > [Low levels of vitamin D in the population as a whole suggest that most people need to take a vitamin D supplement. This may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-weil/low-levels-of-vitamin-d-in-the-population-as-a-whole-suggest-that/) [Andrew Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-weil/) > [The challenge is either to build an economy that is sustainable or to stay with our unsustainable economy until it declines. It is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-r-brown/the-challenge-is-either-to-build-an-economy-that-is-sustainable-or-to/) [Lester R. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-r-brown/) > [In my humble opinion, the PC as we have known it is in a continuous decline and being relegated to a utility device for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hector-ruiz/in-my-humble-opinion-the-pc-as-we-have-known-it-is-in-a-continuous/) [Hector Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hector-ruiz/) > [“There is a great deal of ruin in a nation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/there-is-a-great-deal-of-ruin-in-a-nation/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [I think the rise of quantitative econometrics and a highly mathematical approach to risk management was the obverse of a decline in interest in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/i-think-the-rise-of-quantitative-econometrics-and-a-highly/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) > [To my way of thinking, the American family started to decline when parents began to communicate with their children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/to-my-way-of-thinking-the-american-family-started-to-decline-when/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [Deflation means a slowdown of income growth. Markets shrink, new capital investment and employment also taper off, so wages decline. That is what's happening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/deflation-means-a-slowdown-of-income-growth-markets-shrink-new/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [Prominent exploration experts have recently predicted that total world production of liquid oil will peak by about the end of this decade-or a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amory-lovins/prominent-exploration-experts-have-recently-predicted-that-total/) [Amory Lovins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amory-lovins/) > [In the 1970s, British food was beginning to get good, whereas in France it was just starting its long, sad decline. My most memorable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-faulks/in-the-1970s-british-food-was-beginning-to-get-good-whereas-in-france/) [Sebastian Faulks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-faulks/) > [In all our academies we attempt far too much. ... In earlier times lectures were delivered upon chemistry and botany as branches of medicine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/in-all-our-academies-we-attempt-far-too-much-in-earlier-times/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [A decline in the national housing price level would need to be substantial to trigger a significant rise in foreclosures, because the vast majority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/a-decline-in-the-national-housing-price-level-would-need-to-be/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [“A civilization, when the moment has come for crowds to acquire a high hand over it, is at the mercy of too many chances…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-le-bon/a-civilization-when-the-moment-has-come-for-crowds-to-acquire-a-high/) [Gustave Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-le-bon/) > [Obviously it's true that as you go up the ranks, the number of women starts to decline. 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