--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They give that they may live, for to…" description: "\"They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.\" — Khalil Gibran" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb4/khalil-gibran-286_giving_they-give-that-they-may-live-for-to-with_1153007.jpg" --- # They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish. ![“They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.” quote by Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb4/khalil-gibran-286_giving_they-give-that-they-may-live-for-to-with_1153007.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb4/khalil-gibran-286_giving_they-give-that-they-may-live-for-to-with_1153007.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb4/khalil-gibran-286_giving_they-give-that-they-may-live-for-to-with_1153007.jpg) > “They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.” [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People give to survive; withholding sustenance leads to demise. **In simple terms:** Giving sustains life, withholding causes death. Key Takeaway Give to sustain life. Themes generosity survival interdependence Mood thoughtful hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - charity - resource sharing - community building - healthcare - environmental stewardship Key Concepts philosophy ethics human nature Questions to Reflect On - What motivates genuine generosity? - When does giving become harmful? A Different Perspective Giving may be coerced or unsustainable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Withhold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/withhold/) ## Related quotes > [You often say, "I would give, but only to the deserving." The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/you-often-say-i-would-give-but-only-to-the-deserving-the-trees-in/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“We all perish in our last attempt to live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/we-all-perish-in-our-last-attempt-to-live/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [All that God had to do to harden Pharaoh's heart, or to harden your heart, is to withhold His own grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/all-that-god-had-to-do-to-harden-pharaoh-s-heart-or-to-harden-your/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [This is the risk: the primary word can only be spoken with the whole being. He who gives himself to it may withhold nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/this-is-the-risk-the-primary-word-can-only-be-spoken-with-the-whole/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [Withhold a smile only when the smile can hurt someone. Otherwise, let it bloom forth in a riot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/withhold-a-smile-only-when-the-smile-can-hurt-someone-otherwise-let/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [“k No good thing does he withhold         from those who  l walk uprightly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/k-no-good-thing-does-he-withhold-from-those-who-l-walk-uprightly/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Whatever truth we feel compelled to withhold, no matter how unthinkable it is to imagine ourselves telling it, not to is a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/whatever-truth-we-feel-compelled-to-withhold-no-matter-how/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [There's only one of us here: What we give to others, we give to ourselves. What we withhold from others, we withhold from ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/there-s-only-one-of-us-here-what-we-give-to-others-we-give-to/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [When you speak, speak the truth; perform when you promise; discharge your trust... Withhold your hands from striking, and from taking that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdul-kalam/when-you-speak-speak-the-truth-perform-when-you-promise-discharge/) [Abdul Kalam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdul-kalam/) > [Withholding love is a form of self-sabotage, as what we withhold from others we are withholding from ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/withholding-love-is-a-form-of-self-sabotage-as-what-we-withhold-from/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [“The next time you want to withhold your help, or your love, or your support for another for whatever the reason, ask yourself a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-pearce/the-next-time-you-want-to-withhold-your-help-or-your-love-or-your/) [Dan Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-pearce/) > [I have the potential to be very strong and powerful, sometimes angry, sometimes passionate. I also can be shy and withhold that because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idina-menzel/i-have-the-potential-to-be-very-strong-and-powerful-sometimes-angry/) [Idina Menzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idina-menzel/) > [The love you withhold is the pain you carry!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-brown/the-love-you-withhold-is-the-pain-you-carry/) [Chris Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-brown/) > [“reconsideration—and our unwavering determination to withhold our opinion until we have engaged with them in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/reconsideration-and-our-unwavering-determination-to-withhold-our/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [They who give have all things; they who withhold have nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hindu-proverb/they-who-give-have-all-things-they-who-withhold-have-nothing/) Hindu Proverb ## More by Khalil Gibran > [Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/your-pain-is-the-breaking-of-the-shell-that-encloses-your/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [If you are poor, shun association with him who measures men with the yardstick of riches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/if-you-are-poor-shun-association-with-him-who-measures-men-with-the/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Hate is a dead thing. Who of you would be a tomb?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/hate-is-a-dead-thing-who-of-you-would-be-a-tomb/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/seek-ye-counsel-of-the-aged-for-their-eyes-have-looked-on-the-faces/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Only once have I been made mute. It was when a man asked me, 'Who are you?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/only-once-have-i-been-made-mute-it-was-when-a-man-asked-me-who-are-you/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [The truly just is he who feels half guilty of your misdeeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/the-truly-just-is-he-who-feels-half-guilty-of-your-misdeeds/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“follow the steps trust them and yourself”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/follow-the-steps-trust-them-and-yourself/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Beauty is not a need but an ecstasy. It is not a mouth thirsting nor an empty hand stretched forth, But rather a heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/beauty-is-not-a-need-but-an-ecstasy-it-is-not-a-mouth-thirsting-nor/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [I have never agreed with my other self wholly. The truth of the matter seems to lie between us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/i-have-never-agreed-with-my-other-self-wholly-the-truth-of-the-matter/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“That which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within the bounds of that first moment which scattered the stars into space”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/that-which-sings-and-contemplates-in-you-is-still-dwelling-within-the/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might also pray in the fullness of your joy and in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/you-pray-in-your-distress-and-in-your-need-would-that-you-might-also/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“The veil that clouds your eyes shall be lifted by the hands that wove it, And the clay that fills your ears shall be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/the-veil-that-clouds-your-eyes-shall-be-lifted-by-the-hands-that-wove/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/work-is-love-made-visible-and-if-you-cannot-work-with-love-but-only/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [joy and sorrow are inseparable. . . together they come and when one sits alone with you . . remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/joy-and-sorrow-are-inseparable-together-they-come-and-when-one-sits/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Like the ocean is your god-self; It remains for ever undefiled. And like the ether it lifts but the winged. Even like the sun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/like-the-ocean-is-your-god-self-it-remains-for-ever-undefiled-and/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) [Explore all 688 Khalil Gibran quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) ## More Giving quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [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/) > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [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/) > [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/) > [You've touched people and known it. You've touched people and never may know it. Either way, you have something to give. It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/you-ve-touched-people-and-known-it-you-ve-touched-people-and-never/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I received a beautiful welcome to the world of music. I want to give something back to the younger generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciano-pavarotti/i-received-a-beautiful-welcome-to-the-world-of-music-i-want-to-give/) [Luciano Pavarotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciano-pavarotti/) > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) Riffat Hassan > [Grandma, please. It’s okay. Dad’s doing a great job. I give him kudos for at least being calm and rational, and not losing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/grandma-please-it-s-okay-dad-s-doing-a-great-job-i-give-him-kudos-for/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Most paper money initially existed as a substitute for gold. That's what gave it value. But right now what gives a currency value is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/most-paper-money-initially-existed-as-a-substitute-for-gold-that-s/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [Give me strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/give-me-strength-to-walk-the-soft-earth-a-relative-to-all-that-is/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) > [I don't think my relationship with the idea of womanhood is that attached to giving birth... like, I'm fully aware that I'll never give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-harrison/i-don-t-think-my-relationship-with-the-idea-of-womanhood-is-that/) [Patti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-harrison/) [Browse all 39,303 Giving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Khalil Gibran" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/they-give-that-they-may-live-for-to-withhold-is-to-perish/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Giving" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/they-give-that-they-may-live-for-to-withhold-is-to-perish/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb4/khalil-gibran-286_giving_they-give-that-they-may-live-for-to-with_1153007.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb4/khalil-gibran-286_giving_they-give-that-they-may-live-for-to-with_1153007.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb4/khalil-gibran-286_giving_they-give-that-they-may-live-for-to-with_1153007.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.” — Khalil Gibran", "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": "Khalil Gibran", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "They give that they may live,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/they-give-that-they-may-live-for-to-withhold-is-to-perish/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/they-give-that-they-may-live-for-to-withhold-is-to-perish/#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 } } ] } ```