---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am not yet born; O fill me With…"
description: "\"I am not yet born; O fill me With strength against those who would freeze my humanity, would dragoon me into a lethal automaton would make me a cog in ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/676/louis-macneice-13584_born_i-am-not-yet-born-o-fill-me-with-strengt_2624782.jpg"
---

#  I am not yet born; O fill me With strength against those…

![“I am not yet born; O fill me With strength against those who would freeze my humanity, would dragoon me into a lethal automaton would make me a cog in a machine, a thing with one face, a thing” quote by Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/676/louis-macneice-13584_born_i-am-not-yet-born-o-fill-me-with-strengt_2624782.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/676/louis-macneice-13584_born_i-am-not-yet-born-o-fill-me-with-strengt_2624782.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/676/louis-macneice-13584_born_i-am-not-yet-born-o-fill-me-with-strengt_2624782.jpg)

> “I am not yet born; O fill me With strength against those who would freeze my humanity, would dragoon me into a lethal automaton would make me a cog in a machine, a thing with one face, a thing”

[Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/)

## About This Quote

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

A plea to retain humanity and resist being reduced to a mechanistic, faceless role.

**In simple terms:** Stay human, resist becoming a cog.

Key Takeaway

Guard your individuality.

Themes

humanity resistance identity mechanization

Mood

defiant reflective

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- war
- corporate culture
- technology overload
- personal crisis

Key Concepts

existentialism individualism dehumanization

Questions to Reflect On

- What aspects of your life feel mechanized?
- How can you preserve your humanity?

A Different Perspective

The metaphor may be overly dramatic for everyday situations.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Cogs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cogs/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machines/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/)

## Related quotes

> [I am not yet born; O fill me with strength against those who would freeze my humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/i-am-not-yet-born-o-fill-me-with-strength-against-those-who-would-2/)

[Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/)

> [Strength is not born from strength. Strength can be born only from weakness. So be glad of your weaknesses now, they are the beginnings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-weekes/strength-is-not-born-from-strength-strength-can-be-born-only-from/)

[Claire Weekes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-weekes/)

> [True love is no game of the faint-hearted and the weak; it is born of strength and understanding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meher-baba/true-love-is-no-game-of-the-faint-hearted-and-the-weak-it-is-born-of/)

[Meher Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meher-baba/)

> [“if you were born with the weakness to fall you were born with the strength to rise”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupi-kaur/if-you-were-born-with-the-weakness-to-fall-you-were-born-with-the/)

[Rupi Kaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupi-kaur/)

> [A child's course in life should be determined not by the zip code she's born in, but by the strength of her work ethic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/a-child-s-course-in-life-should-be-determined-not-by-the-zip-code-she/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant, "What good is it?" If the land mechanism as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/the-last-word-in-ignorance-is-the-man-who-says-of-an-animal-or-plant-2/)

[Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/)

> [a samurai is a total human being, whereas a man who is completely absorbed in his technical skill has degenerated into a ‘function’, one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukio-mishima/a-samurai-is-a-total-human-being-whereas-a-man-who-is-completely/)

[Yukio Mishima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukio-mishima/)

> [I surrendered my moral conscience to the fact that I was a soldier, and therefore a cog in a relatively low position of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-ohlendorf/i-surrendered-my-moral-conscience-to-the-fact-that-i-was-a-soldier/)

[Otto Ohlendorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-ohlendorf/)

> [“She supposed she was a little cog in the big wheel of Empire. “Nothing wrong with being a cog,” Maurice said, himself now a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/she-supposed-she-was-a-little-cog-in-the-big-wheel-of-empire-nothing/)

[Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/)

> [I'm the cog in the middle that makes it all turn together. And if you pull me out, a lot of other cogs start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-parscale/i-m-the-cog-in-the-middle-that-makes-it-all-turn-together-and-if-you/)

[Brad Parscale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-parscale/)

> [We talked through Gillie's life from start to finish, including all her accomplishments and major life events. The woman fell asleep with a dreamy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-v-snyder/we-talked-through-gillie-s-life-from-start-to-finish-including-all/)

[Maria V. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-v-snyder/)

> [Compelling characters are not cogs in the machine of your plot; they are human beings to whom the story happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-corbett/compelling-characters-are-not-cogs-in-the-machine-of-your-plot-they/)

[David Corbett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-corbett/)

> [“By now you must have guessed: I come from another planet. But I will never say to you, Take me to your leaders. Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/by-now-you-must-have-guessed-i-come-from-another-planet-but-i-will/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [Human beings were behaving as human beings and not as cogs in the capitalist machine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/human-beings-were-behaving-as-human-beings-and-not-as-cogs-in-the/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [Communication is a continual balancing act, juggling the conflicting needs for intimacy and independence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/communication-is-a-continual-balancing-act-juggling-the-conflicting/)

[Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/)

## More by Louis MacNeice

> [World is crazier and more of it than we think, Incorrigibly plural.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/world-is-crazier-and-more-of-it-than-we-think-incorrigibly-plural/)

[Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/)

> [“Bagpipe Music' It's no go the merrygoround, it's no go the rickshaw, All we want is a limousine and a ticket for the peepshow.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/bagpipe-music-it-s-no-go-the-merrygoround-it-s-no-go-the-rickshaw-all/)

[Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/)

> [Let them not make me a stone and let them not spill me, otherwise kill me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/let-them-not-make-me-a-stone-and-let-them-not-spill-me-otherwise-kill/)

[Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/)

> [“Thus were we weaned to knowledge of the Will That wills the natural world, but wills us dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/thus-were-we-weaned-to-knowledge-of-the-will-that-wills-the-natural/)

[Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/)

> [Politics: distrust all parties but consider capitalism must go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/politics-distrust-all-parties-but-consider-capitalism-must-go/)

[Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/)

> [“If war is the test of reality, then all poetry is unreal; but in that case unreality is a virtue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/if-war-is-the-test-of-reality-then-all-poetry-is-unreal-but-in-that/)

[Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/)

> [“If war is the test of reality, than all poetry is unreal; but in that case unreality is a virtue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/if-war-is-the-test-of-reality-than-all-poetry-is-unreal-but-in-that/)

[Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/)

> [Why do we like being Irish? Partly because It gives us a hold on the sentimental English As members of a world that never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/why-do-we-like-being-irish-partly-because-it-gives-us-a-hold-on-the/)

[Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/)

> [A city built upon mud; A culture built upon profit; Free speech nipped in the bud, The minority always guilty. Why should I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/a-city-built-upon-mud-a-culture-built-upon-profit-free-speech-nipped/)

[Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/)

> [“Cradle Song for Eleanor”: Sleep, my darling, sleep; The pity of it all Is all we compass if We watch disaster fall. Put off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/cradle-song-for-eleanor-sleep-my-darling-sleep-the-pity-of-it-all-is/)

[Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/)

> [A pharaoh's profile, a Krishna's grace, tail like a question mark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/a-pharaoh-s-profile-a-krishna-s-grace-tail-like-a-question-mark/)

[Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/)

> [I was the rector's son, born to the anglican order, Banned for ever from the candles of the Irish poor; The Chichesters knelt in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/i-was-the-rector-s-son-born-to-the-anglican-order-banned-for-ever/)

[Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/)

> [Better authentic mammon than a bogus god.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/better-authentic-mammon-than-a-bogus-god/)

[Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/)

> [Dublin was a glorious name in our family and had pleasurable associations of violence …Today I am so at home in Dublin, more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/dublin-was-a-glorious-name-in-our-family-and-had-pleasurable/)

[Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/)

> [So they were married-to be the more together- And found they were never again so much together, Divided by the morning tea, By the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/so-they-were-married-to-be-the-more-together-and-found-they-were/)

[Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/)

[Explore all 50 Louis MacNeice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/)

## More Born quotes

> [My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/my-mother-says-i-didn-t-open-my-eyes-for-eight-days-after-i-was-born/)

[Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/)

> [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/)

[Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/)

> [The real world out there isn't nearly as nice as some people prefer it to be, so don't swallow everything your high-born teachers tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-real-world-out-there-isn-t-nearly-as-nice-as-some-people-prefer/)

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

> [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/)

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

> [I was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/)

[Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/)

> [I know that in the rap game you've got a lot of people, that come from poverty, was born in poverty and if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-connor/i-know-that-in-the-rap-game-you-ve-got-a-lot-of-people-that-come-from/)

[Jon Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-connor/)

> [Nothing old is ever reborn but neither does it totally disappear. And that which has once been born, will always reappear in a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvar-aalto/nothing-old-is-ever-reborn-but-neither-does-it-totally-disappear-and/)

[Alvar Aalto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvar-aalto/)

> [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/)

[Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/)

> [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [I'm not against gay people. I have a relative who is also gay. We can't help it if they were born that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-pacquiao/i-m-not-against-gay-people-i-have-a-relative-who-is-also-gay-we-can-t/)

[Manny Pacquiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-pacquiao/)

> [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/)

[Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/)

> [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/)

[Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/)

> [If you can believe it, Hollywood wanted to change my birthdate. I was born after Valentine's Day, so they wanted to change it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-romero/if-you-can-believe-it-hollywood-wanted-to-change-my-birthdate-i-was/)

[Cesar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-romero/)

Browse all 11,606 Born quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I am not yet born; O fill me With strength against those who would freeze my humanity, would dragoon me into a lethal automaton would make me a cog in a machine, a thing with one face, a thing",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Louis MacNeice"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/i-am-not-yet-born-o-fill-me-with-strength-against-those-who-would/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Born"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/i-am-not-yet-born-o-fill-me-with-strength-against-those-who-would/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/676/louis-macneice-13584_born_i-am-not-yet-born-o-fill-me-with-strengt_2624782.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/676/louis-macneice-13584_born_i-am-not-yet-born-o-fill-me-with-strengt_2624782.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/676/louis-macneice-13584_born_i-am-not-yet-born-o-fill-me-with-strengt_2624782.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I am not yet born; O fill me With strength against those who would freeze my humanity, would dragoon me into…” — Louis MacNeice",
                "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": "Louis MacNeice",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I am not yet born; O...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/i-am-not-yet-born-o-fill-me-with-strength-against-those-who-would/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/i-am-not-yet-born-o-fill-me-with-strength-against-those-who-would/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
