--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every human being is born an heir to an…" description: "\"Every human being is born an heir to an inheritance to which he can succeed only in a process of learning.\" — Michael Joseph Oakeshott" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5f/michael-joseph-oakeshott-25415_born_every-human-being-is-born-an-heir-to-an_2828503.png" --- # Every human being is born an heir to an inheritance to… ![“Every human being is born an heir to an inheritance to which he can succeed only in a process of learning.” quote by Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5f/michael-joseph-oakeshott-25415_born_every-human-being-is-born-an-heir-to-an_2828503.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5f/michael-joseph-oakeshott-25415_born_every-human-being-is-born-an-heir-to-an_2828503.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5f/michael-joseph-oakeshott-25415_born_every-human-being-is-born-an-heir-to-an_2828503.png) > “Every human being is born an heir to an inheritance to which he can succeed only in a process of learning.” [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Learning is the means by which we claim the inheritance we are born with. **In simple terms:** We inherit potential, but must learn to realize it. Key Takeaway Invest in continual learning. Themes education potential growth Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - school - career development - personal development - skill acquisition Key Concepts Humanism epistemology Questions to Reflect On - What inheritance are you neglecting? - How does learning transform potential? A Different Perspective Learning alone doesn't guarantee success without opportunity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Heirs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heirs/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Inheritance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inheritance/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) ## Related quotes > [Just think of the possibilities, the potential. Every little boy that has just been born becomes an heir to this glorious, glorious program. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/just-think-of-the-possibilities-the-potential-every-little-boy-that/) [Spencer W. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/) > [The advantage of riches remains with him who procured them, not with the heir.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-advantage-of-riches-remains-with-him-who-procured-them-not-with/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A third heir seldom enjoys what has been dishonestly acquired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/a-third-heir-seldom-enjoys-what-has-been-dishonestly-acquired/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [Nor shall this peace sleep with her; but as when The bird of wonder dies, the maiden phoenix, Her ashes new-create another heir As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/nor-shall-this-peace-sleep-with-her-but-as-when-the-bird-of-wonder/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [A third heir seldom profits by ill-gotten wealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/a-third-heir-seldom-profits-by-ill-gotten-wealth/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [Everyone is the heir to all that has gone before; his structure and emotional life is fixed, and no two children of nature have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/everyone-is-the-heir-to-all-that-has-gone-before-his-structure-and/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [Is it not strange, that an infant should be heir of the whole world, and see those mysteries which the books of the learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-traherne/is-it-not-strange-that-an-infant-should-be-heir-of-the-whole-world/) [Thomas Traherne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-traherne/) > [I was a king and a king's heir and now I am a slave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-renault/i-was-a-king-and-a-king-s-heir-and-now-i-am-a-slave/) [Mary Renault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-renault/) > [She was the heir of ash and fire, and she would bow to no one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/she-was-the-heir-of-ash-and-fire-and-she-would-bow-to-no-one/) [Sarah J. 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You'll be next, Mudbloods!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/enemies-of-the-heir-beware-you-ll-be-next-mudbloods/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ People of Haiti, I am the heir to the political philosophy, the doctrine and the revolution which my late father incarnated as president-for-life \[and\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-claude-duvalier/people-of-haiti-i-am-the-heir-to-the-political-philosophy-the/) [Jean-Claude Duvalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-claude-duvalier/) ## More by Michael Joseph Oakeshott > [In political activity, then, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea; there is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/in-political-activity-then-men-sail-a-boundless-and-bottomless-sea/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [Education is ... the invitation to disentangle oneself, for a time, from the urgencies of the here and now and to listen to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/education-is-the-invitation-to-disentangle-oneself-for-a-time-from/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [It is certain that most who concentrate upon achievement miss life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/it-is-certain-that-most-who-concentrate-upon-achievement-miss-life/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [A recorded past is no more than a bygone present composed of the footprints made by human beings actually going somewhere but not knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/a-recorded-past-is-no-more-than-a-bygone-present-composed-of-the/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [To be conservative…is to prefer the familiar to the unknown, to prefer the tried to the untried, fact to mystery, the actual to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/to-be-conservative-is-to-prefer-the-familiar-to-the-unknown-to-prefer/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [The man of conservative temperament believes that a known good is not lightly to be surrendered for an unknown better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/the-man-of-conservative-temperament-believes-that-a-known-good-is-not/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [The rule of law bakes no bread, it is unable to distribute loaves or fishes (it has none), and it cannot protect itself against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/the-rule-of-law-bakes-no-bread-it-is-unable-to-distribute-loaves-or/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [The conjunction of ruling and dreaming generates tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/the-conjunction-of-ruling-and-dreaming-generates-tyranny/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [This, I believe, is the appropriate image of human intercourse -- appropriate because it recognizes the qualities, the diversities, and the proper relationships of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/this-i-believe-is-the-appropriate-image-of-human-intercourse/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [Our predicament is not the difficulty of attaining happiness, but the difficult of avoiding the misery to which the pursuit of happiness exposes us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/our-predicament-is-not-the-difficulty-of-attaining-happiness-but-the/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [History is what the evidence compels us to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/history-is-what-the-evidence-compels-us-to-believe/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [Politics I take to be the activity of attending to the general arrangements of a set of people whom chance or choice have brought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/politics-i-take-to-be-the-activity-of-attending-to-the-general/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [Economics is not an attempt to generalize human desires or human behavior; 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