--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many a man who thinks to found a home…" description: "\"Many a man who thinks to found a home discovers that he has merely opened a tavern for his friends.\" — Norman Douglas" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/943/norman-douglas-15021_found_many-a-man-who-thinks-to-found-a-home-di_3162450.png" --- # Many a man who thinks to found a home discovers that he… ![“Many a man who thinks to found a home discovers that he has merely opened a tavern for his friends.” quote by Norman Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/943/norman-douglas-15021_found_many-a-man-who-thinks-to-found-a-home-di_3162450.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/943/norman-douglas-15021_found_many-a-man-who-thinks-to-found-a-home-di_3162450.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/943/norman-douglas-15021_found_many-a-man-who-thinks-to-found-a-home-di_3162450.png) > “Many a man who thinks to found a home discovers that he has merely opened a tavern for his friends.” [Norman Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-douglas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Attempting to create a stable home often turns into a place for socializing, revealing the blurred line between domesticity and hospitality. **In simple terms:** Home can become a tavern for friends. Key Takeaway Recognize the purpose of your space. Themes home friendship identity hospitality Mood reflective thoughtful Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - family gatherings - hosting events - living arrangements - personal boundaries Key Concepts social dynamics personal space expectations Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel your home serves your needs? - How do you balance personal space with hospitality? A Different Perspective It may be hard to maintain privacy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Tavern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tavern/) [Taverns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taverns/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Everyone who's in America spends the first few years not experiencing it. The person is frightened by the newness of the place and doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/everyone-who-s-in-america-spends-the-first-few-years-not-experiencing/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [Shakespeare was not meant for taverns, nor for tavern louts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-g-engel/shakespeare-was-not-meant-for-taverns-nor-for-tavern-louts/) Samuel G Engel > [A drunkard is the annoyance of modesty, the trouble of civility, the spoil of wealth, the distraction of reason. He is the brewer's agent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-adams/a-drunkard-is-the-annoyance-of-modesty-the-trouble-of-civility-the/) [Thomas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-adams/) > [The tavern will compare favorably with the church. The church is the place where prayers and sermons are delivered, but the tavernis where they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-tavern-will-compare-favorably-with-the-church-the-church-is-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The study of tavern history often brings to light much evidence of sad domestic changes. Many a cherished and beautiful home, rich in annals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-morse-earle/the-study-of-tavern-history-often-brings-to-light-much-evidence-of/) [Alice Morse Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-morse-earle/) > [How lucky is the man who, like Mozart and others, goes to the tavern of an evening and writes some fresh music. For he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-brahms/how-lucky-is-the-man-who-like-mozart-and-others-goes-to-the-tavern-of/) [Johannes Brahms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-brahms/) > [Souls of poets dead and gone, What Elysium have ye known, Happy field or mossy cavern, Choicer than the Mermaid Tavern? Have ye tippled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/souls-of-poets-dead-and-gone-what-elysium-have-ye-known-happy-field-2/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [When the hour is nigh me, Let me in a tavern die, With a tankard by me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archpoet/when-the-hour-is-nigh-me-let-me-in-a-tavern-die-with-a-tankard-by-me/) Archpoet > [I waited tables at Govnr's Park Tavern in Denver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-perino/i-waited-tables-at-govnr-s-park-tavern-in-denver/) [Dana Perino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-perino/) > [Now musing o'er the changing scene Farmers behind the tavern screen Collect; with elbows idly press'd On hob, reclines the corner's guest, Reading the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-clare/now-musing-o-er-the-changing-scene-farmers-behind-the-tavern-screen/) [John Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-clare/) > [“The tavern will compare favorably with the church.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-tavern-will-compare-favorably-with-the-church/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Souls of poets dead and gone, What Elysium have ye known, Happy field or mossy cavern, Choicer than the Mermaid Tavern? Have ye tippled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/souls-of-poets-dead-and-gone-what-elysium-have-ye-known-happy-field/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [There is no such joy in the tavern as upon the road thereto.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/there-is-no-such-joy-in-the-tavern-as-upon-the-road-thereto/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [In a tavern everybody puts on airs except the landlord.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-a-tavern-everybody-puts-on-airs-except-the-landlord/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man, by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-is-nothing-which-has-yet-been-contrived-by-man-by-which-so-much/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More by Norman Douglas > [People who have reformed themselves has contributed their full share towards the reformation of their neighbor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-douglas/people-who-have-reformed-themselves-has-contributed-their-full-share/) [Norman Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-douglas/) > [To find a friend one must close one eye. To keep him...two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-douglas/to-find-a-friend-one-must-close-one-eye-to-keep-him-two/) [Norman Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-douglas/) > [The pine stays green in winter... wisdom in hardship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-douglas/the-pine-stays-green-in-winter-wisdom-in-hardship/) [Norman Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-douglas/) > [The true cook is the perfect blend, the only perfect blend, of artist and philosopher. He knows his worth: he holds in his palm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-douglas/the-true-cook-is-the-perfect-blend-the-only-perfect-blend-of-artist/) [Norman Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-douglas/) > [It seldom pays to be rude. It never pays to be only half-rude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-douglas/it-seldom-pays-to-be-rude-it-never-pays-to-be-only-half-rude/) [Norman Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-douglas/) > [One can always trust to time. Insert a wedge of time and nearly everything straightens itself out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-douglas/one-can-always-trust-to-time-insert-a-wedge-of-time-and-nearly/) [Norman Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-douglas/) > [Learn to foster an ardent imagination; so shall you descry beauty which others passed unheeded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-douglas/learn-to-foster-an-ardent-imagination-so-shall-you-descry-beauty/) [Norman Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-douglas/) > [No one can expect a majority to be stirred by motives other than ignoble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-douglas/no-one-can-expect-a-majority-to-be-stirred-by-motives-other-than/) [Norman Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-douglas/) > [There is so much goodness in real life- do let us keep it out of our books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-douglas/there-is-so-much-goodness-in-real-life-do-let-us-keep-it-out-of-our/) [Norman Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-douglas/) > [No great man is ever born too soon or too late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-douglas/no-great-man-is-ever-born-too-soon-or-too-late/) [Norman Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-douglas/) > [The business of life is to enjoy oneself; everything else is a mockery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-douglas/the-business-of-life-is-to-enjoy-oneself-everything-else-is-a-mockery/) [Norman Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-douglas/) > [Wine is a precarious aphrodisiac, and its fumes have blighted many a mating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-douglas/wine-is-a-precarious-aphrodisiac-and-its-fumes-have-blighted-many-a/) [Norman Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-douglas/) > [Nobody can misunderstand a boy like his own mother. Mothers at present can bring children into the world, but this performance is apt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-douglas/nobody-can-misunderstand-a-boy-like-his-own-mother-mothers-at-present/) [Norman Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-douglas/) > [You can construct the character of a man and his age not only from what he does and says, but from what he fails…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-douglas/you-can-construct-the-character-of-a-man-and-his-age-not-only-from/) [Norman Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-douglas/) > [Bouillabaisse is only good because cooked by the French, who, if they cared to try, could produce an excellent and nutritious substitute out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-douglas/bouillabaisse-is-only-good-because-cooked-by-the-french-who-if-they/) [Norman Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-douglas/) [Explore all 44 Norman Douglas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-douglas/) ## More Found quotes > [I never believed in trying to do anything. Whatever I set out to do I found I had already accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-never-believed-in-trying-to-do-anything-whatever-i-set-out-to-do-i/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I love being in Malibu. It's so cool there, and the water is just, it's nice and, and I love the beach. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-evancho/i-love-being-in-malibu-it-s-so-cool-there-and-the-water-is-just-it-s/) [Jackie Evancho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-evancho/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/) [Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/) > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [It is the interest of the commercial world that wealth should be found everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/it-is-the-interest-of-the-commercial-world-that-wealth-should-be/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Real breakthroughs are not found because you want to develop some new technology, but because you are curious and want to find out how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-zeilinger/real-breakthroughs-are-not-found-because-you-want-to-develop-some-new/) [Anton Zeilinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-zeilinger/) > [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [I wish that I had known back then that a mastery of process would lead to a product. Then I probably wouldn't have found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-george/i-wish-that-i-had-known-back-then-that-a-mastery-of-process-would/) [Elizabeth George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-george/) > [He found in the world without as actual what was in his world within as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/he-found-in-the-world-without-as-actual-what-was-in-his-world-within/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [What has drug addiction done for me? It's cost me my career, my fortune and basically my sex life when I found out I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbin-crosby/what-has-drug-addiction-done-for-me-it-s-cost-me-my-career-my-fortune/) Robbin Crosby > [It hurt, of course, but more often than not the best things do, I've found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-hurt-of-course-but-more-often-than-not-the-best-things-do-i-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) Browse all 12,329 Found quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Many a man who thinks to found a home discovers that he has merely opened a tavern for his friends.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Norman Douglas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-douglas/many-a-man-who-thinks-to-found-a-home-discovers-that-he-has-merely/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Found" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-douglas/many-a-man-who-thinks-to-found-a-home-discovers-that-he-has-merely/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/943/norman-douglas-15021_found_many-a-man-who-thinks-to-found-a-home-di_3162450.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/943/norman-douglas-15021_found_many-a-man-who-thinks-to-found-a-home-di_3162450.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/943/norman-douglas-15021_found_many-a-man-who-thinks-to-found-a-home-di_3162450.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Many a man who thinks to found a home discovers that he has merely opened a tavern for his friends.” — Norman Douglas", "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": "Norman Douglas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-douglas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Many a man who thinks to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-douglas/many-a-man-who-thinks-to-found-a-home-discovers-that-he-has-merely/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-douglas/many-a-man-who-thinks-to-found-a-home-discovers-that-he-has-merely/#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 } } ] } ```