---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: C'mon you apes, you wanna' live forever?"
description: "\"“C'mon you apes, you wanna' live forever?”\" — Robert A. Heinlein"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/robert-a-heinlein-209_live-forever_c-mon-you-apes-you-wanna-live-forever-17_1769537.jpg"
---

#  C'mon you apes, you wanna' live forever?

![“C'mon you apes, you wanna' live forever?” quote by Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/robert-a-heinlein-209_live-forever_c-mon-you-apes-you-wanna-live-forever-17_1769537.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/robert-a-heinlein-209_live-forever_c-mon-you-apes-you-wanna-live-forever-17_1769537.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/robert-a-heinlein-209_live-forever_c-mon-you-apes-you-wanna-live-forever-17_1769537.jpg)

> ““C'mon you apes, you wanna' live forever?””

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

## About This Quote

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

The speaker urges boldness, questioning the desire for immortality versus living fully now.

**In simple terms:** Ask if you truly want endless life or a meaningful present.

Key Takeaway

Choose a purposeful, daring life now.

Themes

existentialism mortality adventure

Mood

thought‑provoking inspirational

Type

fiction philosophical

When to use this quote

- career decisions
- relationship choices
- creative projects
- travel plans

Key Concepts

philosophy risk taking human desire

Questions to Reflect On

- What does “live forever” mean to you?
- Are you willing to take risks for a fuller life?

A Different Perspective

Immortality is unattainable and may diminish urgency.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Apes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apes/) [Live forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-forever/)

## Related quotes

> [“Come on, you apes! You wanna live forever?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein-alan-dean-foster/come-on-you-apes-you-wanna-live-forever/)

Robert A. Heinlein / Alan Dean Foster

> [It's my life, it's now or never. I ain't gonna live forever. I just wanna live while I'm alive. It's- my- life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bon-jovi/it-s-my-life-it-s-now-or-never-i-ain-t-gonna-live-forever-i-just/)

[Jon Bon Jovi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bon-jovi/)

> [Do you really wanna live forever, Forever, Forever young?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-you-really-wanna-live-forever-forever-forever-young/)

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

> [“Come on you apes, do you want to live forever?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-daly/come-on-you-apes-do-you-want-to-live-forever/)

Dan Daly

> [I've found out why people laugh. They laugh because it hurts so much... because it's the only thing that'll make it stop hurting" ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/i-ve-found-out-why-people-laugh-they-laugh-because-it-hurts-so-much/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [One is given to self-dramatization from time to time. I intend to live forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/one-is-given-to-self-dramatization-from-time-to-time-i-intend-to-live/)

[Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/)

> [Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgement that something is more important than fear; The brave may not live forever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-cabot/courage-is-not-the-absence-of-fear-but-rather-the-judgement-that/)

[Meg Cabot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-cabot/)

> [“It is a remarkable fact that we must die, and yet we live as if we were to live forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guicciardini/it-is-a-remarkable-fact-that-we-must-die-and-yet-we-live-as-if-we/)

Guicciardini

> [“Oh my God. For most of eternity, I won't exist. That leaves two options: live forever or destroy the universe. Hm... I may have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-weiner/oh-my-god-for-most-of-eternity-i-won-t-exist-that-leaves-two-options/)

Zach Weiner

> [“People may have to die, but morbidity will live forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-wilson/people-may-have-to-die-but-morbidity-will-live-forever/)

[Mara Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-wilson/)

> [We exist temporarily through what we take, but we live forever through what we give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-a-lawson/we-exist-temporarily-through-what-we-take-but-we-live-forever-through/)

Douglas A. Lawson

> [Why waste your time being around people who drag you down? You don't live forever, at least in this life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/why-waste-your-time-being-around-people-who-drag-you-down-you-don-t/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [“And in your smile, I will live forever”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/and-in-your-smile-i-will-live-forever/)

[Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/)

> [“Once Louis Wu had sworn to live forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-niven/once-louis-wu-had-sworn-to-live-forever/)

[Larry Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-niven/)

> [Contradictory precepts that have guided me for as long as I can remember: 1: I will live forever. 2: I will die tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/contradictory-precepts-that-have-guided-me-for-as-long-as-i-can/)

[Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/)

## More by Robert A. Heinlein

> [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [Ninety percent of all human wisdom is the ability to mind your own business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/ninety-percent-of-all-human-wisdom-is-the-ability-to-mind-your-own/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [If we blow ourselves up we will do it by misapplication of science; if we manage to keep from blowing ourselves up, it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/if-we-blow-ourselves-up-we-will-do-it-by-misapplication-of-science-if/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [Nor would anybody suspect. If was one thing all people took for granted, was conviction that if you feed honest figures into a computer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/nor-would-anybody-suspect-if-was-one-thing-all-people-took-for/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [Women will forgive anything. Otherwise, the race would have died out long ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/women-will-forgive-anything-otherwise-the-race-would-have-died-out/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [Most neuroses and some psychoses can be traced to the unnecessary and unhealthy habit of daily wallowing in the troubles and sins of five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/most-neuroses-and-some-psychoses-can-be-traced-to-the-unnecessary-and/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [No statement should be believed because it is made by an authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/no-statement-should-be-believed-because-it-is-made-by-an-authority/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [“Some people are ants by nature; they have to work, even when it’s useless. Few people have a talent for constructive laziness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/some-people-are-ants-by-nature-they-have-to-work-even-when-it-s/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [“The instinct to survive is human nature itself, and every aspect of our personalities derives from it. Anything that conflicts with the survival instinct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/the-instinct-to-survive-is-human-nature-itself-and-every-aspect-of/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [“I tried to dig out of the computer a call directory for Luna. But it was still sulking. I could not get it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/i-tried-to-dig-out-of-the-computer-a-call-directory-for-luna-but-it/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [“this has more aspects than a cat has hair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/this-has-more-aspects-than-a-cat-has-hair/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [Never own more than you can carry in both hands at a dead run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/never-own-more-than-you-can-carry-in-both-hands-at-a-dead-run/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [“In Wilson's scale of evaluations breakfast rated just after life itself and ahead of the chance of immortality." ~ By His Bootstraps / Robert A. Heinlein”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/in-wilson-s-scale-of-evaluations-breakfast-rated-just-after-life/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [Ignorance is curable, stupid is forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/ignorance-is-curable-stupid-is-forever/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

[Explore all 888 Robert A. Heinlein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

## More Apes quotes

> [Television's perfect. You turn a few knobs, a few of those mechanical adjustments at which the higher apes are so proficient, and lean back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/television-s-perfect-you-turn-a-few-knobs-a-few-of-those-mechanical/)

[Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/)

> [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/)

[Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/)

> [As nature made every man with a nose and eyes of his own, she gave him a character of his own, too; and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/as-nature-made-every-man-with-a-nose-and-eyes-of-his-own-she-gave-him/)

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

> [And the Devil did grin, for his darling sin is pride that apes humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/and-the-devil-did-grin-for-his-darling-sin-is-pride-that-apes-humility/)

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

> [Battle For The Planet Of The Apes', was just a film for kids and didn't have any deep meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-lee-thompson/battle-for-the-planet-of-the-apes-was-just-a-film-for-kids-and-didn-t/)

J. Lee Thompson

> [Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/far-out-in-the-uncharted-backwaters-of-the-unfashionable-end-of-the/)

[Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/)

> [“Civilization is only a pretense; in the crisis, we become mere apes again, forgetting the rational biped of our pretensions and becoming instead the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/civilization-is-only-a-pretense-in-the-crisis-we-become-mere-apes/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [The idea that war should be conducted within a moral framework may seem like a quaint medieval practice, but as speech separates humans from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-idea-that-war-should-be-conducted-within-a-moral-framework-may/)

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

> [Is man an ape or an angel? Now I am on the side of the angels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/is-man-an-ape-or-an-angel-now-i-am-on-the-side-of-the-angels/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [Mass ought to be in Latin, unless you could do it in Greek or Chinese. In fact, any abracadabra that no bloody member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/mass-ought-to-be-in-latin-unless-you-could-do-it-in-greek-or-chinese/)

[Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/)

> [I think the problem we have as apes is we're asking far bigger questions than we could possibly process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/i-think-the-problem-we-have-as-apes-is-we-re-asking-far-bigger/)

[Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/)

> [We admit that we are like apes, but we seldom realise that we are apes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-admit-that-we-are-like-apes-but-we-seldom-realise-that-we-are-apes/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [Lower your gaze because you become less of a human every time you stare at a woman and you stare at her like she's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouman-ali-khan/lower-your-gaze-because-you-become-less-of-a-human-every-time-you/)

[Nouman Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouman-ali-khan/)

> [It was their individuality combined with the shyness of their behavior that remained the most captivating impression of this first encounter with the greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dian-fossey/it-was-their-individuality-combined-with-the-shyness-of-their/)

[Dian Fossey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dian-fossey/)

> [Apes had it worked out. No ape would philosophize, "The mountain is, and is not." They would think, "The banana is. I will eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/apes-had-it-worked-out-no-ape-would-philosophize-the-mountain-is-and/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

[Browse all 444 Apes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apes/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“C'mon you apes, you wanna' live forever?”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Robert A. Heinlein"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/c-mon-you-apes-you-wanna-live-forever/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Apes"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/c-mon-you-apes-you-wanna-live-forever/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/robert-a-heinlein-209_live-forever_c-mon-you-apes-you-wanna-live-forever-17_1769537.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/robert-a-heinlein-209_live-forever_c-mon-you-apes-you-wanna-live-forever-17_1769537.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/robert-a-heinlein-209_live-forever_c-mon-you-apes-you-wanna-live-forever-17_1769537.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“C'mon you apes, you wanna' live forever?” — Robert A. Heinlein",
                "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": "Robert A. Heinlein",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“C'mon you apes, you wanna' live...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/c-mon-you-apes-you-wanna-live-forever/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/c-mon-you-apes-you-wanna-live-forever/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
