--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But only in their dreams can men be truly…" description: "\"But only in their dreams can men be truly free. It was always thus and always thus will be.\" — Robin Williams" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f30/robin-williams-682_conformity_but-only-in-their-dreams-can-men-be-trul_92042.jpg" --- # But only in their dreams can men be truly free. It was… ![“But only in their dreams can men be truly free. It was always thus and always thus will be.” quote by Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f30/robin-williams-682_conformity_but-only-in-their-dreams-can-men-be-trul_92042.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f30/robin-williams-682_conformity_but-only-in-their-dreams-can-men-be-trul_92042.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f30/robin-williams-682_conformity_but-only-in-their-dreams-can-men-be-trul_92042.jpg) > “But only in their dreams can men be truly free. It was always thus and always thus will be.” [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True freedom exists only in the realm of imagination; reality remains constrained. **In simple terms:** Dreams as liberation Key Takeaway Freedom is mental Themes freedom dreams philosophy Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical quote inspirational When to use this quote - creative writing - therapy Key Concepts existentialism Practical Applications - motivational speech - literary analysis Questions to Reflect On - Can imagination replace external constraints? - What limits do we accept in waking life? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conformity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformity/) [Dead poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-poets/) [Dead poets society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-poets-society/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Memorable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memorable/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Seize the day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seize-the-day/) ## Related quotes > [“But only in their dreams can men be truly free. 'Twas always, and always thus will be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-only-in-their-dreams-can-men-be-truly-free-twas-always-and-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Only in their dreams can men be truly free. 'Twas always thus, and always thus will be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-schulman/only-in-their-dreams-can-men-be-truly-free-twas-always-thus-and/) [Tom Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-schulman/) > [If you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it? Carpe diem,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/if-you-listen-real-close-you-can-hear-them-whisper-their-legacy-to/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [Seize the day. Because, believe it or not, each and every one of us in this room is one day going to stop breathing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/seize-the-day-because-believe-it-or-not-each-and-every-one-of-us-in/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [Carpe diem. (Seize the day.)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/carpe-diem-seize-the-day/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/we-don-t-read-and-write-poetry-because-it-s-cute-we-read-and-write-3/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [The meek may inherit the earth, but they don't get in to Harvard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/the-meek-may-inherit-the-earth-but-they-don-t-get-in-to-harvard/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [Boys, you must strive to find your own voice, because the longer you wait to begin the less likely you are to find it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/boys-you-must-strive-to-find-your-own-voice-because-the-longer-you/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [We're not laughing at you - we're laughing near you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/we-re-not-laughing-at-you-we-re-laughing-near-you/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [I always thought the idea of education was to learn to think for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/i-always-thought-the-idea-of-education-was-to-learn-to-think-for/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/but-poetry-beauty-romance-love-these-are-what-we-stay-alive-for/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [Avoid using the word 'very' because it's lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. Don't use very sad, use morose. Language…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/avoid-using-the-word-very-because-it-s-lazy-a-man-is-not-very-tired/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [There's a time for daring and there's a time for caution, and a wise man understands which is called for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/there-s-a-time-for-daring-and-there-s-a-time-for-caution-and-a-wise/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [I was offered 'Pretty Woman.' I was offered 'Big' and 'Dead Poets Society.' But what was important to me in those years was to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-brooks/i-was-offered-pretty-woman-i-was-offered-big-and-dead-poets-society/) [Albert Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-brooks/) > [It was when I was on the set of Dead Poets Society.There was actor,his name was Norman Lloyd. One day he took us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-hawke/it-was-when-i-was-on-the-set-of-dead-poets-society-there-was-actor/) [Ethan Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-hawke/) ## More by Robin Williams > [On stage you're free. You can say and do things that if you said and did any place else, you'd be arrested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/on-stage-you-re-free-you-can-say-and-do-things-that-if-you-said-and/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [Humor is a great defense, and an offense too. Usually the recipient isn't too happy about it, but the people around are laughing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/humor-is-a-great-defense-and-an-offense-too-usually-the-recipient-isn/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [What's wrong with death sir? What are we so mortally afraid of? Why can't we treat death with a certain amount of humanity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/what-s-wrong-with-death-sir-what-are-we-so-mortally-afraid-of-why-can/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's party!'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/spring-is-nature-s-way-of-saying-let-s-party/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [I had sex with a prostitute when I was 21, I was so bad, she gave me a refund.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/i-had-sex-with-a-prostitute-when-i-was-21-i-was-so-bad-she-gave-me-a/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [We were talking briefly about cocaine... yeah. Anything that makes you paranoid and impotent, give me more of that!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/we-were-talking-briefly-about-cocaine-yeah-anything-that-makes-you/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [In America they really do mythologise people when they die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/in-america-they-really-do-mythologise-people-when-they-die/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [I always thought the idea of education was to learn to think for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/i-always-thought-the-idea-of-education-was-to-learn-to-think-for/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [I was a serious method actor until I visited this site.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/i-was-a-serious-method-actor-until-i-visited-this-site/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [I'm history! No, I'm mythology! Nah, I don't care what I am, I'm free!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/i-m-history-no-i-m-mythology-nah-i-don-t-care-what-i-am-i-m-free/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [People say satire is dead. It's not dead; it's alive and living in the White House.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/people-say-satire-is-dead-it-s-not-dead-it-s-alive-and-living-in-the/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [For me, comedy starts as a spew, a kind of explosion, and then you sculpt it from there, if at all. It comes out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/for-me-comedy-starts-as-a-spew-a-kind-of-explosion-and-then-you/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [Carpe per diem - seize the check.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/carpe-per-diem-seize-the-check/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [Cable is not bound because people pay for it. It's literally a choice, that's the operative word. If you don't like the language, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/cable-is-not-bound-because-people-pay-for-it-it-s-literally-a-choice/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [I was once walking in an airport and a woman came up to me and said, 'Be zany!'. That'd be like walking up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/i-was-once-walking-in-an-airport-and-a-woman-came-up-to-me-and-said/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) [Explore all 413 Robin Williams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) ## More Conformity quotes > [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/) Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless > [“All to often, on the long road up, young leaders become servants of what is rather than shapers of what might be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/all-to-often-on-the-long-road-up-young-leaders-become-servants-of/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [The Chains of conformity click in tiresomely monotonous unison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-sweet/the-chains-of-conformity-click-in-tiresomely-monotonous-unison/) [Leonard Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-sweet/) > [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [A self is a frightening thing to waste, it's the lens through which one's whole life is viewed, and few people are willing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/a-self-is-a-frightening-thing-to-waste-it-s-the-lens-through-which/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [Ideation is not a synonym for innovation, conformity is not its simple antonym, and innovation is not the automatic consequence of "creative thinking.".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/ideation-is-not-a-synonym-for-innovation-conformity-is-not-its-simple/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [“I lead with the knowingness that my reality conforms to my wishes and desires instantly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-s-baker/i-lead-with-the-knowingness-that-my-reality-conforms-to-my-wishes-and/) [Robin S. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-s-baker/) > [Alas, everything that men say to one another is alike; the ideas they exchange are almost always the same, in their conversation. But inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/alas-everything-that-men-say-to-one-another-is-alike-the-ideas-they/) [Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) > [The search for truth is a cooperative, unending endeavor. We can, and should, engage in it to the extent we can and encourage others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-search-for-truth-is-a-cooperative-unending-endeavor-we-can-and/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Seeds have the power to preserve species, to enhance cultural as well as genetic diversity, to counter economic monopoly and to check the advance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/seeds-have-the-power-to-preserve-species-to-enhance-cultural-as-well/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“Brontë was attempting to depict a character that adheres to the unchanging principles of her faith though she refused conformity to the particular practices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-swallow-prior/bront-was-attempting-to-depict-a-character-that-adheres-to-the/) [Karen Swallow Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-swallow-prior/) > [Officers conditioned to conformity in peacetime cannot be expected to behave boldly and flexibly in combat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-yingling/officers-conditioned-to-conformity-in-peacetime-cannot-be-expected-to/) Paul Yingling > [The more civilized a nation, the more conformed its population, until that civilization's last age arrives, when multiplicity wages war with conformity. The former…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/the-more-civilized-a-nation-the-more-conformed-its-population-until/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/society-everywhere-is-in-conspiracy-against-the-manhood-of-every-one/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Deaths, births, and marriages, considering how much they are separately dependent on the freedom of the human will, should seem to be subject to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/deaths-births-and-marriages-considering-how-much-they-are-separately/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) [Browse all 937 Conformity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But only in their dreams can men be truly free. 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