--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: liberty is the one thing no man can have…" description: "\"liberty is the one thing no man can have unless he grants it to others.\" — Ruth Benedict" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a18/ruth-benedict-10946_freedom_liberty-is-the-one-thing-no-man-can-have_3028995.jpg" --- # liberty is the one thing no man can have unless he grants… ![“liberty is the one thing no man can have unless he grants it to others.” quote by Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a18/ruth-benedict-10946_freedom_liberty-is-the-one-thing-no-man-can-have_3028995.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a18/ruth-benedict-10946_freedom_liberty-is-the-one-thing-no-man-can-have_3028995.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a18/ruth-benedict-10946_freedom_liberty-is-the-one-thing-no-man-can-have_3028995.jpg) > “liberty is the one thing no man can have unless he grants it to others.” [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Liberty is reciprocal; one must grant freedom to others to truly possess it themselves. **In simple terms:** Freedom requires mutual respect. Key Takeaway Give freedom to others. Themes ethics freedom reciprocity Mood thoughtful inspirational Type cultural ethical When to use this quote - humanitarian work - community building - policy making - education programs Key Concepts Political philosophy social contract human rights Questions to Reflect On - How does granting freedom empower societies? - What obstacles prevent mutual liberty? A Different Perspective Power dynamics can corrupt the principle. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Grants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grants/) [Human rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-rights/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Liberty Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty-thing-451565/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [One thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-thing/) [Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing/) [Thing Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-man-478529/) [Unless Grants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unless-grants-4939107/) ## Related quotes > [What is liberty? There is no such thing as absolute liberty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benito-mussolini/what-is-liberty-there-is-no-such-thing-as-absolute-liberty/) [Benito Mussolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benito-mussolini/) > [Liberty is the only thing you can't have unless you give it to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-allen-white/liberty-is-the-only-thing-you-can-t-have-unless-you-give-it-to-others/) [William Allen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-allen-white/) > [Liberty is the only thing you cannot have unless you are willing to give it to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-allen-white/liberty-is-the-only-thing-you-cannot-have-unless-you-are-willing-to/) [William Allen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-allen-white/) > [There is such a thing as a man being too proud to fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/there-is-such-a-thing-as-a-man-being-too-proud-to-fight/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [The worst thing you can do to a man is to tell him he can have what he wants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-worst-thing-you-can-do-to-a-man-is-to-tell-him-he-can-have-what/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's just a mentality-type thing, man. One guy isn't going to bring me down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deebo-samuel/it-s-just-a-mentality-type-thing-man-one-guy-isn-t-going-to-bring-me/) [Deebo Samuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deebo-samuel/) > [“The hardest thing is a man to truly know himself”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/the-hardest-thing-is-a-man-to-truly-know-himself/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [It is one thing to show a man that he is in an error, and another to put him in possession of the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-locke/it-is-one-thing-to-show-a-man-that-he-is-in-an-error-and-another-to/) [John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-locke/) > [The most beautiful thing to see in a man is when he cries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-parkin/the-most-beautiful-thing-to-see-in-a-man-is-when-he-cries/) [Sophie Parkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-parkin/) > [Fighting is the best thing a man can have in his soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renzo-gracie/fighting-is-the-best-thing-a-man-can-have-in-his-soul/) [Renzo Gracie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renzo-gracie/) > [“The first thing a man will do for his ideal is lie”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-schumpeter/the-first-thing-a-man-will-do-for-his-ideal-is-lie/) [Joseph Schumpeter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-schumpeter/) > [The most fatal thing a man can do is try to stand alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/the-most-fatal-thing-a-man-can-do-is-try-to-stand-alone/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [The history of the world shows that when a mean thing was done, man did it; when a good thing was done, man did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/the-history-of-the-world-shows-that-when-a-mean-thing-was-done-man/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [The best thing for a man to do is to be born and, being born, to die at once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietro-aretino/the-best-thing-for-a-man-to-do-is-to-be-born-and-being-born-to-die-at/) [Pietro Aretino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietro-aretino/) > [Fathering is the most masculine thing a man can do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-pittman/fathering-is-the-most-masculine-thing-a-man-can-do/) [Frank Pittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-pittman/) ## More by Ruth Benedict > [We grow in time to trust the future for our answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/we-grow-in-time-to-trust-the-future-for-our-answers/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [An observer will see the bizarre developments of behavior only in alien cultures, not his own. Nevertheless this is obviously a local and temporary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/an-observer-will-see-the-bizarre-developments-of-behavior-only-in/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [In world history, those who have helped to build the same culture are not necessarily of one race, and those of the same race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/in-world-history-those-who-have-helped-to-build-the-same-culture-are/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [It is strange how long we rebel against a platitude until suddenly in a different lingo it looms up again as the only verity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/it-is-strange-how-long-we-rebel-against-a-platitude-until-suddenly-in/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [“Experience, contrary to common belief, is mostly imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/experience-contrary-to-common-belief-is-mostly-imagination/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [I gambled on having the strength to live two lives, one for myself and one for the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/i-gambled-on-having-the-strength-to-live-two-lives-one-for-myself-and/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [Western civilization, because of fortuitous historical circumstances, has spread itself more widely than any other local group that has so far been known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/western-civilization-because-of-fortuitous-historical-circumstances/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [The trouble is not that we are never happy - it is that happiness is so episodical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/the-trouble-is-not-that-we-are-never-happy-it-is-that-happiness-is-so/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [It is my necessary breath of life to understand and expression is the only justification of life that I can feel without prodding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/it-is-my-necessary-breath-of-life-to-understand-and-expression-is-the/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [The purpose of anthropology is to make the world safe for human differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/the-purpose-of-anthropology-is-to-make-the-world-safe-for-human/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [Success and failure in our own national economy will hang upon the degree to which we are able to work with races and nations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/success-and-failure-in-our-own-national-economy-will-hang-upon-the/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [I haven't strength of mind not to need a career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/i-haven-t-strength-of-mind-not-to-need-a-career/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [As a matter of history great developments in art have often been remarkably separate from religious motivation and use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/as-a-matter-of-history-great-developments-in-art-have-often-been/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [The Japanese are, to the highest degree, both aggressive and unaggressive, both militaristic and aesthetic, both insolent and polite, rigid and adaptable, submissive and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/the-japanese-are-to-the-highest-degree-both-aggressive-and/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [Society in its full sense ... is never an entity separable from the individuals who compose it. No individual can arrive even at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/society-in-its-full-sense-is-never-an-entity-separable-from-the/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) [Explore all 62 Ruth Benedict quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) ## More Freedom quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. 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If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [We live in the greatest country in the world because of the veterans who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom and the security…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-husted/we-live-in-the-greatest-country-in-the-world-because-of-the-veterans/) [Jon Husted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-husted/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [“No one was more surprised than I to realize that my newfound freedom had been purchased by giving up on eternity and settling for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-jessop/no-one-was-more-surprised-than-i-to-realize-that-my-newfound-freedom/) [Carolyn Jessop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-jessop/) > [“In a world of fixed future, there can be no right or wrong. Right and wrong demand freedom of choice, but if each action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-a-world-of-fixed-future-there-can-be-no-right-or-wrong-right-and/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-any-case-white-people-who-had-robbed-black-people-of-their-liberty/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [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 have to blame myself for not finding any way of reaching him, but I can't feel that either Ruth or I had anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-have-to-blame-myself-for-not-finding-any-way-of-reaching-him-but-i/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“It breaks my heart. 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