--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man must have limits and cannot give in…" description: "\"A man must have limits and cannot give in to the wild desires to be everything and everyone and everything to everyone.\" — Saul Bellow" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/540/saul-bellow-558_desire_a-man-must-have-limits-and-cannot-give-i_2442330.png" --- # A man must have limits and cannot give in to the wild… ![“A man must have limits and cannot give in to the wild desires to be everything and everyone and everything to everyone.” quote by Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/540/saul-bellow-558_desire_a-man-must-have-limits-and-cannot-give-i_2442330.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/540/saul-bellow-558_desire_a-man-must-have-limits-and-cannot-give-i_2442330.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/540/saul-bellow-558_desire_a-man-must-have-limits-and-cannot-give-i_2442330.png) > “A man must have limits and cannot give in to the wild desires to be everything and everyone and everything to everyone.” [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. One must set boundaries and resist the urge to be all‑encompassing. **In simple terms:** Limits are necessary; avoid overextending yourself. Key Takeaway Recognize and respect personal limits. Themes self‑discipline boundaries identity Mood reflective cautious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - relationships - career planning - personal growth Key Concepts psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What are healthy boundaries for you? - How to balance ambition with limits? A Different Perspective Rigid limits may stifle growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Desires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desires/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Limits Wild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits-wild-497983/) [Man Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-limits-497982/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Wild Desires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wild-desires-497985/) ## Related quotes > [Artists have wild desires and a terrible hunger to achieve... Without it they haven't the juice for striving or loving. But desire also can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/artists-have-wild-desires-and-a-terrible-hunger-to-achieve-without-it/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [“What wild desires, what restless torments seize The hapless man, who feels the book-disease..." -”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ferriar/what-wild-desires-what-restless-torments-seize-the-hapless-man-who/) [John Ferriar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ferriar/) > [“Well, a man has to have his limits somewhere, and being shoved into a hole in the wall is mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-jo-easton/well-a-man-has-to-have-his-limits-somewhere-and-being-shoved-into-a/) [Sara Jo Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-jo-easton/) > [For the more a man limits himself, the nearer he is on the other hand to what is limitless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/for-the-more-a-man-limits-himself-the-nearer-he-is-on-the-other-hand-2/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [For the more a man limits himself, the nearer he is on the other hand to what is limitless; it is precisely those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/for-the-more-a-man-limits-himself-the-nearer-he-is-on-the-other-hand/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [If I want someone, I can go to any extent to get him. My craziness for a man has no limits at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pooja-bedi/if-i-want-someone-i-can-go-to-any-extent-to-get-him-my-craziness-for/) [Pooja Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pooja-bedi/) > [The superior man limits his achievements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-superior-man-limits-his-achievements/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [A man who limits his interests limits his life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-price/a-man-who-limits-his-interests-limits-his-life/) [Vincent Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-price/) > [I'm a strong person, but every man has his limits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ashcroft/i-m-a-strong-person-but-every-man-has-his-limits/) [Richard Ashcroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ashcroft/) > [“The Heart Desires to Be Free”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-belmer/the-heart-desires-to-be-free/) [Cynthia Belmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-belmer/) > [Our desires have a way of getting bigger with our incomes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/our-desires-have-a-way-of-getting-bigger-with-our-incomes/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [“My third maxim was to endeavour always to conquer myself rather than fortune, and change my desires rather than the order of the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/my-third-maxim-was-to-endeavour-always-to-conquer-myself-rather-than/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [“The best way to achieve a wonderful life is to have wonderful desires.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/the-best-way-to-achieve-a-wonderful-life-is-to-have-wonderful-desires/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [A lot of times, my work is looked at very much on the surface. It's very easy to just want to put something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-koons/a-lot-of-times-my-work-is-looked-at-very-much-on-the-surface-it-s/) [Jeff Koons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-koons/) > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) ## More by Saul Bellow > [... a fellow can't predict what he will pick up in the form of influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-fellow-can-t-predict-what-he-will-pick-up-in-the-form-of-influence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [If I'm out of my mind, it's all right with me, thought Moses Herzog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/if-i-m-out-of-my-mind-it-s-all-right-with-me-thought-moses-herzog/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [I have begun in old age to understand just how oddly we are all put together. We are so proud of our autonomy that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-have-begun-in-old-age-to-understand-just-how-oddly-we-are-all-put/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“On Broadway it was still bright afternoon and the gassy air was almost motionless under the leaden spokes of sunlight, and sawdust footprints lay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/on-broadway-it-was-still-bright-afternoon-and-the-gassy-air-was/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There are evils that have the ability to survive identification and go on for ever... money, for instance, or war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-are-evils-that-have-the-ability-to-survive-identification-and/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Myself is thus and so, and will continue thus and so. And why fight it? My balance comes from instability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/myself-is-thus-and-so-and-will-continue-thus-and-so-and-why-fight-it/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“A strange heart. I myself can't account for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-strange-heart-i-myself-can-t-account-for-it/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [The late philosopher Morris R. Cohen of CCNY was asked by a student in the metaphysics course, Professor Cohen, how do I know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/the-late-philosopher-morris-r-cohen-of-ccny-was-asked-by-a-student-in/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“Therefore we didn't talk of genuine things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/therefore-we-didn-t-talk-of-genuine-things/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Is our species crazy? Plenty of evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/is-our-species-crazy-plenty-of-evidence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“But now the emphasis has shifted to making it. People have surrendered their personal moral objectives to government or schools or psychologists. It’s a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/but-now-the-emphasis-has-shifted-to-making-it-people-have-surrendered/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There's a kind of emptiness at the center of life ... nothing to form your life on, or by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-s-a-kind-of-emptiness-at-the-center-of-life-nothing-to-form/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“I don't know how it all at once came to me to talk a lot, tell jokes, kick up, and suddenly have views. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-don-t-know-how-it-all-at-once-came-to-me-to-talk-a-lot-tell-jokes/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There are times when the most practical thing is to lie down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-are-times-when-the-most-practical-thing-is-to-lie-down/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“For knowledge of death makes us wish to extend our lives at the expense of others. And this is the root of the struggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/for-knowledge-of-death-makes-us-wish-to-extend-our-lives-at-the/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) [Explore all 464 Saul Bellow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [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/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A man must have limits and cannot give in to the wild desires to be everything and everyone and everything to everyone.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Saul Bellow" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-man-must-have-limits-and-cannot-give-in-to-the-wild-desires-to-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-man-must-have-limits-and-cannot-give-in-to-the-wild-desires-to-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/540/saul-bellow-558_desire_a-man-must-have-limits-and-cannot-give-i_2442330.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/540/saul-bellow-558_desire_a-man-must-have-limits-and-cannot-give-i_2442330.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/540/saul-bellow-558_desire_a-man-must-have-limits-and-cannot-give-i_2442330.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A man must have limits and cannot give in to the wild desires to be everything and everyone and everything…” — Saul Bellow", "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": "Saul Bellow", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A man must have limits and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-man-must-have-limits-and-cannot-give-in-to-the-wild-desires-to-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-man-must-have-limits-and-cannot-give-in-to-the-wild-desires-to-be/#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 } } ] } ```