--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What most counts is not merely to live…" description: "\"What most counts is not merely to live, but to live right.\" — Socrates" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/097/socrates-405_character_what-most-counts-is-not-merely-to-live-b_3213205.jpg" --- # What most counts is not merely to live, but to live right. ![“What most counts is not merely to live, but to live right.” quote by Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/097/socrates-405_character_what-most-counts-is-not-merely-to-live-b_3213205.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/097/socrates-405_character_what-most-counts-is-not-merely-to-live-b_3213205.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/097/socrates-405_character_what-most-counts-is-not-merely-to-live-b_3213205.jpg) > “What most counts is not merely to live, but to live right.” [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Living rightly matters more than merely existing. **In simple terms:** Living right is more important than just living. Key Takeaway Prioritize ethical living over mere survival. Themes ethics philosophy purpose virtue Mood inspirational thought‑provoking Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - education - personal development - public service Key Concepts moral philosophy ancient wisdom human flourishing Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to live right today? - How can societies foster right living? A Different Perspective Interpretations of "right" can vary across cultures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Counts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/counts/) [Counts Merely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/counts-merely-6011783/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life worth living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-worth-living/) [Live Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-right-392221/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Merely Live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merely-live-4792581/) [Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right/) ## Related quotes > [Life is not to live merely, but to live well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-lubbock-4th-baron-avebury/life-is-not-to-live-merely-but-to-live-well/) [Eric Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-lubbock-4th-baron-avebury/) > [They are commiting murder who merely live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/they-are-commiting-murder-who-merely-live/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [The really important thing is not to live, but to live well. And to live well meant, along with more enjoyable things in life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/the-really-important-thing-is-not-to-live-but-to-live-well-and-to/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [The examined life is the only life worth living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/the-examined-life-is-the-only-life-worth-living/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [ “...\[T\]he really important thing is not to live, but to live well... \[a\]nd to live well means the same thing as to live honourably… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/t-he-really-important-thing-is-not-to-live-but-to-live-well-a-nd-to/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [It is not living that matters, but living rightly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/it-is-not-living-that-matters-but-living-rightly/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Right now counts forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/right-now-counts-forever/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [“The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/the-very-least-you-can-do-in-your-life-is-figure-out-what-you-hope/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [You only live life once, but if you live it right, once is enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-only-live-life-once-but-if-you-live-it-right-once-is-enough/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-only-live-once-but-if-you-do-it-right-once-is-enough/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You’ve got to live right, too. It’s the way you live that predisposes you to avoid the traps and see the right facts. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/you-ve-got-to-live-right-too-it-s-the-way-you-live-that-predisposes/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [Live right now, just be yourself. It doesnt matter if its not good enough for someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/live-right-now-just-be-yourself-it-doesnt-matter-if-its-not-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I try to live right. I always try to adhere to what I think is right, and that, to me, is the most important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-maloof/i-try-to-live-right-i-always-try-to-adhere-to-what-i-think-is-right/) [Sam Maloof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-maloof/) > [Freedom is not the right to live as we please, but the right to find how we ought to live in order to fulfill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/freedom-is-not-the-right-to-live-as-we-please-but-the-right-to-find/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In L.A., I live right across from Universal Studios.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kodi-smit-mcphee/in-l-a-i-live-right-across-from-universal-studios/) [Kodi Smit-McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kodi-smit-mcphee/) ## More by Socrates > [By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll be happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/by-all-means-marry-if-you-get-a-good-wife-you-ll-be-happy-if-you-get/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Falling down is not a failure. Failure comes when you stay where you have fallen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/falling-down-is-not-a-failure-failure-comes-when-you-stay-where-you/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Do not go through life like leaf blown from here to there believing whatever you are told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/do-not-go-through-life-like-leaf-blown-from-here-to-there-believing/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [If the whole world depends on today's youth, I can't see the world lasting another 100 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-the-whole-world-depends-on-today-s-youth-i-can-t-see-the-world/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“I only know, I know nothing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-only-know-i-know-nothing/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-cannot-teach-anybody-anything-i-can-only-make-them-think/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [If measure and symmetry are absent from any composition in any degree, ruin awaits both the ingredients and the composition... Measure and symmetry are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-measure-and-symmetry-are-absent-from-any-composition-in-any-degree/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Marry a good woman, and be happy the rest of your life. Or, marry a bad, and become a good philosopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/marry-a-good-woman-and-be-happy-the-rest-of-your-life-or-marry-a-bad/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“For the fear of death is indeed the pretense of wisdom, and not real wisdom, being a pretense of knowing the unknown; and no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/for-the-fear-of-death-is-indeed-the-pretense-of-wisdom-and-not-real/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [There is no difference between knowledge and temperance; for he who knows what is good and embraces it, who knows what is bad and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/there-is-no-difference-between-knowledge-and-temperance-for-he-who/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Besides, it is a shame to let yourself grow old through neglect before seeing how you can develop the maximum beauty and strength of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/besides-it-is-a-shame-to-let-yourself-grow-old-through-neglect-before/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [The greatest blessing granted to mankind come by way of madness, which is a divine gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/the-greatest-blessing-granted-to-mankind-come-by-way-of-madness-which/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [I desire only to know the truth, and to live as well as I can...And, to the utmost of my power, I exhort all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-desire-only-to-know-the-truth-and-to-live-as-well-as-i-can-and-to/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [So you would rather suffer an injustice than do an injustice?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/so-you-would-rather-suffer-an-injustice-than-do-an-injustice/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [The end of life is to be like unto God; and the soul following God, will be like unto Him; He being the beginning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/the-end-of-life-is-to-be-like-unto-god-and-the-soul-following-god/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) [Explore all 579 Socrates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [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/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) [David Hudgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hudgins/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. 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