--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One only makes books in order to keep in…" description: "\"One only makes books in order to keep in touch with one's fellows after one has ceased to breath, and thus to defend oneself against the inexorable fat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c83/stefan-zweig-811_book_one-only-makes-books-in-order-to-keep-in_933739.jpg" --- # One only makes books in order to keep in touch with one's… ![“One only makes books in order to keep in touch with one's fellows after one has ceased to breath, and thus to defend oneself against the inexorable fate of all that lives - transitoriness and oblivion.” quote by Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c83/stefan-zweig-811_book_one-only-makes-books-in-order-to-keep-in_933739.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c83/stefan-zweig-811_book_one-only-makes-books-in-order-to-keep-in_933739.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c83/stefan-zweig-811_book_one-only-makes-books-in-order-to-keep-in_933739.jpg) > “One only makes books in order to keep in touch with one's fellows after one has ceased to breath, and thus to defend oneself against the inexorable fate of all that lives - transitoriness and oblivion.” [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing preserves personal legacy, countering mortality and forgetting by connecting with others beyond death. **In simple terms:** Writing keeps us remembered after we die. Key Takeaway Write to leave a lasting connection. Themes legacy mortality connection Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - family memoirs - posthumous publications - personal blogs - historical archives Key Concepts existentialism memory humanism Questions to Reflect On - How does writing shape your sense of immortality? - What connections do you hope to maintain? A Different Perspective May not reach all audiences; personal bias can limit impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Breath Defend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breath-defend-1541621/) [Ceased Breath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ceased-breath-1541619/) [Defend Oneself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defend-oneself-344895/) [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Makes Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/makes-books-1541618/) [Oblivion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oblivion/) [Oneself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oneself/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Transitoriness Oblivion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transitoriness-oblivion-1541620/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [What makes books - and with them writers - so dangerous that church and state, politburos and the mass media feel the need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/what-makes-books-and-with-them-writers-so-dangerous-that-church-and/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [I myself don't know what makes my books work. I enter a bookstore and I'm frankly overwhelmed by the number of books in most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chetan-bhagat/i-myself-don-t-know-what-makes-my-books-work-i-enter-a-bookstore-and/) [Chetan Bhagat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chetan-bhagat/) > [“It's a symbiotic process, writing. What I am makes the books—not part of me, all of me—and then the books themselves inform the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-s-a-symbiotic-process-writing-what-i-am-makes-the-books-not-part/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Whatever I've worked on, I've always tried to make my writing personal. 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Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [The right to defend oneself is something that should never require us to be on a list, it should never require us to pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-taylor-greene/the-right-to-defend-oneself-is-something-that-should-never-require-us/) [Marjorie Taylor Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-taylor-greene/) > [I always think that the ability to fight and defend oneself is a skill that every man should have but endeavour never to use,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-hunnam/i-always-think-that-the-ability-to-fight-and-defend-oneself-is-a/) [Charlie Hunnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-hunnam/) > [It's impossible to defend oneself in the absence of goodwill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/it-s-impossible-to-defend-oneself-in-the-absence-of-goodwill/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [To be forced to defend oneself is an inherently undesirable position to be in. The focus shifts from ideas to the person conveying them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maajid-nawaz/to-be-forced-to-defend-oneself-is-an-inherently-undesirable-position/) [Maajid Nawaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maajid-nawaz/) > [It is better to control oneself, if one can, and not hit back. But on certain occasions, it is imperative to defend oneself. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/it-is-better-to-control-oneself-if-one-can-and-not-hit-back-but-on/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Serious rational criticism is so rare that it should be encouraged. Being too ready to defend oneself is more dangerous than being too ready…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/serious-rational-criticism-is-so-rare-that-it-should-be-encouraged/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [“I just tried to put myself in her place and figure out what would be the scariest thing. If I thought I might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-gaffney/i-just-tried-to-put-myself-in-her-place-and-figure-out-what-would-be/) [Patricia Gaffney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-gaffney/) > [Ignorance is not bliss — it is oblivion. Determined ignorance is the hastiest kind of oblivion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wylie/ignorance-is-not-bliss-it-is-oblivion-determined-ignorance-is-the/) [Philip Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-wylie/) ## More by Stefan Zweig > [“Madness,” he exclaimed to himself, in astonishment, faltering. “Madness! What do they want? Once again, once again!” War once again, war that had so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/madness-he-exclaimed-to-himself-in-astonishment-faltering-madness/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [It is never until one realizes that one means something to others that one feels there is any point or purpose in one's own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/it-is-never-until-one-realizes-that-one-means-something-to-others/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [“And if I am asked today to advise a young writer who has not yet made up his mind what way to go, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/and-if-i-am-asked-today-to-advise-a-young-writer-who-has-not-yet-made/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [“Live and let live” was the famous Viennese motto, which today still seems to me to be more humane than all the categorical imperatives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/live-and-let-live-was-the-famous-viennese-motto-which-today-still/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [“Değerli olan her zaman için gerçeğin yarısı değil, tamamıdır.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/de-erli-olan-her-zaman-i-in-ger-e-in-yar-s-de-il-tamam-d-r/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [One never gets to know a person's character better than by watching his behavior during decisive moments… It is always only danger which forces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/one-never-gets-to-know-a-person-s-character-better-than-by-watching/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [Names have a mysterious transforming power. Like a ring on a finger, a name may at first seem merely accidental, committing you to nothing;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/names-have-a-mysterious-transforming-power-like-a-ring-on-a-finger-a/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [There is no sense to a sacrifice after you come to feel that it is a sacrifice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/there-is-no-sense-to-a-sacrifice-after-you-come-to-feel-that-it-is-a/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [No guilt is forgotten so long as the conscience still knows of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/no-guilt-is-forgotten-so-long-as-the-conscience-still-knows-of-it/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [Nothing that has ever been thought and said with a clear mind and pure ethical strength is totally in vain; even if it comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/nothing-that-has-ever-been-thought-and-said-with-a-clear-mind-and/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [It is the way of youth that each fresh piece of knowledge of life should go to its head, and that once uplifted by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/it-is-the-way-of-youth-that-each-fresh-piece-of-knowledge-of-life/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [“The truths that he finds may in the coming months or even the coming years be truths no more. 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