--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are men put on this earth to make…" description: "\"There are men put on this earth to make laws designed to break the spirits of men. There are those put here to have their spirits broken by those put h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/steve-toltz-3783_break_there-are-men-put-on-this-earth-to-make_1582413.png" --- # There are men put on this earth to make laws designed to… ![“There are men put on this earth to make laws designed to break the spirits of men. There are those put here to have their spirits broken by those put here to break them. Then there are those who are here to break the laws that break the men who break the spirits of other men. I am one of those…” quote by Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/steve-toltz-3783_break_there-are-men-put-on-this-earth-to-make_1582413.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/steve-toltz-3783_break_there-are-men-put-on-this-earth-to-make_1582413.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/steve-toltz-3783_break_there-are-men-put-on-this-earth-to-make_1582413.png) > “There are men put on this earth to make laws designed to break the spirits of men. There are those put here to have their spirits broken by those put here to break them. Then there are those who are here to break the laws that break the men who break the spirits of other men. I am one of those men. - Harry West” [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote describes three roles: law‑makers who oppress, victims who suffer, and rebels who fight oppressive laws; the speaker identifies as a rebel. **In simple terms:** Three types of people: oppressors, victims, and rebels who resist oppression. Key Takeaway Identify and resist unjust laws. Themes oppression rebellion justice power dynamics Mood defiant reflective Type political philosophical When to use this quote - activism - legal reform - personal empowerment - social justice - civil disobedience Key Concepts political philosophy ethics resistance Questions to Reflect On - What laws do you see as unjust? - How can one responsibly oppose oppressive systems? A Different Perspective The speaker’s claim may be self‑aggrandizing and lacks concrete evidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Break](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break/) [Break Laws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break-laws-833794/) [Break Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break-men-2868999/) [Broken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Laws Break](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laws-break-669687/) [Make Laws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-laws/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Spirits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-spirits-867918/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/west/) ## Related quotes > [Who? R.C. I break laws and make laws You do WHAT? Break jaws and take yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-cafe/who-r-c-i-break-laws-and-make-laws-you-do-what-break-jaws-and-take/) [Red Cafe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-cafe/) > [The liberty to make our laws does not give us the freedom nor the license to break our laws!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mckinley/the-liberty-to-make-our-laws-does-not-give-us-the-freedom-nor-the/) [William McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mckinley/) > [They that make laws must not break them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ray/they-that-make-laws-must-not-break-them/) [John Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ray/) > [“But as I make the laws here, I can also break them. With impunity. . . Which I'm afraid you CAN'T do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-as-i-make-the-laws-here-i-can-also-break-them-with-impunity-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Truth illuminates and gives joy; and it is by the bond of joy, not of pleasure, that men's spirits are indissolubly held.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/truth-illuminates-and-gives-joy-and-it-is-by-the-bond-of-joy-not-of/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [The purest evil that human efforts could attain, in other words, was probably achieved by those men who made their wills the same and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukio-mishima/the-purest-evil-that-human-efforts-could-attain-in-other-words-was/) [Yukio Mishima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukio-mishima/) > [Upon the whole it was a Glorious day-Our men are in the Spirits-and I am confident we shall give them a total defeat the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-wayne/upon-the-whole-it-was-a-glorious-day-our-men-are-in-the-spirits-and-i/) [Anthony Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-wayne/) > [Heav'n from all creatures hides the book of fate, All but the page prescribed, their present state: From brutes what men, from men what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/heav-n-from-all-creatures-hides-the-book-of-fate-all-but-the-page-2/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [“Difficulties break some men but make others”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/difficulties-break-some-men-but-make-others/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [God, as I may say, is forced to break men's hearts, before he can make them willing to cry to him, or be willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/god-as-i-may-say-is-forced-to-break-men-s-hearts-before-he-can-make/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [Golden roofs break men's rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/golden-roofs-break-men-s-rest/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [“Personally, I do not want to make you a man. Men are so very frail. Men break. Men die. No, I’ve always wished to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/personally-i-do-not-want-to-make-you-a-man-men-are-so-very-frail-men/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [“ 'Personally, I do not want to make you a man. Men are so very frail. Men break. Men die. No, I've always wished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/personally-i-do-not-want-to-make-you-a-man-men-are-so-very-frail-men-2/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [“Women like me don’t fall for guys like you. We don’t come when you call, we don’t beg for your attention, and we don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-abel/women-like-me-don-t-fall-for-guys-like-you-we-don-t-come-when-you/) [E.M. Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-abel/) > [Circumstances break men's bones; it has never been shown that they break men's optimism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/circumstances-break-men-s-bones-it-has-never-been-shown-that-they/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) ## More by Steve Toltz > [ “To my horror principles have wormed their way into \[the\] fabric of my being.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/to-my-horror-principles-have-wormed-their-way-into-the-fabric-of-my/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [I'm not sure if I always wanted to be a writer, but I was always writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/i-m-not-sure-if-i-always-wanted-to-be-a-writer-but-i-was-always/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [“The problem is most of the time when God’s supposed to be the hero, he comes across as the villain. I mean, look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/the-problem-is-most-of-the-time-when-god-s-supposed-to-be-the-hero-he/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [ \[I'll teach you\] how not to leave the windows of your heart open when it looks like rain and how everyone has a stump… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/i-ll-teach-you-how-not-to-leave-the-windows-of-your-heart-open-when/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [...I thought how I hate any kind of mob - I hate mobs of sports fans, mobs of environmental demonstrators, I even hate mobs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/i-thought-how-i-hate-any-kind-of-mob-i-hate-mobs-of-sports-fans-mobs/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [I was in the hospital and I was paralyzed and I went through all of these things. 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It's exaggeration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/optimism-isn-t-funny-unless-you-are-laughing-at-the-person-whereas/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [There's nothing perplexing to me about a leafy shrub evolving out of the big bang, but that the post office exists because carbon exploded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/there-s-nothing-perplexing-to-me-about-a-leafy-shrub-evolving-out-of/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [The game is an analogy for life: there are not enough chairs or good times to go around, not enough food, not enough joy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/the-game-is-an-analogy-for-life-there-are-not-enough-chairs-or-good/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [“Don't touch me, you fat ghost!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/don-t-touch-me-you-fat-ghost/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [Raymond Chandler I love a lot, and the Austrian writer Thomas Bernhard. I really love his voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/raymond-chandler-i-love-a-lot-and-the-austrian-writer-thomas-bernhard/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [The universe doesn't really care if you bounce back. 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No one can break your heart except you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/he-didn-t-break-my-heart-no-one-can-break-your-heart-except-you/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [“She couldn't break the orbit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/she-couldn-t-break-the-orbit/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/your-pain-is-the-breaking-of-the-shell-that-encloses-your/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I hadn't worked for a year when I had my Prison Break audition and it was the easiest audition I've ever had. I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/i-hadn-t-worked-for-a-year-when-i-had-my-prison-break-audition-and-it/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [If you strike upon a thought that baffles you, break off from that entanglement and try another, so shall your wits be fresh to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/if-you-strike-upon-a-thought-that-baffles-you-break-off-from-that/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [“A hole ain’t nothing either, but you can still break your neck in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-donati/a-hole-ain-t-nothing-either-but-you-can-still-break-your-neck-in-it/) [Sara Donati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-donati/) > [“I break things, a lot of things, but I don’t want one of them to be you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-break-things-a-lot-of-things-but-i-don-t-want-one-of-them-to-be-you/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Motor racing's less of a sport these days than a commercial break doing 150 mph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dunne/motor-racing-s-less-of-a-sport-these-days-than-a-commercial-break/) [Peter Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dunne/) > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [The purpose is to be in gratitude forever. 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