--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This was life as it should be…" description: "\"“This was life as it should be lived—proud, reasoned, and a slave to no other man.”\" — Terry Goodkind" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/053/terry-goodkind-924_2000_this-was-life-as-it-should-be-lived-prou_2251364.jpg" --- # This was life as it should be lived—proud, reasoned, and a… ![“This was life as it should be lived—proud, reasoned, and a slave to no other man.” quote by Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/053/terry-goodkind-924_2000_this-was-life-as-it-should-be-lived-prou_2251364.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/053/terry-goodkind-924_2000_this-was-life-as-it-should-be-lived-prou_2251364.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/053/terry-goodkind-924_2000_this-was-life-as-it-should-be-lived-prou_2251364.jpg) > ““This was life as it should be lived—proud, reasoned, and a slave to no other man.”” [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A life lived with dignity, rationality, and personal freedom is the ideal existence. **In simple terms:** Live freely, think clearly, be proud. Key Takeaway Embrace autonomy and reason. Themes freedom reason pride Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal relationships - career choices - political activism - education decisions Key Concepts individualism self‑determination Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance personal liberty with societal duties? - What does “slave to no other man” mean to you? A Different Perspective May overlook communal responsibilities or social interdependence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [2000](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-2000-564/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life and living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-and-living/) [Life Lived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-lived-270137/) [Lived Proud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lived-proud-5143341/) [Proud Reasoned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proud-reasoned-5143343/) [Reasoned Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reasoned-slave-5143342/) [Slave Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave-man-535823/) ## Related quotes > [“Free people were not ruled. 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Twice is treason. We execute traitors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/to-question-me-once-is-a-simple-mistake-lieutenant-twice-is-treason/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [Fate does not seek our consent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/fate-does-not-seek-our-consent/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [Wizard's Third Rule Passion rules reason, For better or for worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/wizard-s-third-rule-passion-rules-reason-for-better-or-for-worse/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [“Nicci looked up at Kahlan. “Knives are not my talent.” “It’s not hard,” Kahlan said as she pressed the handle into Nicci’s hand. “When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/nicci-looked-up-at-kahlan-knives-are-not-my-talent-it-s-not-hard/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [“This was why he couldn’t let Richard know it was the chimes themselves that were loose. Richard would not have accepted what Zedd intended,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/this-was-why-he-couldn-t-let-richard-know-it-was-the-chimes/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [“price. There is no such thing as pure good or pure evil, least of all in people. In the best of us there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/price-there-is-no-such-thing-as-pure-good-or-pure-evil-least-of-all/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [The first step to believing something is true is wanting to believe it is true... or being afraid it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/the-first-step-to-believing-something-is-true-is-wanting-to-believe/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [...you'll find that being a friend is to like a person for who they are, even the parts you don't understand. You don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/you-ll-find-that-being-a-friend-is-to-like-a-person-for-who-they-are/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) [Explore all 323 Terry Goodkind quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) ## More 2000 quotes > [“I remember that one Holy Week, the magazine I got every Thursday, Anteojito , came with a free poster depicting the Stations of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcelo-figueras/i-remember-that-one-holy-week-the-magazine-i-got-every-thursday/) [Marcelo Figueras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcelo-figueras/) > [“Every few years, in the world of sport, someone ascends to the most rarefied of all levels—the one at which it becomes news not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-williams/every-few-years-in-the-world-of-sport-someone-ascends-to-the-most/) [Richard Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-williams/) > [“To question me once is a simple mistake, Lieutenant. Twice is treason. We execute traitors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/to-question-me-once-is-a-simple-mistake-lieutenant-twice-is-treason/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [“The most important rule there is, the Wizard's Sixth Rule: the only sovereign you can allow to rule you is reason.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/the-most-important-rule-there-is-the-wizard-s-sixth-rule-the-only/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [“At least two important conservative thinkers, Ayn Rand and Leo Strauss, were unbelievers or nonbelievers and in any case contemptuous of Christianity. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/at-least-two-important-conservative-thinkers-ayn-rand-and-leo-strauss/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“The North Korean capital, Pyongyang, is a city consecrated to the worship of a father-son dynasty. 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