--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am always nearest to myself,\" says the…" description: "\"I am always nearest to myself,\" says the Latin proverb.\" — Thomas B. Macaulay" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db1/thomas-b-macaulay-1980_latin_i-am-always-nearest-to-myself-says-the-l_1420153.png" --- # I am always nearest to myself," says the Latin proverb. ![“I am always nearest to myself," says the Latin proverb.” quote by Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db1/thomas-b-macaulay-1980_latin_i-am-always-nearest-to-myself-says-the-l_1420153.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db1/thomas-b-macaulay-1980_latin_i-am-always-nearest-to-myself-says-the-l_1420153.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db1/thomas-b-macaulay-1980_latin_i-am-always-nearest-to-myself-says-the-l_1420153.png) > “I am always nearest to myself," says the Latin proverb.” [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The saying highlights that one’s closest companion is oneself, emphasizing self‑reliance and introspection. **In simple terms:** You are closest to yourself. Key Takeaway Value self‑knowledge. Themes self‑awareness individualism philosophy Mood contemplative neutral Type aphilosophical maxim When to use this quote - personal reflection - decision making - solitude Key Concepts identity existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How does knowing yourself affect your choices? - When is external advice beneficial? A Different Perspective May overlook the need for external perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Latin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/latin/) [Latin proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/latin-proverb/) [Nearest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nearest/) [Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proverb/) [Selfishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfishness/) ## Related quotes > [Believe! An old Latin proverb reads: "Believe that you have it and you have it."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilferd-peterson/believe-an-old-latin-proverb-reads-believe-that-you-have-it-and-you/) [Wilferd Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilferd-peterson/) > [Brandon McCaw and King Richard says but it was not the Latin of Cicero or even the Latin of the ordinary Roman citizen. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-mccaw/brandon-mccaw-and-king-richard-says-but-it-was-not-the-latin-of/) [Brandon McCaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-mccaw/) > [There is a significant Latin proverb; to wit: Who will guard the guards?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/there-is-a-significant-latin-proverb-to-wit-who-will-guard-the-guards/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [I shall either find a way, or make one (attributed)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/i-shall-either-find-a-way-or-make-one-attributed/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [Carpe diem. (Seize the day.)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/carpe-diem-seize-the-day/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Even a god finds it hard to love and be wise at the same time. -Amare et sapere vix deo conceditur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/even-a-god-finds-it-hard-to-love-and-be-wise-at-the-same-time-amare/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [One hand washes the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/one-hand-washes-the-other/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Alea iacta est. The die has been cast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-lawhead/alea-iacta-est-the-die-has-been-cast/) [Stephen R. Lawhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-lawhead/) > [To rule yourself is the ultimate power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/to-rule-yourself-is-the-ultimate-power/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Festina lente. Make haste slowly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-rollins/festina-lente-make-haste-slowly/) [James Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-rollins/) > [Every one excels in something in which another fails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/every-one-excels-in-something-in-which-another-fails/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [Silent enim leges inter arma (Laws are silent in times of war).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/silent-enim-leges-inter-arma-laws-are-silent-in-times-of-war/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [“Integrity is the noblest possession. -Latin Proverb.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adair/integrity-is-the-noblest-possession-latin-proverb/) [John Adair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adair/) > [A God in the hand is worth two in the bush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/a-god-in-the-hand-is-worth-two-in-the-bush/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The Latin proverb, homo homini lupus — man is a wolf to man—... is a libel on the wolf, which is a gentle animal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-gorer/the-latin-proverb-homo-homini-lupus-man-is-a-wolf-to-man-is-a-libel/) Geoffrey Gorer ## More by Thomas B. Macaulay > [A beggarly people, A church and no steeple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/a-beggarly-people-a-church-and-no-steeple/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [We must judge a government by its general tendencies and not by its happy accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/we-must-judge-a-government-by-its-general-tendencies-and-not-by-its/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [None of the modes by which a magistrate is appointed, popular election, the accident of the lot, or the accident of birth, affords, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/none-of-the-modes-by-which-a-magistrate-is-appointed-popular-election/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Our estimate of a character always depends much on the manner in which that character affects our own interests and passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/our-estimate-of-a-character-always-depends-much-on-the-manner-in/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Re: Robert Montgomery's Poems His writing bears the same relation to poetry which a Turkey carpet bears to a picture. There are colours in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/re-robert-montgomery-s-poems-his-writing-bears-the-same-relation-to/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Highest among those who have exhibited human nature by means of dialogue stands Shakespeare. His variety is like the variety of nature,--endless diversity, scarcely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/highest-among-those-who-have-exhibited-human-nature-by-means-of/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [The most beautiful object in the world, it will be allowed, is a beautiful woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/the-most-beautiful-object-in-the-world-it-will-be-allowed-is-a/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [The passages in which Milton has alluded to his own circumstances are perhaps read more frequently, and with more interest, than any other lines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/the-passages-in-which-milton-has-alluded-to-his-own-circumstances-are/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Oh, wherefore come ye forth in triumph from the north, With your hands, and your feet, and your raiment all red? And wherefore doth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/oh-wherefore-come-ye-forth-in-triumph-from-the-north-with-your-hands/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [It is, I believe, no exaggeration to say that all the historical information which has been collected in the Sanskrit language is less valuable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/it-is-i-believe-no-exaggeration-to-say-that-all-the-historical/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Ambrose Phillips . . . who had the honor of bringing into fashion a species of composition which has been called, after his name, Namby Pamby.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/ambrose-phillips-who-had-the-honor-of-bringing-into-fashion-a-species/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [In the infancy of civilization, when our island was as savage as New Guinea, when letters and arts were still unknown to Athens, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/in-the-infancy-of-civilization-when-our-island-was-as-savage-as-new/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [In truth it may be laid down as an almost universal rule that good poets are bad critics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/in-truth-it-may-be-laid-down-as-an-almost-universal-rule-that-good/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [He had a head which statuaries loved to copy, and a foot the deformity of which the beggars in the streets mimicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/he-had-a-head-which-statuaries-loved-to-copy-and-a-foot-the-deformity/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [The Spartan, smiting and spurning the wretched Helot, moves our disgust. But the same Spartan, calmly dressing his hair, and uttering his concise jests,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/the-spartan-smiting-and-spurning-the-wretched-helot-moves-our-disgust/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) [Explore all 193 Thomas B. Macaulay quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) ## More Latin quotes > [Forcing modern speakers of English to not - whoops, not to split an infinitive because it isn't done in Latin makes about as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/forcing-modern-speakers-of-english-to-not-whoops-not-to-split-an/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [ “Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus \[ never tickle a sleeping dragon \]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/draco-dormiens-nunquam-titillandus-never-tickle-a-sleeping-dragon/) [J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) > [If you can believe it, Hollywood wanted to change my birthdate. I was born after Valentine's Day, so they wanted to change it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-romero/if-you-can-believe-it-hollywood-wanted-to-change-my-birthdate-i-was/) [Cesar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-romero/) > [Firstly, economic globalisation has brought prosperity and development to many countries, but also financial crises to Asia, Latin America and Russia, and increasing poverty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-lindh/firstly-economic-globalisation-has-brought-prosperity-and-development/) [Anna Lindh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-lindh/) > [Trombone virtuoso and innovative composer, Papo combines the best of jazz and Latin music to create a genre that is unique and wild. He's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-brecker/trombone-virtuoso-and-innovative-composer-papo-combines-the-best-of/) Michael Brecker > [I learned Spanish as my second language from middle school through high school. I grew up volunteering at homeless shelters and tutoring kids of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-nam/i-learned-spanish-as-my-second-language-from-middle-school-through/) [Eric Nam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-nam/) > [I'm a first generation American. My mother is Italian and Russian and a lot of other things, and my father is Uruguayan. In fact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-arcelus/i-m-a-first-generation-american-my-mother-is-italian-and-russian-and/) [Sebastian Arcelus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-arcelus/) > [Being a Catholic, I was drawn to the mystery of the Latin and the smoke and the mirrors and all of that. That part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/being-a-catholic-i-was-drawn-to-the-mystery-of-the-latin-and-the/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [I have to represent. I feel proud to have a culture that's different... and proud to be a Latina. We're not all categorized as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-martinez/i-have-to-represent-i-feel-proud-to-have-a-culture-that-s-different/) [Natalie Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-martinez/) > [How will the Tower of Babel be undone? How will we understand each other in Heaven? Will we all speak English or Dutch or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/how-will-the-tower-of-babel-be-undone-how-will-we-understand-each/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [Altermodern is an in-progress redefinition of modernity in the era of globalisation, stressing the experience of wandering in time, space and mediums. The term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-bourriaud/altermodern-is-an-in-progress-redefinition-of-modernity-in-the-era-of/) Nicolas Bourriaud > [The American influence is not so aggressive anymore. The American big business influence in Latin America is not as strong, so people can vote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/costa-gavras/the-american-influence-is-not-so-aggressive-anymore-the-american-big/) [Costa-Gavras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/costa-gavras/) > [I read that 36% of Latin kids drop out of high school, and we're the most bullied minority in schools right now. And my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-leguizamo/i-read-that-36-of-latin-kids-drop-out-of-high-school-and-we-re-the/) [John Leguizamo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-leguizamo/) > [I've been turning it over in after-dinner speeches, but it looks awkward-it's not what people are used to-it wants a good deal of Latin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/i-ve-been-turning-it-over-in-after-dinner-speeches-but-it-looks/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) [Browse all 1,310 Latin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/latin/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am always nearest to myself,\" says the Latin proverb.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas B. Macaulay" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/i-am-always-nearest-to-myself-says-the-latin-proverb/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Latin" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/i-am-always-nearest-to-myself-says-the-latin-proverb/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db1/thomas-b-macaulay-1980_latin_i-am-always-nearest-to-myself-says-the-l_1420153.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db1/thomas-b-macaulay-1980_latin_i-am-always-nearest-to-myself-says-the-l_1420153.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db1/thomas-b-macaulay-1980_latin_i-am-always-nearest-to-myself-says-the-l_1420153.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am always nearest to myself,\" says the Latin proverb.” — Thomas B. Macaulay", "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": "Thomas B. Macaulay", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I am always nearest to myself,\"...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/i-am-always-nearest-to-myself-says-the-latin-proverb/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/i-am-always-nearest-to-myself-says-the-latin-proverb/#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 } } ] } ```