--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But there comes a moment in everybody's…" description: "\"But there comes a moment in everybody's life when he must decide whether he'll live among the human beings or not - a fool among fools or a fool alone...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cac/thornton-wilder-1495_alone_but-there-comes-a-moment-in-everybody-s_314120.jpg" --- # But there comes a moment in everybody's life when he must… ![“But there comes a moment in everybody's life when he must decide whether he'll live among the human beings or not - a fool among fools or a fool alone.” quote by Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cac/thornton-wilder-1495_alone_but-there-comes-a-moment-in-everybody-s_314120.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cac/thornton-wilder-1495_alone_but-there-comes-a-moment-in-everybody-s_314120.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cac/thornton-wilder-1495_alone_but-there-comes-a-moment-in-everybody-s_314120.jpg) > “But there comes a moment in everybody's life when he must decide whether he'll live among the human beings or not - a fool among fools or a fool alone.” [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. One must choose between blending in with the crowd or standing alone, even if that means being a solitary fool. **In simple terms:** Choose individuality over conformity. Key Takeaway Decide to be true to yourself. Themes individuality choice conformity Mood thoughtful inspirational Type literary motivational When to use this quote - career decisions - personal relationships - artistic expression Key Concepts existentialism social pressure Questions to Reflect On - Do you prefer belonging or authenticity? - What are the costs of standing alone? A Different Perspective Being alone can be isolating and risky. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alone/) [Beings Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beings-fool-2975378/) [Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) [Everybody Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everybody-life/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Fools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fools/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live/) [Moment Everybody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment-everybody-1540789/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [But there comes a time in everybody's life when he must decide whether he'll live among human beings or nota fool among fools or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/but-there-comes-a-time-in-everybody-s-life-when-he-must-decide/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“He has to blow across bridges and come back and do it with such infinite feeling soul-exploratory for the tune of the moment that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/he-has-to-blow-across-bridges-and-come-back-and-do-it-with-such/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [I wish we could just pick up and do 'Kenan & Kel: The Grown-Up Years,' getting everyone back working together. I feel like it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-thompson/i-wish-we-could-just-pick-up-and-do-kenan-kel-the-grown-up-years/) [Kenan Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenan-thompson/) > [Every moment is the manifestation of the whole. Life itself is, therefore, nothing but the continuous moment of the whole, and everybody is living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yamada-koun/every-moment-is-the-manifestation-of-the-whole-life-itself-is/) [Yamada Koun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yamada-koun/) > [That moment when everybody wants to be with you...except for the one you want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-moment-when-everybody-wants-to-be-with-you-except-for-the-one/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I like to create a shock moment. I take what not everybody wants and really get people to believe that's me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-vaughan/i-like-to-create-a-shock-moment-i-take-what-not-everybody-wants-and/) [Greg Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-vaughan/) > [“Here’s a guy and everybody’s there, right? Up to him to put down what’s on everybody’s mind. He starts the first chorus, then lines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/here-s-a-guy-and-everybody-s-there-right-up-to-him-to-put-down-what-s/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Ninety-nine per cent of the people in the world are fools and the rest of us are in great danger of contagion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/ninety-nine-per-cent-of-the-people-in-the-world-are-fools-and-the/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Everybody's life is either a warning or an example. You've got to decide what you're gonna be and you have to draw a line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/everybody-s-life-is-either-a-warning-or-an-example-you-ve-got-to/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [There comes a time in everybody's life when it's no longer enough to point and say he or she should do it, but you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annegret-kramp-karrenbauer/there-comes-a-time-in-everybody-s-life-when-it-s-no-longer-enough-to/) [Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annegret-kramp-karrenbauer/) > [I think I'm like most people in that there's a performance I do for everybody in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-g/i-think-i-m-like-most-people-in-that-there-s-a-performance-i-do-for/) [Alex G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-g/) > [You cant keep everybody in your life, but make sure you do your best to sustain those you think you cant live without.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaze-olamiday/you-cant-keep-everybody-in-your-life-but-make-sure-you-do-your-best/) [Blaze Olamiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaze-olamiday/) > [Everybody in life is a chameleon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-chisholm/everybody-in-life-is-a-chameleon/) [Melanie Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-chisholm/) > [Being single doesn't mean your open to any dumb ass that comes your way. It means TIME TO PUT YOUR LIFE TOGETHER AND TRIUMPH…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osvaldo-m/being-single-doesn-t-mean-your-open-to-any-dumb-ass-that-comes-your/) [Osvaldo M](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osvaldo-m/) > [“Everything in everybody’s life is … significant. And everybody is alert, watching for the meanings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/everything-in-everybody-s-life-is-significant-and-everybody-is-alert/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) ## More by Thornton Wilder > [“He respected the slight nervous shadow that crossed her face when he came too near her. But there arose out of this denial itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/he-respected-the-slight-nervous-shadow-that-crossed-her-face-when-he/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [When you're safe at home you wish you were having an adventure; when you're having an adventure you wish you were safe at home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/when-you-re-safe-at-home-you-wish-you-were-having-an-adventure-when/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Simon Stimson: "...That's what it was to be alive. To move about in a cloud of ignorance; to go up and down trampling on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/simon-stimson-that-s-what-it-was-to-be-alive-to-move-about-in-a-cloud/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Love as education is one of the great powers of the world, but it hangs in a delicate suspension; it achieves its harmony as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/love-as-education-is-one-of-the-great-powers-of-the-world-but-it/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Many great writers have been extraordinarily awkward in daily exchange, but the greatest give the impression that their style was nursed by the closest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/many-great-writers-have-been-extraordinarily-awkward-in-daily/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [A man looks pretty small at a wedding, George. All those good women standing shoulder to shoulder, making sure that the knot's tied in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/a-man-looks-pretty-small-at-a-wedding-george-all-those-good-women/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [The knowledge that she would never be loved in return acted upon her ideas as a tide acts upon cliffs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/the-knowledge-that-she-would-never-be-loved-in-return-acted-upon-her/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“But while they continued staring into one another’s face waiting for the miracle of science the pain grew worse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/but-while-they-continued-staring-into-one-another-s-face-waiting-for/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [I am convinced that, except in a few extraordinary cases, one form or another of an unhappy childhood is essential to the formation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/i-am-convinced-that-except-in-a-few-extraordinary-cases-one-form-or/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Many who have spent a lifetime in it can tell us less of love than the child that lost a dog yesterday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/many-who-have-spent-a-lifetime-in-it-can-tell-us-less-of-love-than/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Cesar is not a philosophical man. His life has been one long flight from reflection. At least he is clever enough not to expose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/cesar-is-not-a-philosophical-man-his-life-has-been-one-long-flight/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Every person who has ever lived has lived an unbroken succession of unique occasions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/every-person-who-has-ever-lived-has-lived-an-unbroken-succession-of/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Without your wounds where would your power be? It is your melancholy that makes your low voice tremble into the hearts of men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/without-your-wounds-where-would-your-power-be-it-is-your-melancholy/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Ninety-nine per cent of the people in the world are fools and the rest of us are in great danger of contagion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/ninety-nine-per-cent-of-the-people-in-the-world-are-fools-and-the/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [There's nothing like mixing with woman to bring out all the foolishness in a man of sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/there-s-nothing-like-mixing-with-woman-to-bring-out-all-the/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) [Explore all 232 Thornton Wilder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) ## More Alone quotes > [I can be taken away from myself quite easily, I kind of start betraying myself and compromising my integrity, to keep someone else happy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-lou-wood/i-can-be-taken-away-from-myself-quite-easily-i-kind-of-start/) [Aimee Lou Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-lou-wood/) > [Perhaps our own opposition to even the level of European integration we have now, let alone any more, is well known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-farage/perhaps-our-own-opposition-to-even-the-level-of-european-integration/) [Nigel Farage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-farage/) > [If your goal is to look different, you'll see results faster with strength training than with cardio alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kaiser/if-your-goal-is-to-look-different-you-ll-see-results-faster-with/) [Anna Kaiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kaiser/) > [With my songs, the question is always, 'Can you pull it off live, alone on just an acoustic guitar?' That's the litmus test. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-colvin/with-my-songs-the-question-is-always-can-you-pull-it-off-live-alone/) [Shawn Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-colvin/) > [I should have liked to get married, but over many decades I have lived essentially alone. 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There will always be people who won't accept you, but there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millicent-simmonds/if-you-re-disabled-or-different-from-what-general-society-deems/) [Millicent Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millicent-simmonds/) > [Real love is a permanently self-enlarging experience…A Journey With My Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luckybannu/real-love-is-a-permanently-self-enlarging-experience-a-journey-with/) [Luckybannu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luckybannu/) > [“What I'm trying to say is that I spent the last four months learning to be alone, avoiding the world, hating pretty much anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-cremer/what-i-m-trying-to-say-is-that-i-spent-the-last-four-months-learning/) [Andrea Cremer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-cremer/) > [I'm used to being alone in a quiet, isolated environment - I'm kind of a low-energy, low-vibration, low-stamina person to begin with - so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-cain/i-m-used-to-being-alone-in-a-quiet-isolated-environment-i-m-kind-of-a/) [Ethel Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-cain/) > [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. 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