---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How terrifying and glorious the role of…"
description: "\"How terrifying and glorious the role of man if, indeed, without guidance and without consolation he must create from his own vitals the meaning for his..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd6/thornton-wilder-1495_consolation_how-terrifying-and-glorious-the-role-of_2337492.jpg"
---

#  How terrifying and glorious the role of man if, indeed…

![“How terrifying and glorious the role of man if, indeed, without guidance and without consolation he must create from his own vitals the meaning for his existence and write the rules whereby he lives.” quote by Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd6/thornton-wilder-1495_consolation_how-terrifying-and-glorious-the-role-of_2337492.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd6/thornton-wilder-1495_consolation_how-terrifying-and-glorious-the-role-of_2337492.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd6/thornton-wilder-1495_consolation_how-terrifying-and-glorious-the-role-of_2337492.jpg)

> “How terrifying and glorious the role of man if, indeed, without guidance and without consolation he must create from his own vitals the meaning for his existence and write the rules whereby he lives.”

[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.

Man must create meaning and rules for life without external guidance, a daunting yet glorious task.

**In simple terms:** Create your own meaning.

Key Takeaway

Embrace personal responsibility for purpose.

Themes

existentialism meaning autonomy

Mood

solemn inspired

Type

philosophical reflective

When to use this quote

- career decisions
- personal ethics
- creative projects
- spiritual practice

Key Concepts

philosophy psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- What personal rules guide you?
- How do you find meaning in uncertainty?

A Different Perspective

The burden of self‑creation can cause anxiety.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Consolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consolation/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Glorious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glorious/) [Glorious Role](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glorious-role-5645709/) [Guidance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guidance/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Man Guidance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-guidance-5453596/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Role Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/role-man-315905/) [Roles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roles/) [Terrifying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrifying/) [Terrifying Glorious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrifying-glorious-5645708/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [“I have no particular desire for a man’s guidance. And if you think it will be your duty to guide me after we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-quick/i-have-no-particular-desire-for-a-man-s-guidance-and-if-you-think-it/)

[Amanda Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-quick/)

> [The role of the disappointed lover of a maiden or of any single woman might be ridiculous; but the role of a man who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-role-of-the-disappointed-lover-of-a-maiden-or-of-any-single-woman/)

[Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/)

> [The role of a woman to make his man happy, but the role of a man is to satisfied his woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina/the-role-of-a-woman-to-make-his-man-happy-but-the-role-of-a-man-is-to/)

[Katrina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina/)

> [I realized that many men are happy to play a supporting role to another man, but they are much less happy to play a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosamund-pike/i-realized-that-many-men-are-happy-to-play-a-supporting-role-to/)

[Rosamund Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosamund-pike/)

> [The producers had seen "In a World..." and that's where they found me out and consequently sought me out for this role \[in Man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lake-bell/the-producers-had-seen-in-a-world-and-that-s-where-they-found-me-out/)

[Lake Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lake-bell/)

> [“To some women, a job plays the role of a man. To most women, a man plays the role of a job.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/to-some-women-a-job-plays-the-role-of-a-man-to-most-women-a-man-plays/)

[Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/)

> [I think a primal role of a man in a relationship is to protect his woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armie-hammer/i-think-a-primal-role-of-a-man-in-a-relationship-is-to-protect-his/)

[Armie Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armie-hammer/)

> [Nature reserves the right to inflict upon her children the most terrifying jests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/nature-reserves-the-right-to-inflict-upon-her-children-the-most/)

[Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/)

> [What Messi does is terrifying. It's indescribable magic. You can't analyze it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-luis-menotti/what-messi-does-is-terrifying-it-s-indescribable-magic-you-can-t/)

[Cesar Luis Menotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-luis-menotti/)

> [Trying to put music out there in the world is a pretty exciting, yet terrifying, thing and I've just been through the ringer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-bruno/trying-to-put-music-out-there-in-the-world-is-a-pretty-exciting-yet/)

[Aaron Bruno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-bruno/)

> [You have to find a balance with food in your life - you can't take out food. It can be absolutely terrifying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carre-otis/you-have-to-find-a-balance-with-food-in-your-life-you-can-t-take-out/)

[Carre Otis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carre-otis/)

> [The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-threat-is-usually-more-terrifying-than-the-thing-itself/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [You are terrifying, and strange, and beautiful. Something not everyone knows how to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warsan-shire/you-are-terrifying-and-strange-and-beautiful-something-not-everyone/)

[Warsan Shire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warsan-shire/)

> [It's fucking terrifying that no matter how many promises they made, no matter how long you've been together, someone can get up & walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larissa-derrah/it-s-fucking-terrifying-that-no-matter-how-many-promises-they-made-no/)

[Larissa Derrah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larissa-derrah/)

> [“I find it terrifying how any of us can die at any moment, yet we live our lives always planning for the future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr-user/i-find-it-terrifying-how-any-of-us-can-die-at-any-moment-yet-we-live/)

[Tumblr user](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tumblr-user/)

## 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 Consolation quotes

> [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/)

[Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/)

> [I had thought that growing up's consolation was that you could escape from the arbitrariness of things, that somehow one acquired more control. Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-galloway/i-had-thought-that-growing-up-s-consolation-was-that-you-could-escape/)

[Janice Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-galloway/)

> [It is part of God's plan for us that Christ shall come to us in everyone; it is in their particular role that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caryll-houselander/it-is-part-of-god-s-plan-for-us-that-christ-shall-come-to-us-in/)

[Caryll Houselander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caryll-houselander/)

> [even those who call themselves 'intimate' know very little about each other - hardly ever know just how a sorrow is felt, and hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/even-those-who-call-themselves-intimate-know-very-little-about-each/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [But there are times when men have serious thoughts, and it is at such times, when they begin to think, that they begin to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/but-there-are-times-when-men-have-serious-thoughts-and-it-is-at-such/)

[Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/)

> [The slave and those whose present life is miserable and who can find no consolation in the heavens are assured that at least the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-slave-and-those-whose-present-life-is-miserable-and-who-can-find/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [Perhaps the greatest consolation of the oppressed is to consider themselves superior to their tyrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/perhaps-the-greatest-consolation-of-the-oppressed-is-to-consider/)

[Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/)

> [Books, which we mistake for consolation, only add depth to our sorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/books-which-we-mistake-for-consolation-only-add-depth-to-our-sorrow/)

[Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/)

> [The day has the color and the sound of winter. Thoughts turn to chowder...chowder breathes reassurance. It steams consolation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clementine-paddleford/the-day-has-the-color-and-the-sound-of-winter-thoughts-turn-to/)

[Clementine Paddleford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clementine-paddleford/)

> [Seek and possess holiness, and consolation will follow, as assuredly as warmth follows the dispensation of the rays of the sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cogswell-upham/seek-and-possess-holiness-and-consolation-will-follow-as-assuredly-as/)

[Thomas Cogswell Upham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cogswell-upham/)

> [Solitude was my only consolation - deep, dark, deathlike solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/solitude-was-my-only-consolation-deep-dark-deathlike-solitude/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I have the consolation of leaving your kingdom in the highest degree of glory and of reputation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cardinal-richelieu/i-have-the-consolation-of-leaving-your-kingdom-in-the-highest-degree/)

[Cardinal Richelieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cardinal-richelieu/)

> [All consolation that does not come from God is but desolation; when the soul has learned to receive no comfort but in God only,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/all-consolation-that-does-not-come-from-god-is-but-desolation-when/)

[Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/)

> [Let is walk ... joyously, dear souls, among the difficulties of this passing life ... These pains will have an end when our life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-is-walk-joyously-dear-souls-among-the-difficulties-of-this/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Thinking about suicide is a potent consolation: it helps us to get through many a bad night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/thinking-about-suicide-is-a-potent-consolation-it-helps-us-to-get/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

[Browse all 587 Consolation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consolation/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "How terrifying and glorious the role of man if, indeed, without guidance and without consolation he must create from his own vitals the meaning for his existence and write the rules whereby he lives.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Thornton Wilder"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/how-terrifying-and-glorious-the-role-of-man-if-indeed-without/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Consolation"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/how-terrifying-and-glorious-the-role-of-man-if-indeed-without/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd6/thornton-wilder-1495_consolation_how-terrifying-and-glorious-the-role-of_2337492.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd6/thornton-wilder-1495_consolation_how-terrifying-and-glorious-the-role-of_2337492.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd6/thornton-wilder-1495_consolation_how-terrifying-and-glorious-the-role-of_2337492.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“How terrifying and glorious the role of man if, indeed, without guidance and without consolation he must…” — Thornton Wilder",
                "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": "Thornton Wilder",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "How terrifying and glorious the role...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/how-terrifying-and-glorious-the-role-of-man-if-indeed-without/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/how-terrifying-and-glorious-the-role-of-man-if-indeed-without/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```