---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We only half live when we only half think."
description: "\"We only half live when we only half think.\" — Voltaire"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/voltaire-173_half_we-only-half-live-when-we-only-half-thin_1777873.png"
---

#  We only half live when we only half think.

![“We only half live when we only half think.” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/voltaire-173_half_we-only-half-live-when-we-only-half-thin_1777873.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/voltaire-173_half_we-only-half-live-when-we-only-half-thin_1777873.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/voltaire-173_half_we-only-half-live-when-we-only-half-thin_1777873.png)

> “We only half live when we only half think.”

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Partial thinking limits full living; full engagement requires both mind and action.

**In simple terms:** Half‑thinking leads to half‑living.

Key Takeaway

Engage fully.

Themes

thought action life existence

Mood

analytical inspirational

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

- education
- career
- personal projects

Key Concepts

mind‑body integration consciousness

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you balance thought and action?
- What areas of life need deeper reflection?

A Different Perspective

Action without thought can be reckless.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half/) [Half Live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half-live-1836664/) [Half Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half-think-1836663/) [Live Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-half-642581/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/)

## Related quotes

> [“Those who love only half of him do not live him at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-standiford/those-who-love-only-half-of-him-do-not-live-him-at-all/)

[Natalie Standiford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-standiford/)

> [“Phillips Brooks used to say that after a man has once discovered that he has been living but a half-life the other half will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/phillips-brooks-used-to-say-that-after-a-man-has-once-discovered-that/)

[Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/)

> [I would say I live half in New York and half in Claridge's. How decadent! How hysterical!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-o-connor/i-would-say-i-live-half-in-new-york-and-half-in-claridge-s-how/)

[Erin O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-o-connor/)

> [I always go back to Italy for holidays because I live half my life on the island of Sardinia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gino-d-acampo/i-always-go-back-to-italy-for-holidays-because-i-live-half-my-life-on/)

[Gino D'Acampo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gino-d-acampo/)

> [I don't know what to do now that we're apart; I don't know how to live without the other half of my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-miz/i-don-t-know-what-to-do-now-that-we-re-apart-i-don-t-know-how-to-live/)

[Andrea Miz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-miz/)

> [“The other half of yourself,” Alex said. “You're only allowing half of yourself to live and the other half – the half you think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-lister/the-other-half-of-yourself-alex-said-you-re-only-allowing-half-of/)

[Ann Lister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-lister/)

> [“no man will ever be willing to live a half-life when he has once seen that it is a half-life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/no-man-will-ever-be-willing-to-live-a-half-life-when-he-has-once-seen/)

[Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/)

> [People are able to live with only half a heart, to live without real compassion, because they are able to use words that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-wilson/people-are-able-to-live-with-only-half-a-heart-to-live-without-real/)

[Angus Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-wilson/)

> [I intend to live the first half of my life. I don't care about the rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-flynn/i-intend-to-live-the-first-half-of-my-life-i-don-t-care-about-the-rest/)

[Errol Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-flynn/)

> [People are either glass-half-empty or glass-half-full. I always think hopefully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camilla-duchess-of-cornwall/people-are-either-glass-half-empty-or-glass-half-full-i-always-think/)

[Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilla-duchess-of-cornwall/)

> [I wonder if you think of me half as much as I think of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/i-wonder-if-you-think-of-me-half-as-much-as-i-think-of-you/)

[Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/)

> [Some people think of the glass as half full. Some people think of the glass as half empty. I think of the glass as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/some-people-think-of-the-glass-as-half-full-some-people-think-of-the/)

[George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/)

> [“We believe we know a great lot, with our instruments and things, but I was old enough then to believe we don't know half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-joseph-adams/we-believe-we-know-a-great-lot-with-our-instruments-and-things-but-i/)

[John Joseph Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-joseph-adams/)

> [It always stimulates me to discover new examples of my own prejudice and stupidity, to realize that I don't know half as much as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/it-always-stimulates-me-to-discover-new-examples-of-my-own-prejudice/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [Half of the interview is substantive and half of it I think is sizing the person up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/half-of-the-interview-is-substantive-and-half-of-it-i-think-is-sizing/)

[Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/)

## More by Voltaire

> [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [Fanaticism, to which men are so much inclined, has always served not only to render them more brutalized but more wicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/fanaticism-to-which-men-are-so-much-inclined-has-always-served-not/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [History is the study of the world's crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-the-study-of-the-world-s-crime/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good; we do the best we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/we-re-neither-pure-nor-wise-nor-good-we-do-the-best-we-know/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part, the rest are lost in the multitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-with-books-as-with-men-a-very-small-number-play-a-great-part/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [Meslier was the most singular phenomenon ever seen among all the meteors fatal to the Christian religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/meslier-was-the-most-singular-phenomenon-ever-seen-among-all-the/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [Being unable to make people more reasonable, I preferred to be happy away from them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/being-unable-to-make-people-more-reasonable-i-preferred-to-be-happy/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [When his highness sends a ship to Egypt, does he trouble his head whether the mice on board are at their ease or not?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/when-his-highness-sends-a-ship-to-egypt-does-he-trouble-his-head/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [Madness is to think of too many things in succession too fast, or of one thing too exclusively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/madness-is-to-think-of-too-many-things-in-succession-too-fast-or-of/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/god-gave-us-the-gift-of-life-it-is-up-to-us-to-give-ourselves-the/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [It is not inequality which is the real misfortune, it is dependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-not-inequality-which-is-the-real-misfortune-it-is-dependence/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [Providence has given us hope and sleep as a compensation for the many cares of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/providence-has-given-us-hope-and-sleep-as-a-compensation-for-the-many/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [Men use thought only to justify their wrong doings, and employ speech only to conceal their thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/men-use-thought-only-to-justify-their-wrong-doings-and-employ-speech/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/work-spares-us-from-three-evils-boredom-vice-and-need/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

[Explore all 934 Voltaire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

## More Half quotes

> [When you listen to someone improvise, the notes that are played are only half the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-laws/when-you-listen-to-someone-improvise-the-notes-that-are-played-are/)

[Hubert Laws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-laws/)

> [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/)

[Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/)

> [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/)

[Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/)

> [I genuinely did not expect more than half our nation to choose to walk away from our long-term allies into the arms of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-reade/i-genuinely-did-not-expect-more-than-half-our-nation-to-choose-to/)

[Brian Reade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-reade/)

> [Being blonde, for me, means never having to say: 'I'll have the honey-striped half-head of highlights for £200,' to a bored colourist in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-johnson/being-blonde-for-me-means-never-having-to-say-i-ll-have-the-honey/)

[Rachel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-johnson/)

> [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/)

[Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/)

> [But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-the-effect-of-her-being-on-those-around-her-was-incalculably/)

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

> [I with borrow'd silver shine, What you see is none of mine. First I show you but a quarter, Like the bow that guards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-with-borrow-d-silver-shine-what-you-see-is-none-of-mine-first-i/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

> [If you want to change something by Tuesday, theater is no good. Journalism is what does that. But, if you want to just alter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-you-want-to-change-something-by-tuesday-theater-is-no-good/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [I spend a lot of time loathing the sentences that I put down on the page. Once I'm past that phase, it doesn't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/i-spend-a-lot-of-time-loathing-the-sentences-that-i-put-down-on-the/)

[Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/)

> [I usually write from the rhythm section...If a drummer got a funky beat on some things - like a half-shuffle or a shuffle or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-usually-write-from-the-rhythm-section-if-a-drummer-got-a-funky-beat/)

[Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/)

> [The wisdom of our actions in the first three years of peace will determine the course of world history for half a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-wallace/the-wisdom-of-our-actions-in-the-first-three-years-of-peace-will/)

[Henry A. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-wallace/)

> [The thing about living alone is that it gives you a lot of time to think. You don't necessarily reach any conclusions, because wisdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/the-thing-about-living-alone-is-that-it-gives-you-a-lot-of-time-to/)

[Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/)

> [In a couple of decades you have half of the wells that are drilled right now, and you're talking about numbers in the millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-fox/in-a-couple-of-decades-you-have-half-of-the-wells-that-are-drilled/)

[Josh Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-fox/)

[Browse all 8,570 Half quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "We only half live when we only half think.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Voltaire"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/we-only-half-live-when-we-only-half-think/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Half"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/we-only-half-live-when-we-only-half-think/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/voltaire-173_half_we-only-half-live-when-we-only-half-thin_1777873.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/voltaire-173_half_we-only-half-live-when-we-only-half-thin_1777873.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/voltaire-173_half_we-only-half-live-when-we-only-half-thin_1777873.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We only half live when we only half think.” — Voltaire",
                "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": "Voltaire",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "We only half live when we...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/we-only-half-live-when-we-only-half-think/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/we-only-half-live-when-we-only-half-think/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
