--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Who serves his country well has no need…" description: "\"Who serves his country well has no need of ancestors.\" — Voltaire" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31e/voltaire-173_ancestors_who-serves-his-country-well-has-no-need_2852663.png" --- # Who serves his country well has no need of ancestors. ![“Who serves his country well has no need of ancestors.” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31e/voltaire-173_ancestors_who-serves-his-country-well-has-no-need_2852663.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31e/voltaire-173_ancestors_who-serves-his-country-well-has-no-need_2852663.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31e/voltaire-173_ancestors_who-serves-his-country-well-has-no-need_2852663.png) > “Who serves his country well has no need of ancestors.” [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. A nation that serves its people well needs no glorified past. **In simple terms:** Serve the present, not ancestors. Key Takeaway Focus on current service. Themes service nation heritage Mood reflective critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - government policy - public service - national identity Key Concepts civic duty pragmatism Questions to Reflect On - What modern actions replace ancestral reverence? - How to honor past without hindering progress? A Different Perspective Neglecting history can repeat mistakes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancestors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestors/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) ## Related quotes > [Whoever serves his country well has no need of ancestors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/whoever-serves-his-country-well-has-no-need-of-ancestors/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Do well and you will have no need for ancestors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/do-well-and-you-will-have-no-need-for-ancestors/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [He serves his party best who serves his country best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/he-serves-his-party-best-who-serves-his-country-best/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [You don't need a grand plan, you don't need to go back to the ancestors and rewrite the rules. 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We need to make sure it is really so, for which we should ensure the entire state, including…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pinarayi-vijayan/kerala-is-called-god-s-own-country-we-need-to-make-sure-it-is-really/) [Pinarayi Vijayan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pinarayi-vijayan/) > [In our country, you need to be married to be eligible for many things, and to have a right on your partner's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suhasini-mulay/in-our-country-you-need-to-be-married-to-be-eligible-for-many-things/) [Suhasini Mulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suhasini-mulay/) > [Afghanistan is a country in need. Afghanistan needs to protect itself in the region; Afghanistan needs to secure itself within the country. 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"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 Ancestors quotes > [The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who... looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbur-wright/the-desire-to-fly-is-an-idea-handed-down-to-us-by-our-ancestors-who/) [Wilbur Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbur-wright/) > [“We ought to know the history of our ancient ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-ought-to-know-the-history-of-our-ancient-ancestors/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [We pay for the mistakes of our ancestors, and it seems only fair that they should leave us the money to pay with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/we-pay-for-the-mistakes-of-our-ancestors-and-it-seems-only-fair-that/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [Going where no man has gone before is more difficult than it sounds. 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All of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-look-deeply-into-the-palm-of-your-hand-you-will-see-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You are the fairy tale told by your ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/you-are-the-fairy-tale-told-by-your-ancestors/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [...I write to keep in contact with our ancestors and to spread truth to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sanchez/i-write-to-keep-in-contact-with-our-ancestors-and-to-spread-truth-to/) [Sonia Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sanchez/) > [“Each of us is the product of history. Our lives today are evidence that our ancestors survived unbelievable odds stretching back to prehistory. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-wheldon/each-of-us-is-the-product-of-history-our-lives-today-are-evidence/) Laura Wheldon > [Do we have to give Mr Sarkozy a history lesson? Yes, there are Gauls among our ancestors. But there are also Romans, Normans, Celts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/najat-vallaud-belkacem/do-we-have-to-give-mr-sarkozy-a-history-lesson-yes-there-are-gauls/) [Najat Vallaud-Belkacem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/najat-vallaud-belkacem/) > [As a woman of color, I always pay homage to my ancestors and elders - in the industry in particular - who have paved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/da-vine-joy-randolph/as-a-woman-of-color-i-always-pay-homage-to-my-ancestors-and-elders-in/) [Da'Vine Joy Randolph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/da-vine-joy-randolph/) > [“Each of us, along with our ancestors, inhabits the same cosmos. When we tell stories, we enter the stream of human consciousness; we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/each-of-us-along-with-our-ancestors-inhabits-the-same-cosmos-when-we/) [Kilroy J. 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