--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He could breathe more freely in a lighter…" description: "\"“He could breathe more freely in a lighter air. He was responsible only to himself for the things he did. Freedom! He was his own master at last. From ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78e/w-somerset-maugham-237_belief_he-could-breathe-more-freely-in-a-lighte_1475028.jpg" --- # He could breathe more freely in a lighter air. He was… ![“He could breathe more freely in a lighter air. He was responsible only to himself for the things he did. Freedom! He was his own master at last. From old habit, unconsciously he thanked God that he no longer believed in Him.” quote by W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78e/w-somerset-maugham-237_belief_he-could-breathe-more-freely-in-a-lighte_1475028.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78e/w-somerset-maugham-237_belief_he-could-breathe-more-freely-in-a-lighte_1475028.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78e/w-somerset-maugham-237_belief_he-could-breathe-more-freely-in-a-lighte_1475028.jpg) > ““He could breathe more freely in a lighter air. He was responsible only to himself for the things he did. Freedom! He was his own master at last. From old habit, unconsciously he thanked God that he no longer believed in Him.”” [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freedom emerges when one abandons old habits and embraces personal responsibility. **In simple terms:** Freedom is self‑mastery. Key Takeaway Seek autonomy by shedding old constraints. Themes freedom self‑mastery spirituality Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - life transitions - spiritual quests - personal reinvention Key Concepts existentialism personal responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What habits limit your freedom? - How does personal responsibility affect your sense of liberty? A Different Perspective Freedom can feel isolating without community. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Breathe Freely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathe-freely-1384302/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Freedom Master](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-master-1145730/) [Freely Lighter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freely-lighter-5362353/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Thanked God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thanked-god-264418/) ## Related quotes > [“Suddenly he realised that he had lost also that burden of responsibility which made every action of his life a matter of urgent consequence.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/suddenly-he-realised-that-he-had-lost-also-that-burden-of/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“..."he was responsible only to himself for the things he did. Freedom! He was his own master at last. From old habit, unconsciously he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/he-was-responsible-only-to-himself-for-the-things-he-did-freedom-he/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [From old habit, unconsciously he thanked God that he no longer believed in Him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/from-old-habit-unconsciously-he-thanked-god-that-he-no-longer/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom. He has no master except his own soul, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/a-person-is-a-fool-to-become-a-writer-his-only-compensation-is-2/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [The first duty of every soul is to find not its freedom but its Master.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-first-duty-of-every-soul-is-to-find-not-its-freedom-but-its-master/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My priority is being able to move and breathe the most freely on stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gracie-abrams/my-priority-is-being-able-to-move-and-breathe-the-most-freely-on-stage/) [Gracie Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gracie-abrams/) > [I never wear stockings or underclothes because I think it is important to breathe freely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/i-never-wear-stockings-or-underclothes-because-i-think-it-is/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [Let the creatures other than man also breathe freely. Remember that earth belongs to all the creatures living in this planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/let-the-creatures-other-than-man-also-breathe-freely-remember-that/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [There's no place where one can breathe as freely as on the deck of a ship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsa-triolet/there-s-no-place-where-one-can-breathe-as-freely-as-on-the-deck-of-a/) [Elsa Triolet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsa-triolet/) > [“There is a gentleness, a lightness, an element of freedom and, in a word, of civilization, that makes this country one of the few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-henri-levy/there-is-a-gentleness-a-lightness-an-element-of-freedom-and-in-a-word/) [Bernard-Henri Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-henri-levy/) > [“My arms are light and free and my body is outstretched, kissing the blue streaks. I can breathe freely here. It is soothing this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-l-marshall/my-arms-are-light-and-free-and-my-body-is-outstretched-kissing-the/) [Susan L. Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-l-marshall/) > [Merely to breathe freely does not mean to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/merely-to-breathe-freely-does-not-mean-to-live/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Yet where is your inner value when you no longer know what it is to breathe freely; when you no longer have freedom over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/yet-where-is-your-inner-value-when-you-no-longer-know-what-it-is-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Genius can only breathe freely in an atmosphere of freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/genius-can-only-breathe-freely-in-an-atmosphere-of-freedom/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [“So, my friend, I need you as I need a high place where I can breathe freely. I need to sit beside you, once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/so-my-friend-i-need-you-as-i-need-a-high-place-where-i-can-breathe/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) ## More by W. Somerset Maugham > [“A man thinks it quite natural that he should fall out of love with a woman, but it never strikes him for a moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-thinks-it-quite-natural-that-he-should-fall-out-of-love-with-a/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A man's work reveals him. In social intercourse he gives you the surface that he wishes the world to accept, but in his book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-s-work-reveals-him-in-social-intercourse-he-gives-you-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/love-is-only-a-dirty-trick-played-on-us-to-achieve-continuation-of/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The world is hard and cruel. We are here none knows why, and we go none knows whither. We must be very humble. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-world-is-hard-and-cruel-we-are-here-none-knows-why-and-we-go-none/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“There is no more merit in having read a thousand books than in having ploughed a thousand fields.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/there-is-no-more-merit-in-having-read-a-thousand-books-than-in-having/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“I wanted to live again and again. I was willing to accept every sort of life, no matter what its pain and sorrow; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-wanted-to-live-again-and-again-i-was-willing-to-accept-every-sort/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [In Hollywood, the women are all peaches. It makes one long for an apple occasionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/in-hollywood-the-women-are-all-peaches-it-makes-one-long-for-an-apple/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/follow-your-inclinations-with-due-regard-to-the-policeman-round-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“His love became a prison from which he longed to escape, but he had not the strength merely to open the door-that was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/his-love-became-a-prison-from-which-he-longed-to-escape-but-he-had/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I did not believe him capable of love. That is an emotion in which tenderness is an essential part, but Strickland had no tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-did-not-believe-him-capable-of-love-that-is-an-emotion-in-which/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [If only the good were a little less heavy-footed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-only-the-good-were-a-little-less-heavy-footed/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/perfection-has-one-grave-defect-it-is-apt-to-be-dull/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A God that can be understood is no God. Who can explain the Infinite in words?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-god-that-can-be-understood-is-no-god-who-can-explain-the-infinite/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“My dear, you used to be quite a dish; now you're quite a tureen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/my-dear-you-used-to-be-quite-a-dish-now-you-re-quite-a-tureen/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“When people say they do not care what others thing of them, for the most part they deceive themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-thing-of-them-for-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) [Explore all 840 W. Somerset Maugham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## More Belief quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“MIND & GRIND Self-belief and hard work can propel you past more talented peers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamil-ali/mind-grind-self-belief-and-hard-work-can-propel-you-past-more/) [Kamil Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamil-ali/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [It took me 20 years of hard training to get the physique I have today. what you need is what i had - BELIEF…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/branch-warren/it-took-me-20-years-of-hard-training-to-get-the-physique-i-have-today/) [Branch Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/branch-warren/) > [“Here is a fundamental difference between the man of faith and the man of unbelief. The unbeliever is 'of the world', judges everything by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/here-is-a-fundamental-difference-between-the-man-of-faith-and-the-man/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [“She herself vacillated when it came to belief. She did not particularly believe in God. Or, rather, she didn't believe in a particular God.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/she-herself-vacillated-when-it-came-to-belief-she-did-not/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [“Rigid traditions capture souls prisons of spiritual thought man’s religion has captured a god grown too small and very weak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-earle/rigid-traditions-capture-souls-prisons-of-spiritual-thought-man-s/) [David W Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-earle/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [In business, as in politics, it is never easy to go against the beliefs and attitudes held by the majority. The businessman who moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-paul-getty/in-business-as-in-politics-it-is-never-easy-to-go-against-the-beliefs/) [J. Paul Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-paul-getty/) > [There's no greatest moment in the arts. It's a life; it's a continuity thing. You can't have a great moment because it's spiritual. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/there-s-no-greatest-moment-in-the-arts-it-s-a-life-it-s-a-continuity/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) [Browse all 10,268 Belief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He could breathe more freely in a lighter air. He was responsible only to himself for the things he did. Freedom! He was his own master at last. From old habit, unconsciously he thanked God that he no longer believed in Him.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. 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