--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'll never be such a gosling to obey…" description: "\"“I'll never be such a gosling to obey instinct, but stand as if a man were author to himself and knew no other kin.”\" — William Shakespeare" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/william-shakespeare-4_books_i-ll-never-be-such-a-gosling-to-obey-ins_503707.jpg" --- # I'll never be such a gosling to obey instinct, but stand… ![“I'll never be such a gosling to obey instinct, but stand as if a man were author to himself and knew no other kin.” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/william-shakespeare-4_books_i-ll-never-be-such-a-gosling-to-obey-ins_503707.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/william-shakespeare-4_books_i-ll-never-be-such-a-gosling-to-obey-ins_503707.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/william-shakespeare-4_books_i-ll-never-be-such-a-gosling-to-obey-ins_503707.jpg) > ““I'll never be such a gosling to obey instinct, but stand as if a man were author to himself and knew no other kin.”” [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He asserts personal autonomy, refusing to be guided solely by instinct, and claims self‑authorship. **In simple terms:** Be your own master, not just driven by instinct. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑direction. Themes self‑reliance individualism authorship Mood reflective empowering Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career decisions - creative projects - personal growth Key Concepts philosophy of self human agency Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance instinct with rational choice? - When should you trust your inner voice? A Different Perspective Instinct still offers valuable insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Instinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct/) ## Related quotes > [I'll never Be such a gosling to obey instinct, but stand As is a man were author of himself And knew no other kin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-ll-never-be-such-a-gosling-to-obey-instinct-but-stand-as-is-a-man/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“My wife comes foremost; then the honour'd mould Wherein this trunk was framed, and in her hand The grandchild to her blood. But, out,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/my-wife-comes-foremost-then-the-honour-d-mould-wherein-this-trunk-was/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Every man is the author of his own life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/every-man-is-the-author-of-his-own-life/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [To write history one must be more than a man, since the author who holds the pen of this great justiciary must be free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/to-write-history-one-must-be-more-than-a-man-since-the-author-who/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [Telling us to obey instinct is like telling us to obey 'people.' People say different things: so do instincts. Our instincts are at war...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/telling-us-to-obey-instinct-is-like-telling-us-to-obey-people-people-2/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“Telling us to obey instinct is like telling us to obey 'people.' People say different things: so do instincts. Our instincts are at war.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/telling-us-to-obey-instinct-is-like-telling-us-to-obey-people-people/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [I saw Gosling just kill it in 'Blue Valentine.' I thought he was just amazing at that, and I wouldn't mind maybe doing something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pena/i-saw-gosling-just-kill-it-in-blue-valentine-i-thought-he-was-just/) [Michael Pena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pena/) > [I like Ryan Gosling from the inside. I think he's a beautiful person, and then if you didn't have anything, I'd still be his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashton-moio/i-like-ryan-gosling-from-the-inside-i-think-he-s-a-beautiful-person/) Ashton Moio > [I'm not Josh Brolin or Ryan Gosling. They're more noir than I.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-mackie/i-m-not-josh-brolin-or-ryan-gosling-they-re-more-noir-than-i/) [Anthony Mackie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-mackie/) > [“WATSON: When we shook hands, her handshake was far too firm. There’s nothing gentle, nothing remotely tender about her. She’s a cipher where a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-ziegler/watson-when-we-shook-hands-her-handshake-was-far-too-firm-there-s/) Anna Ziegler > [I am going to be the next Ryan Gosling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-galifianakis/i-am-going-to-be-the-next-ryan-gosling/) [Zach Galifianakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-galifianakis/) > [I get on really well with Jake Gosling, who is a great producer, and I have written a song with Fraser T Smith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-nesbitt/i-get-on-really-well-with-jake-gosling-who-is-a-great-producer-and-i/) [Nina Nesbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-nesbitt/) > [“The two lovers were inseparable. Well, I guess death could split them up. So could Ryan Gosling, because she has a thing for him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/the-two-lovers-were-inseparable-well-i-guess-death-could-split-them/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I like Ryan Gosling as an actor. I watch all of his movies, and he's Canadian and I just like his swag. I read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/i-like-ryan-gosling-as-an-actor-i-watch-all-of-his-movies-and-he-s/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [“I think we need a little more rallying around the dumpee. If you were a woman and I’d told you that the third guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-james/i-think-we-need-a-little-more-rallying-around-the-dumpee-if-you-were/) [Julie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-james/) ## More by William Shakespeare > [Let us kill all lawyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/let-us-kill-all-lawyers/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [O tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-tiger-s-heart-wrapped-in-a-woman-s-hide/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Divers philosophers hold that the lips is parcel of the mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/divers-philosophers-hold-that-the-lips-is-parcel-of-the-mouth/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs; Being purg'd, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes; Being vex'd, a sea nourish'd with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-is-a-smoke-made-with-the-fume-of-sighs-being-purg-d-a-fire/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies Which busy care draws in the brains of men; Therefore thou sleep’st so sound. Julius Caesar (2.1.248-251)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thou-hast-no-figures-nor-no-fantasies-which-busy-care-draws-in-the/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Truth needs no color; beauty, no pencil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/truth-needs-no-color-beauty-no-pencil/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Have you not heard it said full oft, A woman's nay doth stand for naught?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/have-you-not-heard-it-said-full-oft-a-woman-s-nay-doth-stand-for/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Omittance is no quittance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/omittance-is-no-quittance/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Yes, madam: yet I cannot choose but laugh, To think it should leave crying and say 'Ay.' And yet, I warrant, it had upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/yes-madam-yet-i-cannot-choose-but-laugh-to-think-it-should-leave/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-take-thee-at-thy-word-call-me-but-love-and-i-ll-be-new-baptized/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) [Explore all 5,604 William Shakespeare quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I'll never be such a gosling to obey instinct, but stand as if a man were author to himself and knew no other kin.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Shakespeare" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-ll-never-be-such-a-gosling-to-obey-instinct-but-stand-as-if-a-man/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-ll-never-be-such-a-gosling-to-obey-instinct-but-stand-as-if-a-man/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/william-shakespeare-4_books_i-ll-never-be-such-a-gosling-to-obey-ins_503707.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/william-shakespeare-4_books_i-ll-never-be-such-a-gosling-to-obey-ins_503707.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/william-shakespeare-4_books_i-ll-never-be-such-a-gosling-to-obey-ins_503707.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'll never be such a gosling to obey instinct, but stand as if a man were author to himself and knew no…” — William Shakespeare", "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": "William Shakespeare", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I'll never be such a gosling...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-ll-never-be-such-a-gosling-to-obey-instinct-but-stand-as-if-a-man/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-ll-never-be-such-a-gosling-to-obey-instinct-but-stand-as-if-a-man/#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 } } ] } ```