--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not men that interest or disturb me…" description: "\"It is not men that interest or disturb me primarily; it is ideas. Ideas live; men die.\" — Woodrow Wilson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76e/woodrow-wilson-534_dies_it-is-not-men-that-interest-or-disturb-m_853063.png" --- # It is not men that interest or disturb me primarily; it is… ![“It is not men that interest or disturb me primarily; it is ideas. Ideas live; men die.” quote by Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76e/woodrow-wilson-534_dies_it-is-not-men-that-interest-or-disturb-m_853063.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76e/woodrow-wilson-534_dies_it-is-not-men-that-interest-or-disturb-m_853063.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76e/woodrow-wilson-534_dies_it-is-not-men-that-interest-or-disturb-m_853063.png) > “It is not men that interest or disturb me primarily; it is ideas. Ideas live; men die.” [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ideas hold lasting power, while individuals are fleeting; intellectual legacy outlives mortality. **In simple terms:** Ideas endure beyond lives. Key Takeaway Prioritize ideas over personal fame. Themes intellectual legacy mortality values Mood thought‑provoking serious Type political philosophical When to use this quote - academic research - political discourse - personal development Key Concepts philosophy politics human nature Questions to Reflect On - What ideas will you champion? - How do you ensure ideas outlive you? A Different Perspective Ideas can be co‑opted or misused. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [It is not primarily ideas that have a history; it is societies. And then what often seem opposed ideas can in the end be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-williams/it-is-not-primarily-ideas-that-have-a-history-it-is-societies-and/) [Raymond Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-williams/) > [The mass criminalization of white men would disturb us to the core.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-mass-criminalization-of-white-men-would-disturb-us-to-the-core/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [In Method acting, you can't have preconceived ideas. You have to live in the moment. You have to keep yourself open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/in-method-acting-you-can-t-have-preconceived-ideas-you-have-to-live/) [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) > [People don't realize how much they are in the grip of ideas. We live among ideas much more than we live in nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/people-don-t-realize-how-much-they-are-in-the-grip-of-ideas-we-live/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Historically, usury was defined as any interest whatever on an unproductive loan.Our whole banking system I have ever abhorred, I continue to abhor, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/historically-usury-was-defined-as-any-interest-whatever-on-an/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [I don't want to just die a normal death, I wanna be killed twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/i-don-t-want-to-just-die-a-normal-death-i-wanna-be-killed-twice/) [Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [“When he stops giving you butterflies, Love dies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-blanchard/when-he-stops-giving-you-butterflies-love-dies/) Michelle Blanchard > [Certainly, it is. Love is love, and loss is loss. We all love, and we all die, and everyone suffers the pain of grieving.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynsay-sands/certainly-it-is-love-is-love-and-loss-is-loss-we-all-love-and-we-all/) [Lynsay Sands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynsay-sands/) > [I wonder: when a Jehovah's Witness dies and goes to Heaven, does God hide behind the door and pretend He's not home?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-celio/i-wonder-when-a-jehovah-s-witness-dies-and-goes-to-heaven-does-god/) [Brian Celio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-celio/) > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't even think for a moment that you are not going to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzongsar-jamyang-khyentse-rinpoche/don-t-even-think-for-a-moment-that-you-are-not-going-to-die/) [Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzongsar-jamyang-khyentse-rinpoche/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) ## More by Woodrow Wilson > [If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if fifteen minutes, three days; if half an hour, two days;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/if-i-am-to-speak-ten-minutes-i-need-a-week-for-preparation-if-fifteen/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [There is here a great melting pot in which we must compound a precious metal. That metal is the metal of nationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/there-is-here-a-great-melting-pot-in-which-we-must-compound-a/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [One cannot pay the price of self-respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/one-cannot-pay-the-price-of-self-respect/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [I would rather lose in a cause that will some day win, than win in a cause that will some day lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/i-would-rather-lose-in-a-cause-that-will-some-day-win-than-win-in-a/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [I have received delegations of working men who, apparently speaking with the utmost sincerity, have declared that they would regard it as a genuine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/i-have-received-delegations-of-working-men-who-apparently-speaking/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [Absolute identity with one's cause is the first and great condition of successful leadership.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/absolute-identity-with-one-s-cause-is-the-first-and-great-condition/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [America cannot be an ostrich with its head in the sand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/america-cannot-be-an-ostrich-with-its-head-in-the-sand/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [...We are intensely proud of their noble record and are glad to have had the whole world see how irresistible they are in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/we-are-intensely-proud-of-their-noble-record-and-are-glad-to-have-had/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [ The facts of the case will always have the better of \[an\] argument. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/the-facts-of-the-case-will-always-have-the-better-of-an-argument/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [The greatest embarrassment of my political career has been that active duties seem to deprive me of time for careful investigation. I seem almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/the-greatest-embarrassment-of-my-political-career-has-been-that/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [Some Americans need hyphens in their names because only part of them has come over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/some-americans-need-hyphens-in-their-names-because-only-part-of-them/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [The history of liberty is the history of limitations on the power of government, not the increase of it. When we resist, therefore, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/the-history-of-liberty-is-the-history-of-limitations-on-the-power-of/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [When I think of the flag… I see alternate strips of parchment upon which are written the rights of liberty and justice, and stripes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/when-i-think-of-the-flag-i-see-alternate-strips-of-parchment-upon/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if an hour, I am ready now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/if-i-am-to-speak-ten-minutes-i-need-a-week-for-preparation-if-an-hour/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [Energy in a nation is like sap in a tree; it rises from bottom up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/energy-in-a-nation-is-like-sap-in-a-tree-it-rises-from-bottom-up/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) [Explore all 492 Woodrow Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) ## More Dies quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [Don't even think for a moment that you are not going to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzongsar-jamyang-khyentse-rinpoche/don-t-even-think-for-a-moment-that-you-are-not-going-to-die/) [Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzongsar-jamyang-khyentse-rinpoche/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [I wonder: when a Jehovah's Witness dies and goes to Heaven, does God hide behind the door and pretend He's not home?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-celio/i-wonder-when-a-jehovah-s-witness-dies-and-goes-to-heaven-does-god/) [Brian Celio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-celio/) > [Certainly, it is. Love is love, and loss is loss. We all love, and we all die, and everyone suffers the pain of grieving.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynsay-sands/certainly-it-is-love-is-love-and-loss-is-loss-we-all-love-and-we-all/) [Lynsay Sands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynsay-sands/) > [“When he stops giving you butterflies, Love dies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-blanchard/when-he-stops-giving-you-butterflies-love-dies/) Michelle Blanchard > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [I don't want to just die a normal death, I wanna be killed twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/i-don-t-want-to-just-die-a-normal-death-i-wanna-be-killed-twice/) [Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/) > [My father thrives on fear. You know that prayer If I should die before I wake? I had sheets that said that!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/my-father-thrives-on-fear-you-know-that-prayer-if-i-should-die-before/) [Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/) > [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/) > [This mind is a prison. It cannot find any freedom anywhere. It must die before freedom comes to you. But we have taken the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/this-mind-is-a-prison-it-cannot-find-any-freedom-anywhere-it-must-die/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [An artist's creative energy is ephemeral as a flower. It blooms and soon dies. No artist is great forever. Personally, I think I reached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ki-duk/an-artist-s-creative-energy-is-ephemeral-as-a-flower-it-blooms-and/) [Kim Ki-duk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ki-duk/) > [If you’re going to die on screen, you’ve got to be strong and in good health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-garbo/if-you-re-going-to-die-on-screen-you-ve-got-to-be-strong-and-in-good/) [Greta Garbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-garbo/) Browse all 7,484 Dies quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is not men that interest or disturb me primarily; it is ideas. 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