Quotes
Quotes about Labor
All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.
The really efficient laborer will be found not to crowd his day with work, but will saunter to his task surrounded by a wide halo of ease and leisure.
All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.
A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is a visible labor and there is an invisible labor.
All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.
Of life's two chief prizes, beauty and truth, I found the first in a loving heart and the second in a laborer's hand.
Westheimer's Discovery: A couple of months in the laboratory can save a couple of hours in the library.
One's age should be tranquil, as childhood should be playful. Hard work at either extremity of life seems out of place. At midday the sun may burn, and men labor under it; but the morning and evening should be alike calm and cheerful.
Man is so made that he can only find relaxation from one kind of labor by taking up another.
An artist is not paid for his labor but for his vision.
Excellence in any department can be attained only by the labor of a lifetime; it is not to be purchased at a lesser price.
Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.
A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist.
What the reason of the ant laboriously drags into a heap, the wind of accident will collect in one breadth. [Was der Ameise Vernunft muhsam, zu Haufen schleppt, jagt in einem Hui der Wind des Zufalls zusammen.
Let us, then, be up and doing, with a heart for any fate; still achieving, still pursuing, learn to labor and to wait.
Let us, then, be up and doing, With a heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labor and to wait.
The Mountain in Labor A mountain was once greatly agitated. Loud groans and noises were heard, and crowds of people came from all parts to see what was the matter. While they were assembled in anxious expectation of some terrible calamity, out came a Mouse. Don't make much ado about nothing.
The Oxen and the Axle-Trees A heavy wagon was being dragged along a country lane by a team of Oxen. The Axle-trees groaned and creaked terribly; whereupon the Oxen, turning round, thus addressed the wheels: Hullo there! why do you make so much noise? We bear all the labor, and we, not you, ought to cry out. Those who suffer most cry out the least.
The Ass and the Lapdog A man had an Ass, and a Maltese Lapdog, a very great beauty. The Ass was left in a stable and had plenty of oats and hay to eat, just as any other Ass would. The Lapdog knew many tricks and was a great favorite with his master, who often fondled him and seldom went out to dine without bringing him home some tidbit to eat. The Ass, on the contrary, had much work to do in grinding the corn-mill and in carrying wood from the forest or burdens from the farm. He often lamented his own hard fate and contrasted it with the luxury and idleness of the Lapdog, till at last one day he broke his cords and halter, and galloped into his master's house, kicking up his heels without measure, and frisking and fawning as well as he could. He next tried to jump about his master as he had seen the Lapdog do, but he broke the table and smashed all the dishes upon it to atoms. He then attempted to lick his master, and jumped upon his back. The servants, hearing the strange hubbub and perceiving the danger of their master, quickly relieved him, and drove out the Ass to his stable with kicks and clubs and cuffs. The Ass, as he returned to his stall beaten nearly to death, thus lamented: I have brought it all on myself! Why could I not have been contented to labor with my companions, and not wish to be idle all the day like that useless little Lapdog!
The Cat and the Cock A cat caught a Cock, and pondered how he might find a reasonable excuse for eating him. He accused him of being a nuisance to men by crowing in the nighttime and not permitting them to sleep. The Cock defended himself by saying that he did this for the benefit of men, that they might rise in time for their labors. The Cat replied, Although you abound in specious apologies, I shall not remain supperless; and he made a meal of him.
The Laborer and the Snake A snake, having made his hole close to the porch of a cottage, inflicted a mortal bite on the Cottager's infant son. Grieving over his loss, the Father resolved to kill the Snake. The next day, when it came out of its hole for food, he took up his axe, but by swinging too hastily, missed its head and cut off only the end of its tail. After some time the Cottager, afraid that the Snake would bite him also, endeavored to make peace, and placed some bread and salt in the hole. The Snake, slightly hissing, said: There can henceforth be no peace between us; for whenever I see you I shall remember the loss of my tail, and whenever you see me you will be thinking of the death of your son. No one truly forgets injuries in the presence of him who caused the injury.
The Widow and Her Little Maidens A widow who was fond of cleaning had two little maidens to wait on her. She was in the habit of waking them early in the morning, at cockcrow. The maidens, aggravated by such excessive labor, resolved to kill the cock who roused their mistress so early. When they had done this, they found that they had only prepared for themselves greater troubles, for their mistress, no longer hearing the hour from the cock, woke them up to their work in the middle of the night.
The Farmer and His Sons A father, being on the point of death, wished to be sure that his sons would give the same attention to his farm as he himself had given it. He called them to his bedside and said, My sons, there is a great treasure hid in one of my vineyards. The sons, after his death, took their spades and mattocks and carefully dug over every portion of their land. They found no treasure, but the vines repaid their labor by an extraordinary and superabundant crop.
The Heifer and the Ox A heifer saw an Ox hard at work harnessed to a plow, and tormented him with reflections on his unhappy fate in being compelled to labor. Shortly afterwards, at the harvest festival, the owner released the Ox from his yoke, but bound the Heifer with cords and led him away to the altar to be slain in honor of the occasion. The Ox saw what was being done, and said with a smile to the Heifer: For this you were allowed to live in idleness, because you were presently to be sacrificed.
The Two Dogs A man had two dogs: a Hound, trained to assist him in his sports, and a Housedog, taught to watch the house. When he returned home after a good day's sport, he always gave the Housedog a large share of his spoil. The Hound, feeling much aggrieved at this, reproached his companion, saying, It is very hard to have all this labor, while you, who do not assist in the chase, luxuriate on the fruits of my exertions. The Housedog replied, Do not blame me, my friend, but find fault with the master, who has not taught me to labor, but to depend for subsistence on the labor of others. Children are not to be blamed for the faults of their parents.
