WIST Quotations

Carlyle, Thomas -- Poem (1837-08), “Today,” st. 1

Dave — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 22:58:28 +0000

So here hath been dawning
Another blue Day:
Think wilt thou let it
Slip useless away.

Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Poem (1837-08), “Today,” st. 1

This poem is usually called "Today" or "To-day," though in its first appearance I can find (The Monthly Repository, Vol. 11 (1837-08)) it is titled "Lilliputian."

The poem was resurfaced in Carlyle's Critical and Miscellaneous Essays (1838-1839) in Vol. 1, Appendix 1 "Fractions (1823-1833)," item No. 7. This (with a date of 1840) is usually given as the citation.

Billings, Josh -- Josh Billings’ Farmer’s Allminax, 1871-08 (1871 ed.)

Dave — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 16:36:09 +0000

Lazyness iz a good deal like money, — the more a man haz ov it the more he seems tew want.

[Laziness is a good deal like money — the more a man has of it, the more he seems to want.]

Josh Billings (1818–1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw]
Josh Billings’ Farmer’s Allminax, 1871-08 (1871 ed.)

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- Pro Sestio [For Publius Sestius], ch. 45 / sec. 98 (56-02 BC) [tr. Yonge (1891)]

Dave — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 17:33:51 +0000

For men ought not to be so elated by the dignity of the affairs which they have undertaken to manage, as to have no regard to their ease; nor ought they to dwell with fondness on any sort of ease which is inconsistent with dignity.

[Neque enim rerum gerendarum dignitate homines ecferri ita convenit ut otio non prospiciant, neque ullum amplexari otium quod abhorreat a dignitate.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
Pro Sestio [For Publius Sestius], ch. 45 / sec. 98 (56-02 BC) [tr. Yonge (1891)]

Part of Cicero's discussion of otium cum dignitate ("peace with dignity"), an idealized active private life after retiring from public service. See here for more.

(Source (Latin)). Other translations:

For neither is it fitting that men be so carried away by political freedom as to make no provision for tranquility, nor to accept any tranquility which is inconsistent with freedom.
[tr. Hickie (1888)]

For just as it ill befits men to be so carried away by the dignity of a public career that they are indifferent in peace, so too it is unfitting for them to welcome a peace which is inconsistent with dignity.
[tr. Gardner (Loeb) (1958)]

Stevenson, Robert Louis -- Essay (1877-07), “An Apology for Idlers,” Cornhill Magazine, Vol. 36

Dave — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 21:41:18 +0000

Just now, when every one is bound, under pain of a decree in absence convicting them of lèse-respectability, to enter on some lucrative profession, and labour therein with something not far short of enthusiasm, a cry from the opposite party, who are content when they have enough, and like to look on and enjoy in the meanwhile, savours a little of bravado and gasconade. And yet this should not be. Idleness so called, which does not consist in doing nothing, but in doing a great deal not recognized in the dogmatic formularies of the ruling class, has as good a right to state its position as industry itself.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) Scottish essayist, novelist, poet
Essay (1877-07), “An Apology for Idlers,” Cornhill Magazine, Vol. 36

Collected in Virginibus Puerisque and Other Papers, ch. 3 (1881).

Stevenson, Robert Louis -- Essay (1881), “Virginibus Puerisque, Part 2”

Dave — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 18:44:13 +0000

Times are changed with him who marries; there are no more by-path meadows, where you may innocently linger, but the road lies long and straight and dusty to the grave. Idleness, which is often becoming and even wise in the bachelor, begins to wear a different aspect when you have a wife to support.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) Scottish essayist, novelist, poet
Essay (1881), “Virginibus Puerisque, Part 2”

First published in Virginibus Puerisque and Other Papers, ch. 1, part 2 (1881).

Montaigne, Michel de -- Essays, Book 1, ch. 8 (1.8), “Of Idleness [De l’Oisiveté]” (1572) [tr. Screech (1987)]

Dave — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 00:49:07 +0000

So too with our minds. If we do not keep them busy with some particular subject which can serve as a bridle to rein them in, they charge ungovernably about, ranging to and fro over the wastelands of our thoughts. Then, there is no madness, no raving lunacy, which such agitations do not bring forth.

[Ainsi est-il des esprits, si on ne les occupe à certain sujet, qui les bride & contraigne, ils se jettent desreglez, par-ci par là, dans le vague champ des imaginations. Et n’est follie ny réverie, qu’ils ne produisent en cette agitation.]

Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592) French essayist
Essays, Book 1, ch. 8 (1.8), “Of Idleness [De l’Oisiveté]” (1572) [tr. Screech (1987)]

This essay was in the 1st ed. (1595); though the essay was revised for later editions, this text was not. The Essays themselves were begun to cure the melancholy and unrestrained thoughts caused by Montaigne's moving to his country estates, retiring from public life, and isolating himself in the château library for some time. This essay speaks to that experience.

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

So is it of minds, which except they be busied about some subject, that may bridle and keepe them under, they will here and there wildely scatter themselves through the vaste field of imaginations. And there is no follie, or extravagant raving, they produce not in that agitation.
[tr. Florio (1603)]

So it is with Wits, which if not applyed to some certain Study that may fix and restrain them, run into a thousand Extravagancies, and are eternally roving here and there in the inextricable Labyrinth of restless Imagination. In which wild and irregular Agitation, there is no Folly, nor idle Fancy they do not light upon.
[tr. Cotton (1686)]

So it is with our minds, which, if not applied to some particular subject to check and restrain them, rove about confusedly in the vague expanse of imagination. In which agitation there is no folly nor idle fancy which they do not create.
[tr. Friswell (1868)]

So it is with minds, which if not applied to some certain study that may fix and restrain them, run into a thousand extravagances, eternally roving here and there in the vague expanse of the imagination -- in which wild agitation there is no folly, nor idle fancy they do not light upon.
[tr. Cotton/Hazlitt (1877)]

So it is with our minds. If we do not apply them to some sort of study that will fix and restrain them, they will drift into a thousand extravagances, and will sternly run here and there in an inextricable labyrinth of restless imagination. In this wild and irregular agitation there is no folly nor idle fancy they do not touch upon.
[tr. Rector (1899)]

So it is with our minds: if we do not keep them occupied with a distinct subject, which curbs and restrains them, they run aimlessly to and fro, in the undefined field of imagination. And there is no folly or fantasy to which they do not give birth in this agitation.
[tr. Ives (1925)]

So it is with minds. Unless you keep them busy with some definite subject that will bridle and control them, they throw themselves in disorder hither and yon in the vague field of imagination. And there is no mad or idle fancy that they do not bring forth in this agitation.
[tr. Frame (1943)]

So it is with our minds. If we do not occupy them with some definite subject which curbs and restrains them, they rush wildly to and fro in the ill-defined field of the imagination. And there is no folly or fantasy that they will not produce in this restless state.
[tr. Cohen (1958)]

If [minds] have no object to busy themselves with, something to check and restrain them, they will run free and ramble through the open field of their imagination. And in this state of excitement, minds will come up with all kinds of foolishness and fantasies.
[tr. HyperEssays (2025)]

La Rochefoucauld, Francois -- Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶266 (1665-1678) [tr. Kronenberger (1959)]

Dave — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 13:41:35 +0000

We deceive ourselves thinking that only violent passions, like ambition and love, can overpower our other instincts. Indolence, thoroughly languid though it be, very seldom fails to be master; it interferes with all our plans and actions, and gradually wears down and destroys our passions and our virtues.

[C’est se tromper que de croire qu’il n’y ait que les violentes passions, comme l’ambition et l’amour, qui puissent triompher des autres. La paresse, toute languissante qu’elle est, ne laisse pas d’en être souvent la maîtresse; elle usurpe sur tous les desseins et sur toutes les actions de la vie; elle y détruit et y consume insensiblement les passions et les vertus.]

François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680) French epigrammatist, memoirist, noble
Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶266 (1665-1678) [tr. Kronenberger (1959)]

In the 1st (1665) edition, the maxim began, On s’est trompé quand on a cru qu’il n’y avoit que les violentes passions, coninie, etc., qui pussent … and ended ... elle y détruit et y consomme insensiblement toutes les passions et toutes les vertus.

In the manuscript, the French reads:

On s’est trompé quand on a cru, après tant de grands exemples, que l’ambition et l’amour triomphent toujours des autres passions; c’est la paresse, toute languissante qu’elle est, qui en est le plus souvent la maîtresse: elle usurpe insensiblement sur tous les desseins et sur toutes les actions de la vie; enfin elle émousse et éteint toutes les passions et toutes les vertus.

See also ¶169. (Source (French)). Alternate translations:

'Tis a great mistake, to think that Love and Ambition triumph over all the other Passions: on the contrary, Sloth, notwithstanding all its languishment, hath many times a soveraignty over them; this insensibly usurps an Empire over all the designs, and over all the actions of life; this destroys and compleats all the Passions, and all the Virtues employ'd in the conduct of it.
[tr. Davies (1669), ¶96]

It is a Mighty Error, to suppose, that none but Violent and Strong Passions, such as Love, and Ambition, are able to Vanquish the rest. Even Idleness, as Feeble and Languishing as it is, sometimes reigns over Them; This Usurps the Throne, and sits Paramount over all the Designs and Actions of our Lives; and Insensibly wasts and destroys all our Passions, and all our Vertues.
[tr. Stanhope (1694), ¶247]

It is a mistake to imagine, that the violent passions only, such as ambition and love, can triump over the rest. Idleness, languid as it is, often masters them all; she indeed influences all our designs and actions, and insensibly consumes and destroys both passions and virtues.
[pub. Donaldson (1783), ¶232]

It is a mistake to imagine that the violent passions only, such as ambition and love, can triumph over the rest. Idleness, languid as it is, often governs them all; she influences all our designs and our actions; she insensibly consumes and destroys both the passions and the virtues.
[ed. Carvill (1835), ¶201]

It is deceiving ourselves to fancy that it is only the violent passions, such as ambition; and love, which can triumph over the others. Indolence, all languid as it is, nevertheless is frequently their master; it spreads its dominions over all the designs and all the actions of life, and thus destroys and insensibly consumes the passions and the virtues.
[ed. Gowens (1851), ¶277]

We deceive ourselves if we believe that there are violent passions like ambition and love that can triumph over others. Idleness, languishing as she is, does not often fail in being mistress; she usurps authority over all the plans and actions of life; imperceptibly consuming and destroying both passions and virtues.
[tr. Bund/Friswell (1871), ¶266]

It is a great mistake to believe that only violent passions, such as love and ambition, can make us masters of others. Laziness with all its indolence is often the most absolute sovereign; it encroaches upon all the plans and acts of our lives, and, little by little, saps and destroys our passions and our virtues.
[tr. Heard (1917), ¶274]

It is a mistake to believe that only the violent passions, such as ambition or love, can dominate their fellows. Indolence, sluggish though she be, is often the queen of them all; she encroaches upon all the intentions and actions of our life; unperceived she crushes and engorges passion and virtue alike.
[tr. FitzGibbon (1957), ¶266]

We make a mistake if we believe that only the violent passions like ambition and love can subdue the others. Laziness, for all her languor, is nevertheless often mistress: she permeates every aim and action in life and imperceptibly eats away and destroys passions and virtues alike.
[tr. Tancock (1959), ¶266]

We deceive ourselves if we believe that it is the violent passions alone, like ambition and love, that can triumph over the others. Idleness, as languishing as it is, rarely fails to be the master: it usurps all the plans and actions of our lives, destroying and insensibly consuming both passions and virtues.
[tr. Whichello (2016) ¶266]

Bierce, Ambrose -- “Idleness,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)

Dave — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 14:28:24 +0000

IDLENESS, n. A model farm where the devil experiments with seeds of new sins and promotes the growth of untried vices.

Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914?) American writer and journalist
“Idleness,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)

Included in The Devil's Dictionary (1911). Originally published in the "Devil's Dictionary" column in the San Francisco Wasp (1885-08-29).

Joubert, Joseph -- Pensées [Thoughts], ch. 23 “Des Qualités de l’Écrivain [Of the Qualities of Writers],” ¶ 53 (1805) (1850 ed.) [tr. Lyttelton (1899), ch. 22, ¶ 20]

Dave — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 19:46:54 +0000

Idleness is a necessity for the mind, as much as work. Talent is ruined by writing too much, and rusted by not writing at all.

[L’oisiveté est nécessaire aux esprits, aussi bien que le travail. On se ruine l’esprit à trop écrire; on se rouille à n’écrire pas.]

Joseph Joubert (1754–1824) French moralist, philosopher, essayist, poet
Pensées [Thoughts], ch. 23 “Des Qualités de l’Écrivain [Of the Qualities of Writers],” ¶ 53 (1805) (1850 ed.) [tr. Lyttelton (1899), ch. 22, ¶ 20]

(Source (French)). Other translations:

The mind must rest as well as work. To write too much ruins it; to leave off writing rusts it.
[tr. Attwell (1896), ¶ 336]

One ruins the mind with too much writing. One rusts it by not writing at all.
[tr. Auster (1983), 1805 entry]

Confucius -- The Analects [論語, 论语, Lúnyǔ], Book 17, verse 22 (17.22) (6th C. BC – AD 3rd C.) [tr. Watson (2007)]

Dave — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 23:28:32 +0000

Stuff yourself with food all day, never give your mind anything to do, and you’re a problem! There’s chess, isn’t there? There’s weiqi, isn’t there? — wiser at least to busy yourself with these.

[飽食終日、無所用心、難矣哉、不有博弈者乎、爲之猶賢乎已]
[饱食终日无所用心难矣哉不有博弈者乎为之犹贤乎已]

Confucius (c. 551- c. 479 BC) Chinese philosopher, sage, politician [孔夫子 (Kǒng Fūzǐ, K'ung Fu-tzu, K'ung Fu Tse), 孔子 (Kǒngzǐ, Chungni), 孔丘 (Kǒng Qiū, K'ung Ch'iu)]
The Analects [論語, 论语, Lúnyǔ], Book 17, verse 22 (17.22) (6th C. BC – AD 3rd C.) [tr. Watson (2007)]

There is varied discussion in footnotes as to the specific identity and nature of the game(s) Confucius references. The phrase bo yi or po yi (博弈) can be translated either as "to play chess" or "the game of bo and the game of yi." The game of bo was similar to weiqi (wei-ch'i) (or, in Japan, go; the game of yi was a game like chess, or a board game played with dice (shuanglu), the rules of which have been forgotten. There are also translators who assert it's the other way around, that bo or liubo is the game of chance, and yi was weiqi (go).

(Source (Chinese) 1, 2). Other translations:

Hard is it to deal with him, who will stuff himself with food the whole day, without applying his mind to anything good! Are there not gamesters and chess players? To be one of these would still be better than doing nothing at all.
[tr. Legge (1861)]

Ah, it is difficult to know what to make of those who are all day long cramming themselves with food and are without anything to apply their minds to! Are there no dice and chess players? Better, perhaps, join in that pursuit than do nothing at all!
[tr. Jennings (1895)]

It is a really bad case when a man simply eats his full meals without applying his mind to anything at all during the whole day. Are there not such things as gambling and games of skill? To do one of those things even is better than to do nothing at all.
[tr. Ku Hung-Ming (1898)]

How hard is the case of the man who stuffs himself with food the livelong day, never applying his mind to anything! Are there no checker or chess players? Even to do that is surely better than nothing at all.
[tr. Soothill (1910)]

Stuffing in food all day, nothing that he puts his mind on, a hard case! Don't chess players at least do something and have solid merit by comparison?
[tr. Pound (1933)]

Those who do nothing all day but cram themselves with food and never use their minds are difficult. Are there not games such as draughts? To play them would surely be better than doing nothing at all.
[tr. Waley (1938)]

I really admire a fellow who goes about the whole day with a well-fed stomach and a vacuous mind. How can one ever do it? I would rather that he play chess, which would seem to me to be better.
[tr. Lin Yutang (1938)]

To eat one’s full all day long without directing the mind to anything is, indeed, to be in difficulties! Even those who spend all their time at intricate games are to be reckoned of higher caliber.
[tr. Ware (1950), 17.20]

It is no easy matter for a man who always has a full stomach to put his mind to some use. Are there not such things as po and yi? Even playing these games is better than being idle.
[tr. Lau (1979)]

It is surely difficult to spend the whole day stuffing oneself with food and having nothing to use one's mind on. Are there not people who play bo and yi? Even such activity is definitely superior, is it not?
[tr. Dawson (1993), 17.20]

I cannot abide these people who fill their bellies all day long, without ever using their minds! Why can't they play chess? At least it would be better than nothing.
[tr. Leys (1997)]

Those who are stated with food all day without applying their minds to anything at all are difficult indeed! Are there no people who play double six and siege? Even doing those would be beter than to stop thinking altogether.
[tr. Huang (1997), 17.21]

Eating all day without thinking about anything, such persons are hard to be trained. Are not there some games? Even if playing some games, it is also better than having nothing to do.
[tr. Cai/Yu (1998), No. 462]

There are troubles ahead for those who spend their whole day filling their stomachs without ever exercising their heart-and-mind (xin). Are there not diversions such as the board games of bo and weiqi? Even playing those games would be better than nothing.
[tr. Ames/Rosemont (1998)]

One who eats his fill all day long, and never uses his mind on anything, is a difficult case. Are there not such things as gammon and chess? Would it not be better to play them?
[tr. Brooks/Brooks (1998), 17.20]

All day eating and never thinking: such people are serious trouble. Aren't there games to play, like go and chess? Even that is better than nothing. [tr. Hinton (1998), 17.21]

Spending the entire day filling himself with food, never once exercising his mind -- someone like this is a hard case indeed! Do we not have the games Bo and Yi? Even playing these games would be better than doing nothing.
[tr. Slingerland (2003)]

To spend the whole day stuffing yourself and not to put your mind to use at all -- this is hopeless behavior. Are there not such games as bo and yi? It would be better to play these games [than to do nothing at all].
[tr. Annping Chin (2014)]

If a person is well fed the whole day and does not use his brain on anything, it will be difficult for him to be of value in life. Are there poker games and chess? Playing these games is still more beneficial than doing nothing.
[tr. Li (2020)]

Schopenhauer, Arthur -- Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. 1, “Aphorisms on the Wisdom of Life [Aphorismen zur Lebensweisheit],” ch. 5 “Counsels and Maxims [Paränesen und Maximen],” § 2.17 (1851) [tr. Saunders (1890)]

Dave — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 19:42:24 +0000

There is always something pleasurable in the struggle and the victory. And if a man has no opportunity to excite himself, he will do what he can to create one, and according to his individual bent, he will hunt or play Cup and Ball: or led on by this unsuspected element in his nature, he will pick a quarrel with someone, or hatch a plot or intrigue, or take to swindling and rascally courses generally — all to put an end to a state of repose which is intolerable.

[Der Kampf mit ihnen und der Sieg beglückt. Fehlt ihm die Gelegenheit dazu, so macht er sie sich, wie er kann: je nachdem seine Individualität es mit sich bringt, wird er jagen, oder Bilboquet spielen, oder, vom unbewußten Zuge seiner Natur geleitet, Händel suchen, oder Intriguen anspinnen, oder sich auf Betrügereien und allerlei Schlechtigkeiten einlassen, um nur dem ihm unerträglichen Zustande der Ruhe ein Ende zu machen.]

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) German philosopher
Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. 1, “Aphorisms on the Wisdom of Life [Aphorismen zur Lebensweisheit],” ch. 5 “Counsels and Maxims [Paränesen und Maximen],” § 2.17 (1851) [tr. Saunders (1890)]

(Source (German)). Another translation:

The struggle with [obstacles] and the triumph make him happy. If he lacks the opportunity for this, he creates it as best he can; according to the nature of his individuality, he will hunt or play cup and ball; or, guided by the unconscious urge of his nature, he will pick a quarrel, hatch a plot, or be involved in fraud and all kinds of wickedness, merely in order to put an end to an intolerable state of repose.
[tr. Payne (1974)]

Doyle, Arthur Conan -- Journal of Arctic voyage (19 Jul 1880)

Dave — Fri, 04 Jun 2021 22:25:08 +0000

Blowing a gale all day. Nothing to do and we did it.

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) British writer and physician
Journal of Arctic voyage (19 Jul 1880)

Gibran, Kahlil -- The Voice of the Master, Part 2, ch. 8 (1960)

Dave — Mon, 02 Oct 2017 17:48:26 +0000

A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.

Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931) Lebanese-American poet, writer, painter [Gibran Khalil Gibran]
The Voice of the Master, Part 2, ch. 8 (1960)

See Pope.

Johnson, Samuel -- Essay (1759-09-01), The Idler, No. 72

Dave — Tue, 19 May 2015 12:03:10 +0000

The gloomy and the resentful are always found among those who have nothing to do or who do nothing.

Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1759-09-01), The Idler, No. 72

Johnson, Samuel -- Essay (1758-08-05), The Idler, No. 17

Dave — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 13:48:10 +0000

To be idle and to be poor have always been reproaches, and therefore every man endeavours with his utmost care to hide his poverty from others, and his idleness from himself.

Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1758-08-05), The Idler, No. 17

Tawney, R. H. -- Religion and the Rise of Capitalism, ch. 4, sec. 4 (1926)

Dave — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 13:59:12 +0000

That the greatest of evils is idleness, that the poor are the victims, not of circumstances, but of their own “idle, irregular, and wicked courses,” that the truest charity is not to enervate them by relief, but so to reform their characters that relief may be unnecessary — such doctrines turned severity from a sin into a duty, and froze the impulse of natural pity with an assurance that, if indulged, it would perpetuate the suffering which it sought to allay.

R. H. Tawney (1880–1962) English writer, economist, historian, social critic [Richard Henry Tawney]
Religion and the Rise of Capitalism, ch. 4, sec. 4 (1926)

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Speech (1899-04-10), “The Strenuous Life,” Hamilton Club, Chicago

Dave — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 13:12:14 +0000

If you are rich and are worth your salt, you will teach your sons that though they may have leisure, it is not to be spent in idleness; for wisely used leisure merely means that those who possess it, being free from the necessity of working for their livelihood, are all the more bound to carry on some kind of non-remunerative work in science, in letters, in art, in exploration, in historical research-work of the type we most need in this country, the successful carrying out of which reflects most honor upon the nation.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer; US President (1901–09)
Speech (1899-04-10), “The Strenuous Life,” Hamilton Club, Chicago

Adams, John Quincy -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:48:14 +0000

Idleness is sweet, and its consequences are cruel.

[La molesse est douce, et sa suite est cruelle.]

John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) US President (1825–29)
(Attributed)

Said to have been written in his diary, but unverified.

Jerome, Jerome K. -- Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow, “On Being Idle” (1886)

Dave — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:59:12 +0000

It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do. There is no fun in doing nothing when you have nothing to do. Wasting time is merely an occupation then, and a most exhausting one. Idleness, like kisses, to be sweet must be stolen.

Jerome K. Jerome (1859–1927) English writer, humorist [Jerome Klapka Jerome]
Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow, “On Being Idle” (1886)

Johnson, Samuel -- Essay (1759-03-17), The Idler, No. 48

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

There is no kind of idleness by which we are so easily seduced as that which dignifies itself by the appearance of business, and by making the loiterer imagine that he has something to do which must not be neglected, keeps in perpetual agitation and hurries him from place to place.

Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1759-03-17), The Idler, No. 48

Schopenhauer, Arthur -- Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. 1, “Aphorisms on the Wisdom of Life [Aphorismen zur Lebensweisheit],” ch. 5 “Counsels and Maxims [Paränesen und Maximen],” § 2.17 (1851) [tr. Saunders (1890)]

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Let everyone, then, do something, according to the measure of his capacities. To have no regular work, no set sphere of activity — what a miserable thing it is! How often long travels undertaken for pleasure make a man downright unhappy; because the absence of anything that can be called occupation forces him, as it were, out of his right element. Effort, struggles with difficulties! that is as natural to a man as grubbing in the ground is to a mole. To have all his wants satisfied is something intolerable — the feeling of stagnation which comes from pleasures that last too long. To overcome difficulties is to experience the full delight of existence.

[Inzwischen treibe jeder etwas, nach Maßgabe seiner Fähigkeiten. Denn wie nachteilig der Mangel an planmäßiger Tätigkeit, an irgend einer Arbeit, auf uns wirke, merkt man auf langen Vergnügungsreisen, als wo man, dann und wann, sich recht unglücklich fühlt; weil man, ohne eigentliche Beschäftigung, gleichsam aus seinem natürlichen Elemente gerissen ist. Sich zu mühen und mit dem Widerstande zu kämpfen ist dem Menschen Bedürfnis, wie dem Maulwurf das Graben. Der Stillstand, den die Allgenugsamkeit eines bleibenden Genusses herbeiführte, wäre ihm unerträglich. Hindernisse überwinden ist der Vollgenuß seines Daseins.]

Nevertheless, everyone should do something according to the measure of his abilities. For on long pleasure-trips we see how pernicious is the effect on us of not having any systematic activity or work. On such trips we feel positively unhappy because we are without any proper occupation and are, so to speak, torn from our natural element. Effort, trouble, and struggle with opposition are as necessary to man as grubbing in the ground is to a mole. The stagnation that results from being wholly contented with a lasting pleasure would be for him intolerable. The full pleasure of his existence is in overcoming obstacles.
[tr. Payne (1974)]