Every man is dishonest who lives upon the labor of others, no matter if he occupies a throne.
—Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–99) American Lawyer, Orator, Agnostic
As labor is the common burden of our race, so the effort of some to shift their share of the burden onto the shoulders of others is the great durable curse of the race.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
Next to faith in God, is faith in labor.
—Christian Nestell Bovee (1820–1904) American Writer, Aphorist
Avoid idleness, and fill up all the spaces of thy time with severe and useful employment; for lust easily creeps in at those emptinesses where the soul is unemployed and the body is at ease; for no easy, healthful, idle person was ever chaste if he could be tempted; but of all employments, bodily labor is the most useful, and of the greatest benefit for driving away the Devil.
—Jeremy Taylor
The miracle of the seed and the soil is not available by affirmation; it is only available by labor.
—Jim Rohn (1930–2009) American Entrepreneur, Author, Motivational Speaker
Love makes labor light.
—Dutch Proverb
The pernicious, debilitating tendencies of bodily pleasure need to be counteracted by the invigorating exercises of bodily labor; whereas, bodily labor without bodily pleasure converts the body into a mere machine, and brutifies the soul.
—Anonymous
He who derives his livelihood from the labor of his hands is as great as he who fears God.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
I tell you, sir, the only safeguard of order and discipline in the modern world is a standardized worker with interchangeable parts. That would solve the entire problem of management.
—Jean Giraudoux (1882–1944) French Novelist, Playwright, Essayist
Your labor only may be sold, your soul must not.
—John Ruskin (1819–1900) English Writer, Art Critic
If you divorce capital from labor, capital is hoarded, and labor starves.
—Daniel Webster (1782–1852) American Statesman, Lawyer
Labor is one of the great elements of society—the great substantial interest on which we all stand. Not feudal service, or predial toil, or the irksome drudgery by one race of mankind subjected, on account of their color, to another; but labor, intelligent, manly, independent, thinking and acting for itself, earning its own wages, accumulating those wages into capital, educating childhood, maintaining worship, claiming the right of the elective franchise, and helping to uphold the great fabric of the State—that is American labor; and all my sympathies are with it, and my voice, till I am dumb, will be for it.
—Daniel Webster (1782–1852) American Statesman, Lawyer
The true epic of our times is not “arms and the man,” but “tools and the man,” an infinitely wider kind of epic.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
Your life is a kind of laboratory where you’re constantly experimenting with your own higher knowing, always increasing your capacity to design the life you choose. Human beings must create; it’s hardwired. The question is, are you consciously creating or only sleepwalking through your human life?
—David Emerald
Take not from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American Head of State, Lawyer
Love labor and hate to be a professional minister.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
Sacrifice self to bless one another, even as God has blessed you. Forget self in laboring for mankind…
—Mary Baker Eddy (1821–1910) American Christian Science Religious Leader, Humanitarian, Writer
I have long been profoundly convinced that in the very nature of things, employers and employees are partners, not enemies; that their interests are common, not opposed; that in the long run the success of each is dependent upon the success of the other. If the labor movement will do its share is outlawing industrial warfare; substituting partnership therefor; if more men of broad vision and high purpose respond to the opportunity for constructive leadership which labor unionism offers, well may it be that the trade union movement will enjoy the glory and honor of ushering in industrial peace.
—John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (1874–1960) American Philanthropist, Businessperson
Excellence in any department can be attained only by the labor of a lifetime; it is not to be purchased at a lesser price.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
Labor rids us of three great evils—irksomeness, vice, and poverty.
—Voltaire (1694–1778) French Philosopher, Author
Labor—the expenditure of vital effort in some form, is the measure, nay, it is the maker of values.
—Josiah Gilbert Holland (1819–81) American Editor, Novelist
Hard workers are usually honest; industry lifts them above temptation.
—Christian Nestell Bovee (1820–1904) American Writer, Aphorist
Labor is a pleasure in itself.
—Marcus Manilius (c.48 BCE–20 CE) Roman Poet, Astrologer
Temperance and labor are the two best physicians of man; labor sharpens the appetite, and temperance prevents from indulging to excess.
—Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78) Swiss-born French Philosopher
There is no real wealth but the labor of man.
—Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822) English Poet, Dramatist, Essayist, Novelist
Labor is discovered to be the grand conqueror, enriching and building up nations more surely than the proudest battles.
—William Ellery Channing (1780–1842) American Unitarian Theologian, Poet
He who teaches his son no trade is as if he taught him to steal.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
I believe in the supreme worth of the individual and in his right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty. I believe that the law was made for man and not man for the law; that government is the servant of the people and not their master. I believe in the dignity of labor, whether with head or hand; that the world owes no man a living but that it owes every man an opportunity to make a living. I believe that thrift is essential to well-ordered living and that economy is a prime requisite of a sound financial structure, whether in government, business or personal affairs. I believe that truth and justice are fundamental to an enduring social order. I believe in the sacredness of a promise, that a man’s word should be as good as his bond; that character-not wealth or power or position-is of supreme worth. I believe that the rendering of useful service is the common duty of mankind and that only in the purifying fire of sacrifice is the dross of selfishness consumed and the greatness of the human soul set free. I believe in an all-wise and all-loving God, named by whatever name, and that the individual’s highest fulfillment, greatest happiness and widest usefulness are to be found in living in harmony with His will. I believe that love is the greatest thing in the world; that it alone can overcome hate; that right can and will triumph over might.
—John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (1874–1960) American Philanthropist, Businessperson
He that never labors may know the pains of idleness, but not the pleasures.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist