Leisure can be both a problem and a solution.
—Nathaniel LeTonnerre
All intellectual improvement arises from leisure.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
A man can never be idle with safety and advantage until he has been so trained by work that he makes his freedom from times and tasks more fruitful than his toil has been.
—Hamilton Wright Mabie (1846–1916) American Essayist, Editor
What is without periods of rest will not endure.
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) (c.43 BCE–c.18 CE) Roman Poet
Leisure and solitude are the best effect of riches, because mother of thought. Both are avoided by most rich men, who seek company and business; which are signs of their being weary of themselves.
—William Temple (1881–1944) English Theologian, Archbishop
No rest is worth anything except the rest that is earned.
—Jean Paul (1763–1825) German Novelist, Philosopher
Leisure is a form of silence, not noiselessness. It is the silence of contemplation such as occurs when we let our minds rest on a rosebud, a child at play, a Divine mystery, or a waterfall.
—Fulton J. Sheen (1895–1979) American Catholic Theologian
Leisure is gone; gone where the spinning wheels are gone, and the pack-horses, and the slow wagons, and the peddlers who brought bargains to the door on sunny afternoons.
—George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) (1819–80) English Novelist
To be at ease is better than to be at business. Nothing really belongs to us but time, which even he has who has nothing else.
—Baltasar Gracian (1601–58) Spanish Scholar, Prose Writer
How beautiful is it to do nothing, and then rest afterward.
—Common Proverb
It is most important that we should keep in this country a certain leisured class. I am of the opinion of the ancient Jewish book which says “there is no wisdom without leisure.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939) Irish Poet, Dramatist
For too much rest becomes a pain.
—Homer (751–651 BCE) Ancient Greek Poet
The rhythm of the weekend, with its birth, its planned gaieties, and its announced end, followed the rhythm of life and was a substitute for it.
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940) American Novelist
Employ thy time well if thou meanest to gain leisure; and since thou art not sure of a minute, throw not away an hour. Leisure is time for doing something useful, and this leisure the diligent man will obtain, but the lazy man never, for a life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
Leisure: A fancy word for people who don’t want to admit they’re bored.
—Gene Perret (1937–2022) American Comedy Writer, Producer
Play is the exultation of the possible.
—Martin Buber (1878–1965) Austrian Jewish Theologian, Philosopher, Novelist
You cannot give an instance of any man who is permitted to lay out his own time, contriving not to have tedious hours.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
Nothing gives rest but the sincere search for truth.
—Blaise Pascal (1623–62) French Mathematician, Physicist, Theologian
Cultivated leisure is the aim of man.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
Never less idle than when idle, was the motto which the admirable Vittoria Colonna wrought upon her husband’s dressing-gown. And may we not justly regard our appreciation of leisure as a test of improved character and growing resources?
—Henry Theodore Tuckerman (1813–71) American Author, Critic
It is already possible to imagine a society in which the majority of the population, that is to say, its laborers, will have almost as much leisure as in earlier times was enjoyed by the aristocracy. When one recalls how aristocracies in the past actually behaved, the prospect is not cheerful.
—W. H. Auden (1907–73) British-born American Poet, Dramatist
He does not seem to me to be a free man who does not sometimes do nothing.
—Cicero (106BCE–43BCE) Roman Philosopher, Orator, Politician, Lawyer
Rest breeds rust.
—German Proverb
He that can take rest is greater than he that can take cities.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
Rest, rest, shall I have not all eternity to rest.
—Antoine Arnauld (1612–94) French Philosopher, Lawyer, Mathematician, Theologian
Money and time are the heaviest burdens of life, and the unhappiest of all mortals are those who have more of either than they know how to use.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
He has hard work who has nothing to do.
—Common Proverb
Put off thy cares with thy clothes; so shall thy rest strengthen thy labor; and and so shall thy labor sweeten thy rest.
—Francis Quarles (1592–1644) English Religious Poet
Who wooed in haste and means to wed at leisure.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
And this activity alone would seem to be loved for its own sake; for nothing arises from it apart from the contemplating, while from practical activities we gain more or less apart from the action. And happiness is thought to depend on leisure; for we are busy that we may have leisure, and make war that we may live in peace.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
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