---
title: "2 Concept Quotes By John Steinbeck"
description: "2 Concept quotes by John Steinbeck. Plus more from John Steinbeck and more Concept sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d06/john-steinbeck-71_concept_the-last-clear-definite-function-of-man_2258504.jpg"
---

> [“The last clear definite function of man—muscles aching to work, minds aching to create beyond the single need—this is man…For man, unlike any other thing organic or inorganic in the universe, grows beyond his work, walks up the stairs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/the-last-clear-definite-function-of-man-muscles-aching-to-work-minds/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d06/john-steinbeck-71_concept_the-last-clear-definite-function-of-man_2258504.jpg)

> [“Need is the stimulus to concept, concept to action.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/need-is-the-stimulus-to-concept-concept-to-action/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/798/john-steinbeck-71_concept_need-is-the-stimulus-to-concept-concept_2694603.jpg)

## Other authors on Concept

## More by John Steinbeck

> [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [Prayer never brought in no side-meat. Takes a shoat to bring in pork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/prayer-never-brought-in-no-side-meat-takes-a-shoat-to-bring-in-pork/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [“And now submarines are armed with mass murder, our silly, only way of deterring mass murder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-now-submarines-are-armed-with-mass-murder-our-silly-only-way-of/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [“I’d think there are degrees of greatness,” Adam said. “I don’t think so,” said Samuel. “That would be like saying there is a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-d-think-there-are-degrees-of-greatness-adam-said-i-don-t-think-so/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [“He was forever inventing a new way of doing an old thing and doing it better and quicker, but he never in his whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/he-was-forever-inventing-a-new-way-of-doing-an-old-thing-and-doing-it/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [“You come back a changed man. Samuel, you don’t change him. He changes you. I can see the look of him in your face.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/you-come-back-a-changed-man-samuel-you-don-t-change-him-he-changes/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [I find out of long experience that I admire all nations and hate all governments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-find-out-of-long-experience-that-i-admire-all-nations-and-hate-all/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [At about 10 o'clock in the morning the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows and in and out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/at-about-10-o-clock-in-the-morning-the-sun-threw-a-bright-dust-laden/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [I have noticed that there is no dissatisfaction like that of the rich. Feed a man, clothe him, put him in a good house,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-noticed-that-there-is-no-dissatisfaction-like-that-of-the-rich/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [“Who in his mind has not probe the dark water?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/who-in-his-mind-has-not-probe-the-dark-water/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [Sometimes, a lie is told in kindness. I don't believe it ever works kindly. The quick pain of truth can pass away, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/sometimes-a-lie-is-told-in-kindness-i-don-t-believe-it-ever-works/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [People like you to be something, preferably what they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/people-like-you-to-be-something-preferably-what-they-are/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [“Suddenly he knew joy and sorrow felted into one fabric. Courage and fear were one thing too. He found that he had started to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/suddenly-he-knew-joy-and-sorrow-felted-into-one-fabric-courage-and/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [I am writing this from what we Americans call Yurrp. In Yurrp writers are taken as seriously as Lana Turner's legs are in America…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-am-writing-this-from-what-we-americans-call-yurrp-in-yurrp-writers/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [I write because I like to write. I find joy in the texture and tone and rhythm of words. It is a satisfaction like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-write-because-i-like-to-write-i-find-joy-in-the-texture-and-tone/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concept/john-steinbeck/#itemlist",
            "name": "2 Concept Quotes By John Steinbeck",
            "numberOfItems": 2,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“The last clear definite function of man—muscles aching to work, minds aching to create beyond the single need—this is man…For man, unlike any other thing organic or inorganic in the universe, grows beyond his work, walks up the stairs of his concepts, emerges ahead of his accomplishments. This you may say of man—when theories change and crash, when schools, philosophies, when narrow dark alleys of thought, national, religious, economic, grow and disintegrate, man reaches, stumbles forward, painfully, mistakenly sometimes. Having stepped forward, he may slip back, but only half a step, never the full step back. This you may say and know it and know it. This you may know when the bombs plummet out of the black planes on the market place, when prisoners are stuck like pigs, when the crushed bodies drain filthily in the dust. You may know it in this way. If the step were not being taken, if the stumbling-forward ache were not alive, the bombs would not fall, the throats would not be cut. Fear the time when the bombs stop falling while the bombers live—for every bomb is proof that the spirit has not died. And fear the time when the strikes stop while the great owners live—for every little beaten strike is proof that the step is being taken. And this you can know—fear the time when Manself will not suffer and die for a concept, for this one quality is the foundation of Manself, and this one quality is man, distinctive in the universe.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "John Steinbeck"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/the-last-clear-definite-function-of-man-muscles-aching-to-work-minds/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d06/john-steinbeck-71_concept_the-last-clear-definite-function-of-man_2258504.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d06/john-steinbeck-71_concept_the-last-clear-definite-function-of-man_2258504.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d06/john-steinbeck-71_concept_the-last-clear-definite-function-of-man_2258504.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The last clear definite function of man—muscles aching to work, minds aching to create beyond the single…” — John Steinbeck",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“Need is the stimulus to concept, concept to action.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "John Steinbeck"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/need-is-the-stimulus-to-concept-concept-to-action/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/798/john-steinbeck-71_concept_need-is-the-stimulus-to-concept-concept_2694603.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/798/john-steinbeck-71_concept_need-is-the-stimulus-to-concept-concept_2694603.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/798/john-steinbeck-71_concept_need-is-the-stimulus-to-concept-concept_2694603.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Need is the stimulus to concept, concept to action.” — John Steinbeck",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concept/john-steinbeck/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concept/john-steinbeck/",
            "name": "Concept Quotes by John Steinbeck",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concept/john-steinbeck/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d06/john-steinbeck-71_concept_the-last-clear-definite-function-of-man_2258504.jpg"
            },
            "description": "2 Concept quotes by John Steinbeck. Plus more from John Steinbeck and more Concept sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concept/john-steinbeck/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concept/john-steinbeck/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Concept",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concept/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "John Steinbeck",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concept/john-steinbeck/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```