--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The most durable monument of human labor…" description: "\"The most durable monument of human labor is that which recalls the wretchedness and nothingness of man.\" — Alexis de Tocqueville" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_humans_the-most-durable-monument-of-human-labor_397476.png" --- # The most durable monument of human labor is that which… ![“The most durable monument of human labor is that which recalls the wretchedness and nothingness of man.” quote by Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_humans_the-most-durable-monument-of-human-labor_397476.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_humans_the-most-durable-monument-of-human-labor_397476.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_humans_the-most-durable-monument-of-human-labor_397476.png) > “The most durable monument of human labor is that which recalls the wretchedness and nothingness of man.” [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human labor often creates monuments that highlight humanity’s suffering and emptiness rather than triumph. **In simple terms:** Labor can reveal humanity’s bleakness. Key Takeaway Reflect on the purpose behind your work. Themes existential philosophical labor Mood thoughtful somber Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - art criticism - historical analysis - personal reflection Key Concepts meaning nihilism human condition Questions to Reflect On - How does your work address human suffering? - Can creation become a source of meaning? A Different Perspective Monuments may also inspire hope or change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Monument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monument/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Nothingness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothingness/) ## Related quotes > [The career of a great man remains an enduring monument of human energy. The man dies and disappears, but his thoughts and acts survive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-career-of-a-great-man-remains-an-enduring-monument-of-human/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The Crusades - the most signal and most durable monument of human folly that has yet appeared in any age or nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-crusades-the-most-signal-and-most-durable-monument-of-human-folly/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [It so happens that the work which is likely to be our most durable monument, and to convey some knowledge of us to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/montgomery-schuyler/it-so-happens-that-the-work-which-is-likely-to-be-our-most-durable/) Montgomery Schuyler > [The nations of our time cannot prevent the conditions of men from becoming equal, but it depends upon themselves whether the principle of equality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-nations-of-our-time-cannot-prevent-the-conditions-of-men-from/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [ If a \[democratic\] society displays less brilliance than an aristocracy, there will also be less wretchedness; pleasures will be less outrageous and wellbeing will… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/if-a-democratic-society-displays-less-brilliance-than-an-aristocracy/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Human labor cannot compete with fixed capital - that's just a fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ash-sarkar/human-labor-cannot-compete-with-fixed-capital-that-s-just-a-fact/) [Ash Sarkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ash-sarkar/) > [There is not a tool, an implement, or a machine that has not resulted in a decrease in the contribution of human labor. Labor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/there-is-not-a-tool-an-implement-or-a-machine-that-has-not-resulted/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [Socialism proposes no adequate substitute for the motive of enlightened selfishness that today is at the basis of all human labor and effort, enterprise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-howard-taft/socialism-proposes-no-adequate-substitute-for-the-motive-of/) [William Howard Taft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-howard-taft/) > [In antiquity, agriculture and industry depended completely on human labor; but now, with the development of natural forces that human labor cannot match, agriculture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-yat-sen/in-antiquity-agriculture-and-industry-depended-completely-on-human/) [Sun Yat-sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-yat-sen/) > [The thing I don't understand is why so often one hears discussion of the fruits of human labor as if it's all the creation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/the-thing-i-don-t-understand-is-why-so-often-one-hears-discussion-of/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) > [Nature repairs her ravages,--repairs them with her sunshine and with human labor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/nature-repairs-her-ravages-repairs-them-with-her-sunshine-and-with/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [This priesthood became a closed group, able to control enormous wealth and incomes, and concerned very largely with the study of the solar and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-quigley/this-priesthood-became-a-closed-group-able-to-control-enormous-wealth/) [Carroll Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-quigley/) > [The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of human labor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-essential-act-of-war-is-destruction-not-necessarily-of-human/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Working for a just distribution of the fruits of the earth and human labor is not mere philanthropy. It is a moral obligation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/working-for-a-just-distribution-of-the-fruits-of-the-earth-and-human/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Marx saw exploitation in terms of the rewards of human labor, but we can see it in terms of all the values of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-reich/marx-saw-exploitation-in-terms-of-the-rewards-of-human-labor-but-we/) [Charles A. Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/) ## More by Alexis de Tocqueville > [All around you everything is on the move,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/all-around-you-everything-is-on-the-move/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [No state of society or laws can render men so much alike but that education, fortune, and tastes will interpose some differences between them;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/no-state-of-society-or-laws-can-render-men-so-much-alike-but-that/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [I do not know if the people of the United States would vote for superior men if they ran for office, but there can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-do-not-know-if-the-people-of-the-united-states-would-vote-for/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [What good does it do me, after all, if an ever-watchful authority keeps an eye out to ensure that my pleasures will be tranquil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/what-good-does-it-do-me-after-all-if-an-ever-watchful-authority-keeps/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-greatness-of-america-lies-not-in-being-more-enlightened-than-any/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“I am unacquainted with His designs, but I shall not cease to believe in them because I cannot fathom them, and I had rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-am-unacquainted-with-his-designs-but-i-shall-not-cease-to-believe/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [I questioned the faithful of all communions; I particularly sought the society of clergymen, who are the depositories of the various creeds and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-questioned-the-faithful-of-all-communions-i-particularly-sought-the/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Christianity is the companion of liberty in all its conflicts, the cradle of its infancy, and the divine source of its claims.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/christianity-is-the-companion-of-liberty-in-all-its-conflicts-the/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [The more alike men are, the weaker each feels in the face of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-more-alike-men-are-the-weaker-each-feels-in-the-face-of-all/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“There is a twofold liberty, natural (I mean as our nature is now corrupt) and civil or federal. The first is common to man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/there-is-a-twofold-liberty-natural-i-mean-as-our-nature-is-now/) [Alexis De Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Upon my arrival in the United States the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention; and the longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/upon-my-arrival-in-the-united-states-the-religious-aspect-of-the/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Despotism often presents itself as the repairer of all the ills suffered, the support of just rights, defender of the oppressed, and founder of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/despotism-often-presents-itself-as-the-repairer-of-all-the-ills/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [On this waterlogged landscape…are scattered palaces and hovels…It is here that the human spirit becomes perfect, and at the same time brutalised, that civilisation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/on-this-waterlogged-landscape-are-scattered-palaces-and-hovels-it-is/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/despotism-may-govern-without-faith-but-liberty-cannot/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) [Explore all 438 Alexis de Tocqueville quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) ## More Humans quotes > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) Kenan Malik > [Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/human-beings-have-an-innate-inner-drive-to-be-autonomous-self/) [Daniel H. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/) > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) [Browse all 32,126 Humans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The most durable monument of human labor is that which recalls the wretchedness and nothingness of man.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexis de Tocqueville" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-most-durable-monument-of-human-labor-is-that-which-recalls-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Humans" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-most-durable-monument-of-human-labor-is-that-which-recalls-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_humans_the-most-durable-monument-of-human-labor_397476.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_humans_the-most-durable-monument-of-human-labor_397476.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_humans_the-most-durable-monument-of-human-labor_397476.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The most durable monument of human labor is that which recalls the wretchedness and nothingness of man.” — Alexis de Tocqueville", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "Alexis de Tocqueville", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The most durable monument of human...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-most-durable-monument-of-human-labor-is-that-which-recalls-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-most-durable-monument-of-human-labor-is-that-which-recalls-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```