--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Poverty makes a slave out of men. In…" description: "\"“Poverty makes a slave out of men. In order to eat he will accept work that gives no pleasure.”\" — André Gide" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a16/andre-gide-790_philosophical_poverty-makes-a-slave-out-of-men-in-orde_1793607.png" --- # Poverty makes a slave out of men. In order to eat he will… ![“Poverty makes a slave out of men. In order to eat he will accept work that gives no pleasure.” quote by André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a16/andre-gide-790_philosophical_poverty-makes-a-slave-out-of-men-in-orde_1793607.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a16/andre-gide-790_philosophical_poverty-makes-a-slave-out-of-men-in-orde_1793607.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a16/andre-gide-790_philosophical_poverty-makes-a-slave-out-of-men-in-orde_1793607.png) > ““Poverty makes a slave out of men. In order to eat he will accept work that gives no pleasure.”” [André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poverty forces people into unfulfilling labor, turning them into metaphorical slaves. **In simple terms:** Poverty drives people to despised work. Key Takeaway Seek dignity in work. Themes poverty labor freedom Mood somber motivational Type social philosophical When to use this quote - job search - career change - social policy - education programs Key Concepts Existentialism social critique Questions to Reflect On - How can society provide meaningful work? - What personal steps can reduce reliance on unsatisfying jobs? A Different Perspective Economic constraints limit choices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Makes Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/makes-slave-1967935/) [Philosophical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophical/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Poverty Makes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty-makes-660759/) [Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave/) [Slave Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave-men-1967936/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) ## Related quotes > [To the Memory of those faithful brown slave-men of the plantations throughout the South, Daddy's contemporaries all, who during the war while their masters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-stout/to-the-memory-of-those-faithful-brown-slave-men-of-the-plantations/) [Ruth Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-stout/) > [Some, I verily believe, delight to be slave-men; it is a joy to them, and they would not change their condition; not only miserable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jefferies/some-i-verily-believe-delight-to-be-slave-men-it-is-a-joy-to-them-and/) [Richard Jefferies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jefferies/) > [When human statecraft attaches a chain to the feet of a free man, whom it makes a slave in contempt of nature and citizenship,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-antoine-de-saint-just/when-human-statecraft-attaches-a-chain-to-the-feet-of-a-free-man-whom/) [Louis Antoine de Saint-Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-antoine-de-saint-just/) > [“He who denies to another this right, makes a slave of himself to his present opinion, because he precludes himself the right of changing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/he-who-denies-to-another-this-right-makes-a-slave-of-himself-to-his/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Man is born to seek power, yet his actual condition makes him a slave to the power of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-morgenthau/man-is-born-to-seek-power-yet-his-actual-condition-makes-him-a-slave/) [Hans Morgenthau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-morgenthau/) > [Mathematics is the source of a wicked intellect that, while making man the lord of the earth, also makes him the slave of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/mathematics-is-the-source-of-a-wicked-intellect-that-while-making-man/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [He that communicates his secret to another makes himself that other's slave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/he-that-communicates-his-secret-to-another-makes-himself-that-other-s/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [Fortune's unjust; she ruins oft the brave, and him who should be victor, makes the slave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/fortune-s-unjust-she-ruins-oft-the-brave-and-him-who-should-be-victor/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [Poverty makes you sad as well as wise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/poverty-makes-you-sad-as-well-as-wise/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Poverty makes people sub-human Excess of wealth makes people inhuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/poverty-makes-people-sub-human-excess-of-wealth-makes-people-inhuman/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [The Democrat Party makes as many people victims as possible because it freezes them right where they are. And that's usually in lower middle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-democrat-party-makes-as-many-people-victims-as-possible-because/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [There is hunger for ordinary bread, and there is hunger for love, for kindness, for thoughtfulness, and this is the great poverty that makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/there-is-hunger-for-ordinary-bread-and-there-is-hunger-for-love-for/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Poverty makes it very difficult in an already competitive world for kids to get on a straight track where they can actually love learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/poverty-makes-it-very-difficult-in-an-already-competitive-world-for/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) > [Poverty makes you wise but it's a curse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/poverty-makes-you-wise-but-it-s-a-curse/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Poverty makes you work really hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maye-musk/poverty-makes-you-work-really-hard/) [Maye Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maye-musk/) ## More by André Gide > [Without mysticism man can achieve nothing great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/without-mysticism-man-can-achieve-nothing-great/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“The things one feels are different about oneself are the things that are rare, that give each person their value - and these are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/the-things-one-feels-are-different-about-oneself-are-the-things-that/) [André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [I believe that in every circumstance I have been able to see rather clearly the most advantageous course I could follow, which is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/i-believe-that-in-every-circumstance-i-have-been-able-to-see-rather/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [Know thyself. A maxim as pernicious as it is ugly. Whoever studies himself arrest his own development. A caterpillar who seeks to know himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/know-thyself-a-maxim-as-pernicious-as-it-is-ugly-whoever-studies/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“There is a germ of revolt lying in the spirit of inquiry and critical curiosity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/there-is-a-germ-of-revolt-lying-in-the-spirit-of-inquiry-and-critical/) [André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [Oh, would that my mind could let fall its dead ideas, as the tree does its withered leaves!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/oh-would-that-my-mind-could-let-fall-its-dead-ideas-as-the-tree-does/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [God lies ahead. I convince myself and constantly repeat to myself that: He depends on us. It is through us that God is achieved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/god-lies-ahead-i-convince-myself-and-constantly-repeat-to-myself-that/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“Welcome everything that comes to you, but do not long for anything else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/welcome-everything-that-comes-to-you-but-do-not-long-for-anything-else/) [André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [There are many things that seem impossible only so long as one does not attempt them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/there-are-many-things-that-seem-impossible-only-so-long-as-one-does/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [Envying another man's happiness is madness; you wouldn't know what to do with it if you had it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/envying-another-man-s-happiness-is-madness-you-wouldn-t-know-what-to/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [So long as we live among men, let us cherish humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/so-long-as-we-live-among-men-let-us-cherish-humanity/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [It is one of life's laws that as soon as one door closes another opens. But the tragedy is we look at the closed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/it-is-one-of-life-s-laws-that-as-soon-as-one-door-closes-another/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“What would a narrative of happiness be like? All that can be described is what prepares it, and then what destroys it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/what-would-a-narrative-of-happiness-be-like-all-that-can-be-described/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [It is with noble sentiments that bad literature gets written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/it-is-with-noble-sentiments-that-bad-literature-gets-written/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“C'est dans l'extraordinaire que je me sens le plus naturel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/c-est-dans-l-extraordinaire-que-je-me-sens-le-plus-naturel/) [André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) [Explore all 304 André Gide quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) ## More Philosophical quotes > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [“Designing posters, for me, is not only a commercial pursuit but also a philosophical endeavor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fang-chen/designing-posters-for-me-is-not-only-a-commercial-pursuit-but-also-a/) [Fang Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fang-chen/) > [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [I think it's in our nature to try to get beyond that next horizon. I think that when we as a species are scratching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-howard/i-think-it-s-in-our-nature-to-try-to-get-beyond-that-next-horizon-i/) [Ron Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-howard/) > [As our domestic fowls are said to have their original in the wild pheasant of India, so our domestic thoughts have their prototypes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-our-domestic-fowls-are-said-to-have-their-original-in-the-wild/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Fiecare dintre noi a inteles, probabil, atunci ca nu exista "mai tarziu". Ca tot ce nu traim ramane netrait. Eu, oricum, aveam gust de…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavian-paler/fiecare-dintre-noi-a-inteles-probabil-atunci-ca-nu-exista-mai-tarziu/) [Octavian Paler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavian-paler/) > [Reason is universal because no attempted challenge to its results can avoid appealing to reason in the end-by claiming, for example, that what was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/reason-is-universal-because-no-attempted-challenge-to-its-results-can/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [“No es que escribir me produzca un gran placer, pero es mucho peor si no lo hago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/no-es-que-escribir-me-produzca-un-gran-placer-pero-es-mucho-peor-si/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“Only you are yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-trott/only-you-are-yours/) [Susan Trott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-trott/) > [“Dreams are doorways into other dimensions that you forget how to open once you’re awake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-m-arcejaeger/dreams-are-doorways-into-other-dimensions-that-you-forget-how-to-open/) [R.M. ArceJaeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-m-arcejaeger/) > [“One of the protestor's sign catches my eye. HOMISEXUALITY IS THE DEVIL'S WORK, it says. And once again I think about how people use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/one-of-the-protestor-s-sign-catches-my-eye-homisexuality-is-the-devil/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Poerty is composition to which the soul bleeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adkruk/poerty-is-composition-to-which-the-soul-bleeds/) [ADKruk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adkruk/) > [In fine, a life of good or evil, the hope of Heaven or the despair of Hell, Faustus stands as a reminder that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-fine-a-life-of-good-or-evil-the-hope-of-heaven-or-the-despair-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's not a failure if a marriage or partnership ends after a certain number of years. I think, in general, we expect too much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-moggach/it-s-not-a-failure-if-a-marriage-or-partnership-ends-after-a-certain/) [Deborah Moggach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-moggach/) > [“The truth about life is complicated, indefensible and embarrassing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-weinle/the-truth-about-life-is-complicated-indefensible-and-embarrassing/) [Alex Weinle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-weinle/) [Browse all 2,023 Philosophical quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophical/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Poverty makes a slave out of men. In order to eat he will accept work that gives no pleasure.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "André Gide" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/poverty-makes-a-slave-out-of-men-in-order-to-eat-he-will-accept-work/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Philosophical" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/poverty-makes-a-slave-out-of-men-in-order-to-eat-he-will-accept-work/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a16/andre-gide-790_philosophical_poverty-makes-a-slave-out-of-men-in-orde_1793607.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a16/andre-gide-790_philosophical_poverty-makes-a-slave-out-of-men-in-orde_1793607.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a16/andre-gide-790_philosophical_poverty-makes-a-slave-out-of-men-in-orde_1793607.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Poverty makes a slave out of men. In order to eat he will accept work that gives no pleasure.” — André Gide", "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": "André Gide", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Poverty makes a slave out of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/poverty-makes-a-slave-out-of-men-in-order-to-eat-he-will-accept-work/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/poverty-makes-a-slave-out-of-men-in-order-to-eat-he-will-accept-work/#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 } } ] } ```