Idleness Quotes

269 quotes by 179 authors

Untilled soil, however fertile it may be, will bear thistles and thorns; so it is with man's mind. — Teresa of Avila
We cannot afford idleness, waste or inefficiency. — Eamon de Valera
If you write, good ideas must come welling up into you so that you have something to write. If good ideas do not come at… — Brenda Ueland
The outlook for our country lies in the quality of its idleness. — Irwin Edman
I think periods of browsing during which no occupation is imposed from without are important in youth because they give time for the formation of… — Bertrand Russell
Idleness leads to relaxation, sooner or later bringing about ideological and material corruption, accompanied by lack of discipline, anarchy chaos and defeat. — Samora Machel
The idea of passing one's whole life in moral idleness, and having one's hardest work and duty done by another-whether God or man-is most revolting… — H. P. Blavatsky
Idleness does drive me crazy, but I'd rather read or write than do anything just to work. A kind of respect has been instilled in… — Karen Allen
... Oceanic malaise. I never saw anyone reading anything more demanding than a comic book. I never heard any youth express an interest in science… — Paul Theroux
Fear is nothing but idleness of the will... — Eliphas Levi
Mistakes are good, successes are great, and idleness is a sin. — Mike Michalowicz
Idleness is the grand Pacific Ocean of life, and in that stagnant abyss the most salutary things produce no good, the most noxious no evil.… — Charles Caleb Colton
Some people have a perfect genius for doing nothing, and doing it assiduously. — Thomas Chandler Haliburton
National progress is the sum of individual industry, energy, and uprightness, as national decay is of individual idleness, selfishness, and vice. — Samuel Smiles
Provide yourself with such work for your hands as can be done, if possible, both during the day and at night, so that you are… — Evagrius Ponticus
Our rulers will best promote the improvement of the nation by strictly confining themselves to their own legitimate duties, by leaving capital to find its… — Thomas B. Macaulay
If you are idle, you are on the road to ruin; and there are few stopping-places upon it. It is rather a precipice than a… — Henry Ward Beecher
Busy idleness urges us on. — Horace
They change their sky, not their mind, who cross the sea. A busy idleness possesses us: we seek a happy life, with ships and carriages:… — Horace
We are lazier in our minds than in our bodies. — Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Who Wrote These Idleness Quotes

179 authors contributed a total of 269 Idleness Quotes, led by these top contributors: