--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To the average man, life presents itself…" description: "\"To the average man, life presents itself, not as material malleable to his hand, but as a series of problems...which he has to solve...And he is distre..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/970/dorothy-l-sayers-738_abandon_to-the-average-man-life-presents-itself_645401.jpg" --- # To the average man, life presents itself, not as material… ![“To the average man, life presents itself, not as material malleable to his hand, but as a series of problems...which he has to solve...And he is distressed to find that the more means he can dispose of-such as machine-power, rapid transport, and general civilized amenities, the more his problems…” quote by Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/970/dorothy-l-sayers-738_abandon_to-the-average-man-life-presents-itself_645401.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/970/dorothy-l-sayers-738_abandon_to-the-average-man-life-presents-itself_645401.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/970/dorothy-l-sayers-738_abandon_to-the-average-man-life-presents-itself_645401.jpg) > “To the average man, life presents itself, not as material malleable to his hand, but as a series of problems...which he has to solve...And he is distressed to find that the more means he can dispose of-such as machine-power, rapid transport, and general civilized amenities, the more his problems grow in hardness and complexity…Perhaps the first thing he can learn form the artists is that the only way of 'mastering' one's material is to abandon the whole conception of mastery and to co-operate with it in love: whosoever will be a lord of life, let him be its servant.” [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is a series of increasingly complex problems that material progress cannot solve; true mastery comes from cooperating with material rather than dominating it. **In simple terms:** Problems grow with progress; cooperate with material. Key Takeaway Embrace humility and partnership with the world. Themes philosophy humility technology mastery Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - technology adoption - personal growth - creative problem solving Key Concepts Complexity cooperation servitude Questions to Reflect On - How can you shift from mastering to serving your environment? - What does “co‑operate with material in love” mean to you? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on material control can ignore spiritual and relational needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Complexity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lord/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machines/) [Mastery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mastery/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Servant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/servant/) ## Related quotes > [Asanas bring perfection in body, beauty in form, grace, strength, compactness, and the hardness and brilliance of a diamond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patanjali/asanas-bring-perfection-in-body-beauty-in-form-grace-strength/) [Patanjali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patanjali/) > [The most interesting place by far was Afghanistan. Just because it is a place that I cannot see myself living. The hardness of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/the-most-interesting-place-by-far-was-afghanistan-just-because-it-is/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [Man at his birth is supple and tender, but in death, he is rigid and hard. Thus, suppleness and tenderness accompany life, but rigidity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/man-at-his-birth-is-supple-and-tender-but-in-death-he-is-rigid-and/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Hardness shatters; strength endures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/hardness-shatters-strength-endures/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [I am deeply moved when I write. I get turned on by it. I've never used any drugs for stimulation. I don't use words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-am-deeply-moved-when-i-write-i-get-turned-on-by-it-i-ve-never-used/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Weakness is a great thing, and strength is nothing. When a man is just born, he is weak and flexible. When he dies, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/weakness-is-a-great-thing-and-strength-is-nothing-when-a-man-is-just/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [She thought of the hardness and the coldness she had cultivated over those years and wondered if they were the mask she wore or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-whalen-turner/she-thought-of-the-hardness-and-the-coldness-she-had-cultivated-over/) [Megan Whalen Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-whalen-turner/) > [Hardness ever of hardness is mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/hardness-ever-of-hardness-is-mother/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [In all things preserve integrity; and the consciousness of your own uprightness will alleviate the toil of business, soften the hardness of ill-success and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babe-paley/in-all-things-preserve-integrity-and-the-consciousness-of-your-own/) [Babe Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babe-paley/) > [We are the new "barbarians", forged in iron hardness in the fires of their hate and persecution. All over the world, we wait to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lincoln-rockwell/we-are-the-new-barbarians-forged-in-iron-hardness-in-the-fires-of/) [George Lincoln Rockwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lincoln-rockwell/) > [Every attainment, every step forward in knowledge, follows from courage, from hardness against oneself, from cleanliness in relation to oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-attainment-every-step-forward-in-knowledge-follows-from-courage/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I place my trust in You, O adorable Blood, our Redemption, our regeneration. Fall, drop by drop, into the hearts that have wandered from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-of-rome/i-place-my-trust-in-you-o-adorable-blood-our-redemption-our/) Agnes of Rome > [I am down mentally. I can't understand how it happened and who is to blame? I don't know why the ground was rolled before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yeasin-khan/i-am-down-mentally-i-can-t-understand-how-it-happened-and-who-is-to/) Yeasin Khan > [“I’m a man of stone - and my hands are not soft enough to brush away, each stray wisp of hair”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-j-geddes/i-m-a-man-of-stone-and-my-hands-are-not-soft-enough-to-brush-away/) [john j geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-j-geddes/) > [Pastoral ministry is about an ongoing confrontation with the god of this world, with blindness, hardness of heart, remaining sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-mahaney/pastoral-ministry-is-about-an-ongoing-confrontation-with-the-god-of/) [C. J. Mahaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-mahaney/) ## More by Dorothy L. Sayers > [“The really essential factors of success in any undertaking are money and opportunity, and as a rule, the man who can make the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/the-really-essential-factors-of-success-in-any-undertaking-are-money/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [The trouble is. . .that everybody sneers at restrictions and demands freedom, till something annoying happens; then they demand angrily what has become of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/the-trouble-is-that-everybody-sneers-at-restrictions-and-demands/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“ Peter! Were you looking for a horse-shoe?" "No; I was expecting the horse, but the shoe is a piece of pure, gorgeous luck."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/peter-were-you-looking-for-a-horse-shoe-no-i-was-expecting-the-horse/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [ “See that the mind is honest, first; the rest may follow or not as God wills. \[That\] the fundamental treason to the mind ...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/see-that-the-mind-is-honest-first-the-rest-may-follow-or-not-as-god/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [But it is the mark of all movements, however well-intentioned, that their pioneers tend, by much lashing of themselves into excitement, to lose sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/but-it-is-the-mark-of-all-movements-however-well-intentioned-that/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [We may argue eloquently that 'Honesty is the best Policy' - unfortunately, the moment honesty is adopted for the sake of policy it mysteriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/we-may-argue-eloquently-that-honesty-is-the-best-policy-unfortunately/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [One must not only die daily, but every day we must be born again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/one-must-not-only-die-daily-but-every-day-we-must-be-born-again/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“By teaching them all to read, we have left them at the mercy of the printed word. By the invention of the film and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/by-teaching-them-all-to-read-we-have-left-them-at-the-mercy-of-the/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [ Perhaps \[the critics are right and\] the drama is played out now and Jesus is safely dead and buried. Perhaps. It is ironical and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/perhaps-the-critics-are-right-and-the-drama-is-played-out-now-and/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [... at no point have I yet found artistic truth and theological truth at variance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/at-no-point-have-i-yet-found-artistic-truth-and-theological-truth-at/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [I have never yet heard any middle-aged man or woman who worked with his or her brains express any regret for the passing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/i-have-never-yet-heard-any-middle-aged-man-or-woman-who-worked-with/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“That was the second time within five minutes that he had warned her off his private ground. His mood had changed since the early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/that-was-the-second-time-within-five-minutes-that-he-had-warned-her/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“To obey orders in this family has been my privilege for the last twenty years--a privilege which has been an unqualified pleasure, except perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/to-obey-orders-in-this-family-has-been-my-privilege-for-the-last/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [Those who make some other person their job... are dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/those-who-make-some-other-person-their-job-are-dangerous/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“Yes, and look at the corpses. Place always reminds me of that old thing in Punch, you know—‘Waiter, take away Lord Whatsisname, he’s been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/yes-and-look-at-the-corpses-place-always-reminds-me-of-that-old-thing/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) [Explore all 386 Dorothy L. Sayers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) ## More Abandon quotes > [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 > [The purpose of a spirit filled life is to demonstrate the supernatural power of our living God so that the unsaved multitudes will abandon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-l-osborn/the-purpose-of-a-spirit-filled-life-is-to-demonstrate-the/) [T.L. Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-l-osborn/) > [However, however, if the goal is to abandon America's free enterprise economy, if the goal is to convert America into a submissive member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/however-however-if-the-goal-is-to-abandon-america-s-free-enterprise/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [I would leave at once, but it would be cruel to abandon a lady in a foreign land with a maniac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-would-leave-at-once-but-it-would-be-cruel-to-abandon-a-lady-in-a/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) > [every subjective phenomenon is essentially connected with a single point of view, and it seems inevitable that an objective, physical theory will abandon that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/every-subjective-phenomenon-is-essentially-connected-with-a-single/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Every great thing starts with an idea, followed by a doubt and finally a resolve to abandon or pursue. Victory is a treacherous journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/every-great-thing-starts-with-an-idea-followed-by-a-doubt-and-finally/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [Those who have been once intoxicated with power, and have derived any kind of emolument from it, even though but for one year, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/those-who-have-been-once-intoxicated-with-power-and-have-derived-any/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/do-not-lose-hope-st-joseph-also-experienced-moments-of-difficulty-but/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Don't give up because things are hard, but work harder, when you think of giving up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/don-t-give-up-because-things-are-hard-but-work-harder-when-you-think/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [Sex is not the ultimate high, but the ultimate high hangs out around sex. 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I like being taken to the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ifans/i-ve-been-to-unpretty-places-with-the-roles-i-ve-played-and-i-m/) [Rhys Ifans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ifans/) Browse all 1,142 Abandon quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To the average man, life presents itself, not as material malleable to his hand, but as a series of problems...which he has to solve...And he is distressed to find that the more means he can dispose of-such as machine-power, rapid transport, and general civilized amenities, the more his problems grow in hardness and complexity…Perhaps the first thing he can learn form the artists is that the only way of 'mastering' one's material is to abandon the whole conception of mastery and to co-operate with it in love: whosoever will be a lord of life, let him be its servant.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dorothy L. 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