--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only literary men are those who have…" description: "\"The only literary men are those who have to work at it.\" — George Ade" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a9/george-ade-8718_men_the-only-literary-men-are-those-who-have_1750713.jpg" --- # The only literary men are those who have to work at it. ![“The only literary men are those who have to work at it.” quote by George Ade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a9/george-ade-8718_men_the-only-literary-men-are-those-who-have_1750713.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a9/george-ade-8718_men_the-only-literary-men-are-those-who-have_1750713.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a9/george-ade-8718_men_the-only-literary-men-are-those-who-have_1750713.jpg) > “The only literary men are those who have to work at it.” [George Ade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ade/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literary work requires effort; talent alone is insufficient. **In simple terms:** Writing needs hard work. Key Takeaway Put in the work. Themes writing effort creativity Mood determined reflective Type advice motivational When to use this quote - authoring - academic writing - creative projects Key Concepts discipline craftsmanship Questions to Reflect On - How do you sustain effort in creative tasks? - What habits support disciplined writing? A Different Perspective Talent without effort yields little. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary/) [Literary Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary-men-1480020/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-work/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [In general I do not draw well with literary men -- not that I dislike them but I never know what to say to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/in-general-i-do-not-draw-well-with-literary-men-not-that-i-dislike/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Literary men now routinely tell their readers about their divorces. One literary man who reviews books wrote, in reviewing a study of Ruskin, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-s-trow/literary-men-now-routinely-tell-their-readers-about-their-divorces/) [George W. S. Trow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-s-trow/) > [it never really occurred to her that literary men, if they like women at all, do not want literary women but girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-spark/it-never-really-occurred-to-her-that-literary-men-if-they-like-women/) [Muriel Spark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-spark/) > [“Never in her life had she seen such literary men. They were incredibly vain, but made no secret of it, as though they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/never-in-her-life-had-she-seen-such-literary-men-they-were-incredibly/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [There is a great discovery still to be made in literature, that of paying literary men by the quantity they do not write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/there-is-a-great-discovery-still-to-be-made-in-literature-that-of/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Perhaps the greatest lesson which the lives of literary men teach us is told in a single word\* Wait!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/perhaps-the-greatest-lesson-which-the-lives-of-literary-men-teach-us/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [One would think that in writing about literary men and matters there would be no difficulty in finding a title for one's essay, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-payn/one-would-think-that-in-writing-about-literary-men-and-matters-there/) [James Payn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-payn/) > [Literary men are . . . a perpetual priesthood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/literary-men-are-a-perpetual-priesthood/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [All literary men are Red Sox fans - to be a Yankee fan in a literate society is to endanger your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/all-literary-men-are-red-sox-fans-to-be-a-yankee-fan-in-a-literate/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [Classical quotation is the parole of literary men all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/classical-quotation-is-the-parole-of-literary-men-all-over-the-world/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Literary men are being employed to praise a big business man personally, as men used to praise a king. They not only find political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/literary-men-are-being-employed-to-praise-a-big-business-man/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [When we consider the weak and nerveless periods of some literary men, who perchance in feet and inches come up to the standard oftheir…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-we-consider-the-weak-and-nerveless-periods-of-some-literary-men/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“It may be whispered to those uninitiated people who are anxious to know the habits and make the acquaintance of men of letters, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/it-may-be-whispered-to-those-uninitiated-people-who-are-anxious-to/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Parisian men make love all day and have no time to work; American men work all day and have no time for love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zsa-zsa-gabor/parisian-men-make-love-all-day-and-have-no-time-to-work-american-men/) [Zsa Zsa Gabor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zsa-zsa-gabor/) > [“ROM1.24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:  ROM1.25…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rom1-24-wherefore-god-also-gave-them-up-to-uncleanness-through-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by George Ade > [A bird in the hand may be worth two in the bush, but remember also that a bird in the hand is a positive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ade/a-bird-in-the-hand-may-be-worth-two-in-the-bush-but-remember-also/) [George Ade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ade/) > [Scatter seeds of kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ade/scatter-seeds-of-kindness/) [George Ade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ade/) > [A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but would not cost half as much during the winter months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ade/a-rose-by-any-other-name-would-smell-as-sweet-but-would-not-cost-half/) [George Ade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ade/) > [Opportunity knocks once at every man's door and then keeps on knocking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ade/opportunity-knocks-once-at-every-man-s-door-and-then-keeps-on-knocking/) [George Ade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ade/) > [Moral: Don't try to Account for Anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ade/moral-don-t-try-to-account-for-anything/) [George Ade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ade/) > [The higher they fly the harder they fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ade/the-higher-they-fly-the-harder-they-fall/) [George Ade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ade/) > [“Whom are you?” said he, for he had been to night school.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ade/whom-are-you-said-he-for-he-had-been-to-night-school/) [George Ade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ade/) > [The serpent is helpless unless he finds an apple to work with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ade/the-serpent-is-helpless-unless-he-finds-an-apple-to-work-with/) [George Ade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ade/) > [I got the breaks. Starting from nowhere in the corn belt, I helped edit a country weekly, then was jack-of-all-departments on an obscure daily,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ade/i-got-the-breaks-starting-from-nowhere-in-the-corn-belt-i-helped-edit/) [George Ade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ade/) > [Those who have tried meekness know the importance of being important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ade/those-who-have-tried-meekness-know-the-importance-of-being-important/) [George Ade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ade/) > [Never pretend to have money except when you are in straits. The poor man who pretends to have a bank account betters his credit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ade/never-pretend-to-have-money-except-when-you-are-in-straits-the-poor/) [George Ade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ade/) > [As the twig is bent the tree is inclined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ade/as-the-twig-is-bent-the-tree-is-inclined/) [George Ade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ade/) > [Moral: It all depends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ade/moral-it-all-depends/) [George Ade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ade/) > [“In the city a funeral is just an interruption of traffic; in the country it is a form of entertainment. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ade/in-the-city-a-funeral-is-just-an-interruption-of-traffic-in-the/) [George Ade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ade/) > [Nothing is improbable until it moves into past tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ade/nothing-is-improbable-until-it-moves-into-past-tense/) [George Ade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ade/) [Explore all 78 George Ade quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ade/) ## More Literary quotes > [Literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language, deviates systematically from everyday speech. If you approach me at a bus stop and murmur Thou still unravished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/literature-transforms-and-intensifies-ordinary-language-deviates/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [“And when I’d settled down, I considered the possibility that I wasn’t yet ready to ask for the love of anyone because I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-decker/and-when-i-d-settled-down-i-considered-the-possibility-that-i-wasn-t/) [Steven Decker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-decker/) > [They never opened the door which leads to the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/they-never-opened-the-door-which-leads-to-the-soul/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [I have said it somewhere - our literary lived lives are as important as our literally lived lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/i-have-said-it-somewhere-our-literary-lived-lives-are-as-important-as/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [There's definitely been a focus on the literary aspects of my music, and I always get a little cringey because I don't feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-holter/there-s-definitely-been-a-focus-on-the-literary-aspects-of-my-music/) [Julia Holter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-holter/) > [Criticism even should not be without its charms. When quite devoid of all amenities, it is no longer literary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/criticism-even-should-not-be-without-its-charms-when-quite-devoid-of/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [I'm more interested than Philip Roth in understanding women, even if I do it imperfectly. But that book, Portnoy's Complaint, is literary punk in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karan-mahajan/i-m-more-interested-than-philip-roth-in-understanding-women-even-if-i/) [Karan Mahajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karan-mahajan/) > [I would say that there is no future for literary studies as such in the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/i-would-say-that-there-is-no-future-for-literary-studies-as-such-in/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [I say quotations are literary. They are good only when dealing with ideas, not with experience. Experience should be pure, unique.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-say-quotations-are-literary-they-are-good-only-when-dealing-with/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [“You're smiling. But you must know yourself, since you are a literary person, that the work of fiction is always a form of recovery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-federman/you-re-smiling-but-you-must-know-yourself-since-you-are-a-literary/) [Raymond Federman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-federman/) > [I'm not against asking the audience to work, but I think what you have now is a sort of gratuitous deconstruction as a result…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-miller/i-m-not-against-asking-the-audience-to-work-but-i-think-what-you-have/) [Jonathan Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-miller/) > [In a fit of pique, I said to my agent, 'I'm going to write something you can sell.' The idea was to write a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/in-a-fit-of-pique-i-said-to-my-agent-i-m-going-to-write-something-you/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [Anuj Bahari has always been a really good literary agent for me. What a good agent does is that he manages many of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amish-tripathi/anuj-bahari-has-always-been-a-really-good-literary-agent-for-me-what/) [Amish Tripathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amish-tripathi/) > [Karl Ove Knausgaard is one of my literary heroes. This distresses many of my female, queer, and trans friends: Torrey, you have every woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-peters/karl-ove-knausgaard-is-one-of-my-literary-heroes-this-distresses-many/) [Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/) > [I don't have a whole bunch of literary connections. I don't write reviews or attend writer's conferences. I'm kind of shy and don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-kaysen/i-don-t-have-a-whole-bunch-of-literary-connections-i-don-t-write/) [Susanna Kaysen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-kaysen/) [Browse all 642 Literary quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The only literary men are those who have to work at it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Ade" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ade/the-only-literary-men-are-those-who-have-to-work-at-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Literary" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ade/the-only-literary-men-are-those-who-have-to-work-at-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a9/george-ade-8718_men_the-only-literary-men-are-those-who-have_1750713.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a9/george-ade-8718_men_the-only-literary-men-are-those-who-have_1750713.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a9/george-ade-8718_men_the-only-literary-men-are-those-who-have_1750713.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The only literary men are those who have to work at it.” — George Ade", "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": "George Ade", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ade/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The only literary men are those...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ade/the-only-literary-men-are-those-who-have-to-work-at-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ade/the-only-literary-men-are-those-who-have-to-work-at-it/#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 } } ] } ```