--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can't abide to see men throw away their…" description: "\"I can't abide to see men throw away their tools i' that way, the minute the clock begins to strike, as if they took no pleasure i' their work, and was ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f0/george-eliot-84_arms_i-can-t-abide-to-see-men-throw-away-thei_1745067.png" --- # I can't abide to see men throw away their tools i' that… ![“I can't abide to see men throw away their tools i' that way, the minute the clock begins to strike, as if they took no pleasure i' their work, and was afraid o' doing a stroke too much… I hate to see a man's arms drop down as if he was shot, before the clock's fairly struck, just as if he'd never…” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f0/george-eliot-84_arms_i-can-t-abide-to-see-men-throw-away-thei_1745067.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f0/george-eliot-84_arms_i-can-t-abide-to-see-men-throw-away-thei_1745067.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f0/george-eliot-84_arms_i-can-t-abide-to-see-men-throw-away-thei_1745067.png) > “I can't abide to see men throw away their tools i' that way, the minute the clock begins to strike, as if they took no pleasure i' their work, and was afraid o' doing a stroke too much… I hate to see a man's arms drop down as if he was shot, before the clock's fairly struck, just as if he'd never a bit o' pride and delight in's work. The very grindstone 'ull go on turning a bit after you loose it.” [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People who lose pride in their work become disengaged, leading to a loss of purpose and a feeling of being broken. **In simple terms:** Losing pride in work makes life feel empty. Key Takeaway Cultivate pride and purpose in daily tasks. Themes work ethic pride purpose human dignity Mood reflective somber inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - manual labor - creative professions - routine tasks - career transitions Key Concepts meaningful labor self‑respect psychological health Questions to Reflect On - What gives you pride in your work? - How can you restore meaning when it fades? A Different Perspective Not all work can be fulfilling; external pressures may limit pride. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) [Delight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delight/) [Grindstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grindstone/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) [Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strikes/) [Tools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tools/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [Men are very confident people. Even a sixty-year-old man with no arms thinks he could play in the Super Bowl if he had to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-rudner/men-are-very-confident-people-even-a-sixty-year-old-man-with-no-arms/) [Rita Rudner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-rudner/) > [“Alec didn't normally consider himself a violent man, but sometimes, arms simply needed to be removed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-carriger/alec-didn-t-normally-consider-himself-a-violent-man-but-sometimes/) [Gail Carriger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-carriger/) > [A man. A dead man. A dead man with no arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wellington/a-man-a-dead-man-a-dead-man-with-no-arms/) [David Wellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wellington/) > [Is God a man with two arms and legs like me? Does He have eyes, a head? Does He have bowels? Well I do,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-harvey-kellogg/is-god-a-man-with-two-arms-and-legs-like-me-does-he-have-eyes-a-head/) [John Harvey Kellogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-harvey-kellogg/) > [If a man can't put his arms around his sons and help them, then what's the world coming to?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-daley/if-a-man-can-t-put-his-arms-around-his-sons-and-help-them-then-what-s/) [Richard J. Daley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-daley/) > [The man-at-arms is the only man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/the-man-at-arms-is-the-only-man/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [The best way to hold a man is in your arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/the-best-way-to-hold-a-man-is-in-your-arms/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [If God can use a man without arms and legs to be His hands and feet, then He will certainly use any willing heart!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-vujicic/if-god-can-use-a-man-without-arms-and-legs-to-be-his-hands-and-feet/) [Nick Vujicic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-vujicic/) > [Families mean work,but they are our great work,and we are not afraid of work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-b-beck/families-mean-work-but-they-are-our-great-work-and-we-are-not-afraid/) [Julie B. Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-b-beck/) > [For horror to work, you have to be afraid. You have to keep the monster in a black and white light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/for-horror-to-work-you-have-to-be-afraid-you-have-to-keep-the-monster/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [Certain people have wanted to put me behind bars for a long time now. That's part of my work. If I were afraid, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-navalny/certain-people-have-wanted-to-put-me-behind-bars-for-a-long-time-now/) [Alexei Navalny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-navalny/) > [There's a motherhood penalty because we've been long taught things that are stigmatized about motherhood. As workers, we don't want to talk about our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alissa-quart/there-s-a-motherhood-penalty-because-we-ve-been-long-taught-things/) [Alissa Quart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alissa-quart/) > [We have a lot of work to do and I‘m afraid that it‘s a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq/Pakistan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/we-have-a-lot-of-work-to-do-and-i-m-afraid-that-it-s-a-very-hard/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [On the whole, I would bid you stand up to your work, whatever it may be, and not be afraid of it; not in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/on-the-whole-i-would-bid-you-stand-up-to-your-work-whatever-it-may-be/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Why do I keep evading my work? Is it because I’m afraid of being confronted by my lack of abilities?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candace-bushnell/why-do-i-keep-evading-my-work-is-it-because-i-m-afraid-of-being/) [Candace Bushnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candace-bushnell/) ## More by George Eliot > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-the-effect-of-her-being-on-those-around-her-was-incalculably/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Scepticismcan never be thoroughly applied, else life would come to a standstill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/scepticismcan-never-be-thoroughly-applied-else-life-would-come-to-a/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Under every guilty secret there is hidden a brood of guilty wishes, whose unwholesome infecting life is cherished by the darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/under-every-guilty-secret-there-is-hidden-a-brood-of-guilty-wishes/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [The most powerful movement of feeling with a liturgy is the prayer which seeks for nothing special, but is a yearning to escape from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-most-powerful-movement-of-feeling-with-a-liturgy-is-the-prayer/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Mr. Casaubon had never had a strong bodily frame, and his soul was sensitive without being enthusiastic: it was too languid to thrill out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/mr-casaubon-had-never-had-a-strong-bodily-frame-and-his-soul-was/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“... she took her husband's jokes and joviality as patiently as everything else, considering that "men would be so", and viewing the stronger sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/she-took-her-husband-s-jokes-and-joviality-as-patiently-as-everything/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [What is opportunity to the man who can't use it? An unfecundated egg, which the waves of time wash away into nonentity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/what-is-opportunity-to-the-man-who-can-t-use-it-an-unfecundated-egg/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [And, of course men know best about everything, except what women know better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/and-of-course-men-know-best-about-everything-except-what-women-know/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“But let the wise be warned against too great readiness at explanation: it multiplies the sources of mistake, lengthening the sum for reckoners sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-let-the-wise-be-warned-against-too-great-readiness-at-explanation/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“But any one watching keenly the stealthy convergence of human lots, sees a slow preparation of effects from one life on another, which tells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-any-one-watching-keenly-the-stealthy-convergence-of-human-lots/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Perspective, as its inventor remarked, is a beautiful thing. What horrors of damp huts, where human beings languish, may not become picturesque through aerial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/perspective-as-its-inventor-remarked-is-a-beautiful-thing-what/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Sane people did what their neighbours did, so that if any lunatics were at large, one might know and avoid them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/sane-people-did-what-their-neighbours-did-so-that-if-any-lunatics/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [even those who call themselves 'intimate' know very little about each other - hardly ever know just how a sorrow is felt, and hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/even-those-who-call-themselves-intimate-know-very-little-about-each/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) [Explore all 1,492 George Eliot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) ## More Arms quotes > [I genuinely did not expect more than half our nation to choose to walk away from our long-term allies into the arms of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-reade/i-genuinely-did-not-expect-more-than-half-our-nation-to-choose-to/) Brian Reade > [I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. So if somebody asks me what time it is, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-wear-a-watch-because-i-want-my-arms-to-weigh-the-same-so-if/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [Preaching to the choir actually arms the choir with arguments and elevates the choir's discourse. There's a reason the right does it and does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/preaching-to-the-choir-actually-arms-the-choir-with-arguments-and/) [Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Are we fighting?" I asked Morelli. "No. Were discussing." "Are you sure?" "Am I yelling?" Morelli asked. "Is my face purple? Are the cords…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/are-we-fighting-i-asked-morelli-no-were-discussing-are-you-sure-am-i/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Comerado, this is no book,Who touches this, touches a man,(Is it night? Are we here alone?)It is I you hold, and who holds you,I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/comerado-this-is-no-book-who-touches-this-touches-a-man-is-it-night/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Even the stove and the refrigerator looked human, I mean good human - they seemed to have arms and voices and they said, hang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/even-the-stove-and-the-refrigerator-looked-human-i-mean-good-human/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I separated the joints, the arm joints, the leg joints, and had to do two boilings. I think I used four boxes of Soilex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dahmer/i-separated-the-joints-the-arm-joints-the-leg-joints-and-had-to-do/) [Jeffrey Dahmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dahmer/) > [More courage is required to forgive than is required to take up arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ramos-horta/more-courage-is-required-to-forgive-than-is-required-to-take-up-arms/) [Jose Ramos-Horta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ramos-horta/) > [It's been a long time since I asked anything of heaven, and my arms still haven't come down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-porchia/it-s-been-a-long-time-since-i-asked-anything-of-heaven-and-my-arms/) [Antonio Porchia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-porchia/) > [With those who are willing to join, let us cooperate to reduce the burden of arms, to strengthen the structure of peace, to lift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/with-those-who-are-willing-to-join-let-us-cooperate-to-reduce-the/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [How shall freedom be defended? By arms when it is attacked by arms, by truth when it is attacked by lies, by faith when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/how-shall-freedom-be-defended-by-arms-when-it-is-attacked-by-arms-by/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [You don't have to say it out loud. I already know why you like me.' 'You do, huh?' 'Yep.' He wrapped his arms around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/you-don-t-have-to-say-it-out-loud-i-already-know-why-you-like-me-you/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Another step had her backed up against the wall, and he braced his arms on both sides of her. "I'm beginning to look forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-lindsey/another-step-had-her-backed-up-against-the-wall-and-he-braced-his/) [Johanna Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-lindsey/) Browse all 4,470 Arms quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I can't abide to see men throw away their tools i' that way, the minute the clock begins to strike, as if they took no pleasure i' their work, and was afraid o' doing a stroke too much… I hate to see a man's arms drop down as if he was shot, before the clock's fairly struck, just as if he'd never a bit o' pride and delight in's work. 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