--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sick, irritated, and the prey to a…" description: "\"Sick, irritated, and the prey to a thousand discomforts, I go on with my labor like a true workingman, who, with sleeves rolled up, in the sweat of his..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd7/gustave-flaubert-354_anvils_sick-irritated-and-the-prey-to-a-thousan_2937722.jpg" --- # Sick, irritated, and the prey to a thousand discomforts, I… ![“Sick, irritated, and the prey to a thousand discomforts, I go on with my labor like a true workingman, who, with sleeves rolled up, in the sweat of his brow, beats away at his anvil, not caring whether it rains or blows, hails or thunders.” quote by Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd7/gustave-flaubert-354_anvils_sick-irritated-and-the-prey-to-a-thousan_2937722.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd7/gustave-flaubert-354_anvils_sick-irritated-and-the-prey-to-a-thousan_2937722.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd7/gustave-flaubert-354_anvils_sick-irritated-and-the-prey-to-a-thousan_2937722.jpg) > “Sick, irritated, and the prey to a thousand discomforts, I go on with my labor like a true workingman, who, with sleeves rolled up, in the sweat of his brow, beats away at his anvil, not caring whether it rains or blows, hails or thunders.” [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Despite hardships, the worker persists, indifferent to weather, driven by duty. **In simple terms:** Worker endures hardships, focused on duty despite weather. Key Takeaway Persevere through adversity. Themes labor resilience determination Mood determined stoic Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - manual labor - personal projects - entrepreneurship Key Concepts literature work ethic Questions to Reflect On - What motivates you to work despite obstacles? - How can you maintain focus in adverse conditions? A Different Perspective May romanticize suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Caring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caring/) [Discomfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discomfort/) [Irritated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irritated/) [Labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor/) [Rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rain/) [Thunder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thunder/) ## Related quotes > [I am one of those men who believes that the best workingman ought to have the best pay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schwab/i-am-one-of-those-men-who-believes-that-the-best-workingman-ought-to/) [Charles M. Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schwab/) > [Labor, like Israel, has many sorrows. Its women weep for their fallen and they lament for the future of the children of the race.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-l-lewis/labor-like-israel-has-many-sorrows-its-women-weep-for-their-fallen/) [John L. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-l-lewis/) > [When I'm in labor, I like it to be very 'namaste.' I can't take care of other people at that time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaria-baldwin/when-i-m-in-labor-i-like-it-to-be-very-namaste-i-can-t-take-care-of/) [Hilaria Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaria-baldwin/) > [A champion of the workingman has never been known to die of overwork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/a-champion-of-the-workingman-has-never-been-known-to-die-of-overwork/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [Workingmen are at the foundation of society. Show me that product of human endeavor in the making of which the workingman has had no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-gompers/workingmen-are-at-the-foundation-of-society-show-me-that-product-of/) [Samuel Gompers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-gompers/) > [Labor is like motherhood to most of our political leaders: a calling so fine and noble that it would be sullied by talk of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/labor-is-like-motherhood-to-most-of-our-political-leaders-a-calling/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [At least in a race you have mile markers and know how long you have to go. Labor is like running as hard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorraine-moller/at-least-in-a-race-you-have-mile-markers-and-know-how-long-you-have/) [Lorraine Moller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorraine-moller/) > [You can tell a workingman you like him, but he knows whether you are sincere or not. You can't make him believe you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schwab/you-can-tell-a-workingman-you-like-him-but-he-knows-whether-you-are/) [Charles M. Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schwab/) > [“the American workingman never gets ahead while the class that employs him never goes back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-american-workingman-never-gets-ahead-while-the-class-that-employs/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Facebook is like labor , like labor . You sit around and wait until something pops up .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/facebook-is-like-labor-like-labor-you-sit-around-and-wait-until/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Hammer the iron that lies on your anvil instead of daydreaming about working silver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/hammer-the-iron-that-lies-on-your-anvil-instead-of-daydreaming-about/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [Let me think... I wonder if an anvil will drop like an apple?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/let-me-think-i-wonder-if-an-anvil-will-drop-like-an-apple/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [Use truth as your anvil, nonviolence as your hammer and anything that does not stand the test when it is brought to the anvil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/use-truth-as-your-anvil-nonviolence-as-your-hammer-and-anything-that/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The first time I saw nitroglycerine was in the beginning of the Crimean War. Professor Zinin in St. Petersburg exhibited some to my father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nobel/the-first-time-i-saw-nitroglycerine-was-in-the-beginning-of-the/) [Alfred Nobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nobel/) > [It is not only prayer that gives God glory but work. Smitting on an anvil, sawing a beam, whitewashing a wall, driving horses, sweeping,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-manley-hopkins/it-is-not-only-prayer-that-gives-god-glory-but-work-smitting-on-an/) [Gerard Manley Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-manley-hopkins/) ## More by Gustave Flaubert > [As for the piano, the faster her fingers flew over it, the more he marveled. She struck the keys with aplomb and ran from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/as-for-the-piano-the-faster-her-fingers-flew-over-it-the-more-he/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Caught up in life, you see it badly. You suffer from it or enjoy it too much. The artist, in my opinion, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/caught-up-in-life-you-see-it-badly-you-suffer-from-it-or-enjoy-it-too/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“When one does something, one must do it wholly and well. Those bastard existences where you sell suet all day and write poetry at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-one-does-something-one-must-do-it-wholly-and-well-those-bastard/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Isn’t ‘not to be bored’ one of the principal goals of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/isn-t-not-to-be-bored-one-of-the-principal-goals-of-life/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Love is a springtime plant that perfumes everything with its hope, even the ruins to which it clings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/love-is-a-springtime-plant-that-perfumes-everything-with-its-hope/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“But her life was as cold as an attic facing north; and boredom, like a silent spider, was weaving its web in the shadows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/but-her-life-was-as-cold-as-an-attic-facing-north-and-boredom-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [When you reduce a woman to writing, she makes you think of a thousand other women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-you-reduce-a-woman-to-writing-she-makes-you-think-of-a-thousand/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/travel-makes-one-modest-you-see-what-a-tiny-place-you-occupy-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“We must not touch our idols; the gilt sticks to our fingers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/we-must-not-touch-our-idols-the-gilt-sticks-to-our-fingers/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [A superhuman will is needed in order to write, and I am only a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/a-superhuman-will-is-needed-in-order-to-write-and-i-am-only-a-man/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The writer must wade into life as into the sea, but only up to the navel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-writer-must-wade-into-life-as-into-the-sea-but-only-up-to-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [COLD. Healthier than heat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/cold-healthier-than-heat/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [And indeed, what is better than to sit by one's fireside in the evening with a book, while the wind beats against the window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by-one-s-fireside-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [One's existence should be in two parts: one should live like a bourgeois and think like a demigod.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/one-s-existence-should-be-in-two-parts-one-should-live-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Emma was no asleep, she was pretending to be asleep; and, while he was dozing off at her side, she lay awake, dreaming other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/emma-was-no-asleep-she-was-pretending-to-be-asleep-and-while-he-was/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) [Explore all 526 Gustave Flaubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## More Anvils quotes > [It is not only prayer that gives God glory but work. Smitting on an anvil, sawing a beam, whitewashing a wall, driving horses, sweeping,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-manley-hopkins/it-is-not-only-prayer-that-gives-god-glory-but-work-smitting-on-an/) [Gerard Manley Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-manley-hopkins/) > [The first time I saw nitroglycerine was in the beginning of the Crimean War. Professor Zinin in St. Petersburg exhibited some to my father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nobel/the-first-time-i-saw-nitroglycerine-was-in-the-beginning-of-the/) [Alfred Nobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nobel/) > [Use truth as your anvil, nonviolence as your hammer and anything that does not stand the test when it is brought to the anvil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/use-truth-as-your-anvil-nonviolence-as-your-hammer-and-anything-that/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Let me think... I wonder if an anvil will drop like an apple?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/let-me-think-i-wonder-if-an-anvil-will-drop-like-an-apple/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [Hammer the iron that lies on your anvil instead of daydreaming about working silver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/hammer-the-iron-that-lies-on-your-anvil-instead-of-daydreaming-about/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [Many authors write like amateur blacksmiths making their first horseshoe; the clank of the anvil, the stench of the scorched leather apron, the sparks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/many-authors-write-like-amateur-blacksmiths-making-their-first/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [Let me twine Mine arms about that body, where against My grained ash an hundred times hath broke And scarr'd the moon with splinters:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/let-me-twine-mine-arms-about-that-body-where-against-my-grained-ash/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I had lost too much of the heart and all the faith needed to stay afloat in a job where every human encounter felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/i-had-lost-too-much-of-the-heart-and-all-the-faith-needed-to-stay/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [Those who will find here a hold for their souls, an anvil for their hands, and vitality for their hearts, will build both their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berl-katznelson/those-who-will-find-here-a-hold-for-their-souls-an-anvil-for-their/) [Berl Katznelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berl-katznelson/) > [Death is not a blotting-out of existence, a final escape from life; nor is death the door to immortality. He who has fled his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/death-is-not-a-blotting-out-of-existence-a-final-escape-from-life-nor/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [The anvil is not afraid of the hammer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/the-anvil-is-not-afraid-of-the-hammer/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [We are to regard the mind, not as a piece of iron to be laid upon the anvil and hammered into any shape, nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hopkins/we-are-to-regard-the-mind-not-as-a-piece-of-iron-to-be-laid-upon-the/) [Mark Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hopkins/) > [Golf puts a man's character on the anvil and his richest qualities - patience, poise, restraint - to the flame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-casper/golf-puts-a-man-s-character-on-the-anvil-and-his-richest-qualities/) [Billy Casper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-casper/) > [The enemy hates the ego, which the seeker wants to kill; thus, like the anvil to the goldsmith, he is actually a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/the-enemy-hates-the-ego-which-the-seeker-wants-to-kill-thus-like-the/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [You must either conquer and rule or serve and lose, suffer or triumph, be the anvil or the hammer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/you-must-either-conquer-and-rule-or-serve-and-lose-suffer-or-triumph/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) Browse all 68 Anvils quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sick, irritated, and the prey to a thousand discomforts, I go on with my labor like a true workingman, who, with sleeves rolled up, in the sweat of his brow, beats away at his anvil, not caring whether it rains or blows, hails or thunders.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gustave Flaubert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/sick-irritated-and-the-prey-to-a-thousand-discomforts-i-go-on-with-my/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anvils" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/sick-irritated-and-the-prey-to-a-thousand-discomforts-i-go-on-with-my/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd7/gustave-flaubert-354_anvils_sick-irritated-and-the-prey-to-a-thousan_2937722.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd7/gustave-flaubert-354_anvils_sick-irritated-and-the-prey-to-a-thousan_2937722.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd7/gustave-flaubert-354_anvils_sick-irritated-and-the-prey-to-a-thousan_2937722.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sick, irritated, and the prey to a thousand discomforts, I go on with my labor like a true workingman, who…” — Gustave Flaubert", "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": "Gustave Flaubert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Sick, irritated, and the prey to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/sick-irritated-and-the-prey-to-a-thousand-discomforts-i-go-on-with-my/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/sick-irritated-and-the-prey-to-a-thousand-discomforts-i-go-on-with-my/#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 } } ] } ```