Business Quote by Henry David Thoreau
“Through want of enterprise and faith men are where they are, buying and selling and spending their lives like servants.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: Walden, 1854
Human activity driven by enterprise and faith reduces life to servitude, missing deeper purpose.
In simple terms: Work can enslave us.
Key Takeaway
Seek meaning beyond labor.
Themes
materialism
faith
servitude
Mood
contemplative
serious
Type
philosophical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- career
- consumerism
- spiritual quest
Key Concepts
existentialism
capitalism
Questions to Reflect On
- What gives your work meaning?
- Can faith guide ethical consumption?
A Different Perspective
Not all work is oppressive; purpose can be found.
![“[S]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once, for example, when I was just starting out in the food business, I was hired by the caper people to develop a lot of recipes using capers, and it was weeks of…” quote by Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d79/nora-ephron-1217_business_s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-th_980.jpg)
![“If the State does not acquire supremacy over [vast private] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State.” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bad/bertrand-russell-69_acquire_if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy_1379.jpg)