--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Work is no disgrace: it is idleness which…" description: "\"Work is no disgrace: it is idleness which is a disgrace.\" — Hesiod" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/hesiod-2889_disgrace_work-is-no-disgrace-it-is-idleness-which_3071400.jpg" --- # Work is no disgrace: it is idleness which is a disgrace. ![“Work is no disgrace: it is idleness which is a disgrace.” quote by Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/hesiod-2889_disgrace_work-is-no-disgrace-it-is-idleness-which_3071400.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/hesiod-2889_disgrace_work-is-no-disgrace-it-is-idleness-which_3071400.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/hesiod-2889_disgrace_work-is-no-disgrace-it-is-idleness-which_3071400.jpg) > “Work is no disgrace: it is idleness which is a disgrace.” [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hard work is respectable; laziness is the true shame. **In simple terms:** Work is noble, idleness is disgraceful. Key Takeaway Value effort over inactivity. Themes work morality esteem Mood reflective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career building - household chores - personal productivity - volunteer work Key Concepts ethics ancient wisdom Questions to Reflect On - What work feels meaningful to you? - How can you avoid glorifying busyness? A Different Perspective Hard work can be forced and unhealthy; not all work is dignified. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disgrace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disgrace/) [Disgrace Idleness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disgrace-idleness-5196569/) [Idleness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idleness/) [Idleness Disgrace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idleness-disgrace-5196570/) [Procrastination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/procrastination/) [Shame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shame/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Work Disgrace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-disgrace-5196571/) ## Related quotes > [He is senseless who would match himself against a stronger man; for he is deprived of victory and adds suffering to disgrace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/he-is-senseless-who-would-match-himself-against-a-stronger-man-for-he/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [Labor is no disgrace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/labor-is-no-disgrace/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [He who saddens at thought of idleness cannot be idle, / And he's awake who thinks himself asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/he-who-saddens-at-thought-of-idleness-cannot-be-idle-and-he-s-awake/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Rather do what is nothing to the purpose than be idle; that the devil may find thee doing. The bird that sits is easily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/rather-do-what-is-nothing-to-the-purpose-than-be-idle-that-the-devil/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [The idle brain is the devil's playground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-lange/the-idle-brain-is-the-devil-s-playground/) [Eric Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-lange/) > [It can be set down as a broad, general principle that we cannot indulge in idleness and abundance during both the first and second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/it-can-be-set-down-as-a-broad-general-principle-that-we-cannot/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [Wasting time is negative, but there is something positive about idleness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/wasting-time-is-negative-but-there-is-something-positive-about/) [Russell Lynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/) > [The reason of idleness and of crime is the deferring of our hopes. Whilst we are waiting, we beguile the time with jokes, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-reason-of-idleness-and-of-crime-is-the-deferring-of-our-hopes/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Idleness is an expert thief,and our mind is its victim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abid-al-qarni/idleness-is-an-expert-thief-and-our-mind-is-its-victim/) [Abid Al Qarni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abid-al-qarni/) > [Timing is everything. Tell me how a young man spends his evenings and I will tell you how far he is likely to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/timing-is-everything-tell-me-how-a-young-man-spends-his-evenings-and/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [“Reality has a tendency to reveal itself when man is idle, and so it is because of this that idleness is often regarded as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vd/reality-has-a-tendency-to-reveal-itself-when-man-is-idle-and-so-it-is/) [VD](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vd/) > [Idleness is paralysis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roswell-dwight-hitchcock/idleness-is-paralysis/) [Roswell Dwight Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roswell-dwight-hitchcock/) > [“Liza had a finely developed sense of sin Idleness was a sin, and card playing, which was a kind of idleness to her. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/liza-had-a-finely-developed-sense-of-sin-idleness-was-a-sin-and-card/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [The frivolous work of polished idleness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mackintosh/the-frivolous-work-of-polished-idleness/) [James Mackintosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mackintosh/) > [“Idleness is seductive. Just relax and do nothing, it says.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innocent-mwatsikesimbe/idleness-is-seductive-just-relax-and-do-nothing-it-says/) [Innocent Mwatsikesimbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innocent-mwatsikesimbe/) ## More by Hesiod > [Gain not base gains; base gains are the same as losses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/gain-not-base-gains-base-gains-are-the-same-as-losses/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [Aegis-bearing Zeus has a design for each occasion, and mortals find this hard to comprehend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/aegis-bearing-zeus-has-a-design-for-each-occasion-and-mortals-find/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [The best is he who calls men to the best. And those who heed the call are also blessed. But worthless who call not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/the-best-is-he-who-calls-men-to-the-best-and-those-who-heed-the-call/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [If you speak evil, you will soon be worse spoken of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/if-you-speak-evil-you-will-soon-be-worse-spoken-of/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [Inhibition is no good provider for a needy man, Inhibition, which does men great harm and great good. Inhibition attaches to poverty, boldness to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/inhibition-is-no-good-provider-for-a-needy-man-inhibition-which-does/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [Potter is jealous of potter, and craftsman of craftsman; and the poor have a grudge against the poor, and the poet against the poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/potter-is-jealous-of-potter-and-craftsman-of-craftsman-and-the-poor/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [Preserve the mean; the opportune moment is best in all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/preserve-the-mean-the-opportune-moment-is-best-in-all-things/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [The potter is at enmity with the potter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/the-potter-is-at-enmity-with-the-potter/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [But he who neither thinks for himself nor learns from others, is a failure as a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/but-he-who-neither-thinks-for-himself-nor-learns-from-others-is-a/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [Justice prevails over transgression when she comes to the end of the race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/justice-prevails-over-transgression-when-she-comes-to-the-end-of-the/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [“It is best to work, at whatever you have a talent for doing, without turning your greedy thought toward what some other man possesses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/it-is-best-to-work-at-whatever-you-have-a-talent-for-doing-without/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on the frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/i-see-no-hope-for-the-future-of-our-people-if-they-are-dependent-on/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [Do not let a flattering woman coax and wheedle you and deceive you; she is after your barn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/do-not-let-a-flattering-woman-coax-and-wheedle-you-and-deceive-you/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [In the race for wealth, a neighbor tries to outdo his neighbor, but this strife is good for men. For the potter envies potter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/in-the-race-for-wealth-a-neighbor-tries-to-outdo-his-neighbor-but/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [The Gods rank work above virtues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/the-gods-rank-work-above-virtues/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) [Explore all 146 Hesiod quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) ## More Disgrace quotes > [To what will love not stoop!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/to-what-will-love-not-stoop/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [We will live to see the day that St. Patrick's Cathedral is a child-care center and the pope is no longer a disgrace to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/we-will-live-to-see-the-day-that-st-patrick-s-cathedral-is-a-child/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Without ... the creative imagination rushing in where bureaucratic angels fear to tread - without this, life is a mockery and a disgrace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-schumacher/without-the-creative-imagination-rushing-in-where-bureaucratic-angels/) [E. F. Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-schumacher/) > [Success in war was the only success that counted; failure was a disgrace to be wiped out only by starting another war and winning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-holland/success-in-war-was-the-only-success-that-counted-failure-was-a/) [Barbara Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-holland/) > [“America is the wealthiest nation on Earth, but its people are mainly poor, and poor Americans are urged to hate themselves. To quote the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/america-is-the-wealthiest-nation-on-earth-but-its-people-are-mainly/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Miss Wormwood: Calvin, your test was an absolute disgrace! It's obvious you haven't read any of the material. Our first president was not Chef…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/miss-wormwood-calvin-your-test-was-an-absolute-disgrace-it-s-obvious/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [Losing is no disgrace if you've given your best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-palmer/losing-is-no-disgrace-if-you-ve-given-your-best/) [Jim Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-palmer/) > [My trust in God flows out of the experience of his loving me, day in and day out, whether the day is stormy or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/my-trust-in-god-flows-out-of-the-experience-of-his-loving-me-day-in/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [The people who illegally cross into the country are from countries that have very close ties to al Qaeda, whether it's Yemen or Afghanistan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perry/the-people-who-illegally-cross-into-the-country-are-from-countries/) [Rick Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perry/) > [New York State is upside down and backwards; high taxes and low performance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-cuomo/new-york-state-is-upside-down-and-backwards-high-taxes-and-low/) [Andrew Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-cuomo/) > [Putting your child into a beauty pageant is a disgrace...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/putting-your-child-into-a-beauty-pageant-is-a-disgrace/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To him who disgraces his family life is no life, and to such a person there is no one a friend, neither while living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/to-him-who-disgraces-his-family-life-is-no-life-and-to-such-a-person/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“The disgrace is not in falling, but in not rising every time you fall.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/the-disgrace-is-not-in-falling-but-in-not-rising-every-time-you-fall/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [Poverty of course is no disgrace, but it is damned annoying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-pitt/poverty-of-course-is-no-disgrace-but-it-is-damned-annoying/) [William Pitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-pitt/) > [“a little modesty averts disgrace”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bemy-wells/a-little-modesty-averts-disgrace/) [Bemy Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bemy-wells/) [Browse all 459 Disgrace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disgrace/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Work is no disgrace: it is idleness which is a disgrace.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hesiod" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/work-is-no-disgrace-it-is-idleness-which-is-a-disgrace/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Disgrace" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/work-is-no-disgrace-it-is-idleness-which-is-a-disgrace/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/hesiod-2889_disgrace_work-is-no-disgrace-it-is-idleness-which_3071400.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/hesiod-2889_disgrace_work-is-no-disgrace-it-is-idleness-which_3071400.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/hesiod-2889_disgrace_work-is-no-disgrace-it-is-idleness-which_3071400.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Work is no disgrace: it is idleness which is a disgrace.” — Hesiod", "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": "Hesiod", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Work is no disgrace: it is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/work-is-no-disgrace-it-is-idleness-which-is-a-disgrace/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/work-is-no-disgrace-it-is-idleness-which-is-a-disgrace/#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 } } ] } ```