--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To be enthusiastic about doing much with…" description: "\"To be enthusiastic about doing much with human nature is a foolish business indeed; and, throwing himself into his work as he was doing, and expecting ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65e/james-anthony-froude-4052_business_to-be-enthusiastic-about-doing-much-with_1432786.png" --- # To be enthusiastic about doing much with human nature is a… ![“To be enthusiastic about doing much with human nature is a foolish business indeed; and, throwing himself into his work as he was doing, and expecting so much from it, would not the tide ebb as strongly as it was flowing? It is a rash game this setting our hearts on any future beyond what we have…” quote by James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65e/james-anthony-froude-4052_business_to-be-enthusiastic-about-doing-much-with_1432786.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65e/james-anthony-froude-4052_business_to-be-enthusiastic-about-doing-much-with_1432786.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65e/james-anthony-froude-4052_business_to-be-enthusiastic-about-doing-much-with_1432786.png) > “To be enthusiastic about doing much with human nature is a foolish business indeed; and, throwing himself into his work as he was doing, and expecting so much from it, would not the tide ebb as strongly as it was flowing? It is a rash game this setting our hearts on any future beyond what we have our own selves control over. Things do not walk as we settle with ourselves they ought to walk, and to hope is almost the correlative of to be disappointed.” [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Overestimating one's influence over human nature leads to disappointment; accept limits and act within control. **In simple terms:** Don't overreach; stay realistic. Key Takeaway Recognize limits, act wisely. Themes humility realism self‑control Mood reflective cautious Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - leadership - personal growth - relationship management Key Concepts human nature agency expectation Questions to Reflect On - What areas do you overestimate? - How can you align expectations with reality? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can blind you to real constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Disappointed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappointed/) [Enthusiastic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enthusiastic/) [Enthusiastic Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enthusiastic-doing-2729200/) [Expecting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expecting/) [Foolish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foolish/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Hope Correlative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope-correlative-5105921/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nature Foolish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-foolish-5105920/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Ought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ought/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-control/) [Setting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/setting/) [Settings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/settings/) [Settling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/settling/) [Throwing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/throwing/) [Tides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tides/) [Walks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walks/) ## Related quotes > [There's timing. And then there's also certain people at the record company who worked incredibly hard and were incredibly enthusiastic about what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-chapin-carpenter/there-s-timing-and-then-there-s-also-certain-people-at-the-record/) [Mary Chapin Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-chapin-carpenter/) > [ I think you gotta always do things that keep you excited in an \[rap music\] industry that's so bullshit. When you know that you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-you-gotta-always-do-things-that-keep-you-excited-in-an-rap/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I'd rather have people who are enthusiastic about what I'm doing than like, "Well, I thought we were going to a Miley Cyrus concert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/i-d-rather-have-people-who-are-enthusiastic-about-what-i-m-doing-than/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [I study nature so as not to do foolish things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ruefle/i-study-nature-so-as-not-to-do-foolish-things/) [Mary Ruefle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ruefle/) > [I work so hard to make that sure I'm successful. If you're positive and really excited and enthusiastic about what you're doing, it's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-mendes/i-work-so-hard-to-make-that-sure-i-m-successful-if-you-re-positive/) [Shawn Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-mendes/) > [I once read somewhere that Sean Connery left school at the age of 13 and later went on to read Proust and Finnegans Wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dewitt/i-once-read-somewhere-that-sean-connery-left-school-at-the-age-of-13/) [Helen DeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dewitt/) > [For now I stand as one upon a rock environed with a wilderness of sea, who marks the waxing tide grow wave by wave,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/for-now-i-stand-as-one-upon-a-rock-environed-with-a-wilderness-of-sea/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I want to be around people that are just as enthusiastic about the process and storytelling as I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-david-washington/i-want-to-be-around-people-that-are-just-as-enthusiastic-about-the/) [John David Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-david-washington/) > [“You can not have empty or neutral mind, as long as you work the mind will contain dreams, if you stop working it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/you-can-not-have-empty-or-neutral-mind-as-long-as-you-work-the-mind/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [I went to religious schools. I wasn't that enthusiastic, by and large, but it sunk in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-rice/i-went-to-religious-schools-i-wasn-t-that-enthusiastic-by-and-large/) [Tim Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-rice/) > [Enthusiastic service providers create enthusiastic customers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-kaufman/enthusiastic-service-providers-create-enthusiastic-customers/) [Ron Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-kaufman/) > [Obama did organize a great large number of people and many enthusiastic people, what's called in the press 'Obama's Army.' But the army is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/obama-did-organize-a-great-large-number-of-people-and-many/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [How do you find the divine power in yourself? The word enthusiasm means 'filled with a god,' so what makes you enthusiastic? Follow it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/how-do-you-find-the-divine-power-in-yourself-the-word-enthusiasm/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [“I am honest and enthusiastic, except when I’m lying down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-am-honest-and-enthusiastic-except-when-i-m-lying-down/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [My mom was an enthusiastic, positive, glass-is-half-full type of person and that is how I live my life and I owe that to her.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kliff-kingsbury/my-mom-was-an-enthusiastic-positive-glass-is-half-full-type-of-person/) [Kliff Kingsbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kliff-kingsbury/) ## More by James Anthony Froude > [No person is ever good for much, that hasn't been swept off their feet by enthusiasm between ages twenty and thirty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/no-person-is-ever-good-for-much-that-hasn-t-been-swept-off-their-feet/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [We enter the world alone, we leave the world alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/we-enter-the-world-alone-we-leave-the-world-alone/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [Mistakes are often the best teachers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/mistakes-are-often-the-best-teachers/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [High original genius is always ridiculed on its first appearance; most of all by those who have won themselves the highest reputation in working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/high-original-genius-is-always-ridiculed-on-its-first-appearance-most/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [Look not to have your sepulchre built in after ages hy the same foolish hands which still ever destroy the living prophet. 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Where we find a heroic life appearing as the uniform fruit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/the-practical-effect-of-a-belief-is-the-real-test-of-its-soundness/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [In everyday things the law of sacrifice takes the form of positive duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/in-everyday-things-the-law-of-sacrifice-takes-the-form-of-positive/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [Beautiful is old age—beautiful as the slow-dropping mellow autumn of a rich glorious summer. In the old man, Nature has fulfilled her work; she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/beautiful-is-old-age-beautiful-as-the-slow-dropping-mellow-autumn-of/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [The soul of man is not a thing which comes and goes, is builded and decays like the elemental frame in which it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/the-soul-of-man-is-not-a-thing-which-comes-and-goes-is-builded-and/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [The war of good and evil is mightiest in mightiest souls, and even in the darkest time the heart will maintain its right against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/the-war-of-good-and-evil-is-mightiest-in-mightiest-souls-and-even-in/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [Human improvement is from within outward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/human-improvement-is-from-within-outward/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [The secret of a person's nature lies in their religion and what they really believes about the world and their place in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/the-secret-of-a-person-s-nature-lies-in-their-religion-and-what-they/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [Men think to mend their condition by a change of circumstances. They might as well hope to escape from their shadows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/men-think-to-mend-their-condition-by-a-change-of-circumstances-they/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [There are epidemics of nobleness as well as epidemics of disease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/there-are-epidemics-of-nobleness-as-well-as-epidemics-of-disease/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) [Explore all 117 James Anthony Froude quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) ## More Business quotes > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. A company that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/companies-with-cultures-that-celebrate-diverse-opinions-and-encourage/) [Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/) > [You can laugh at me, but I understand show business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ksenia-sobchak/you-can-laugh-at-me-but-i-understand-show-business/) [Ksenia Sobchak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ksenia-sobchak/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [I'm a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it's separate from my personal. It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [Many early-stage entrepreneurs make one simple mistake: Describing this 'big picture' in vague concepts and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-nagaraj/many-early-stage-entrepreneurs-make-one-simple-mistake-describing/) [Sunil Nagaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-nagaraj/) > [Nobody has a crystal ball, and part of evolving a business plan is to say, 'I might have said we're going left, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-kavanaugh/nobody-has-a-crystal-ball-and-part-of-evolving-a-business-plan-is-to/) [Ryan Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-kavanaugh/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. 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