--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you wish at once to do nothing and be…" description: "\"If you wish at once to do nothing and be respectable nowadays, the best pretext is to be at work on some profound study.\" — Leslie Stephen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/864/leslie-stephen-24291_education_if-you-wish-at-once-to-do-nothing-and-be_1509461.jpg" --- # If you wish at once to do nothing and be respectable… ![“If you wish at once to do nothing and be respectable nowadays, the best pretext is to be at work on some profound study.” quote by Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/864/leslie-stephen-24291_education_if-you-wish-at-once-to-do-nothing-and-be_1509461.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/864/leslie-stephen-24291_education_if-you-wish-at-once-to-do-nothing-and-be_1509461.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/864/leslie-stephen-24291_education_if-you-wish-at-once-to-do-nothing-and-be_1509461.jpg) > “If you wish at once to do nothing and be respectable nowadays, the best pretext is to be at work on some profound study.” [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques using scholarly work as a pretext for avoiding real work, suggesting it’s a façade of respectability. **In simple terms:** Using study as an excuse avoids genuine effort. Key Takeaway Prioritize meaningful action over empty study. Themes work ethic pretense intellectualism Mood critical reflective Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - academic life - corporate culture - personal productivity Key Concepts Social criticism self‑deception Questions to Reflect On - When is study a valid pursuit? - How do you balance study and action? A Different Perspective Intellectual pursuits can be genuine, not just pretexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Profound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profound/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [ James Clerk Maxwell's \[work is the\] most profound and the most fruitful ... ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/james-clerk-maxwell-s-work-is-the-most-profound-and-the-most-fruitful/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [It is the night-black Massachusetts legendry which packs the really macabre "kick". Here is material for a really profound study in group-neuroticism; for certainly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/it-is-the-night-black-massachusetts-legendry-which-packs-the-really/) [H. P. 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Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salmon-p-chase/) > [In any work you do, you can be profound one minute, and then you be superficial the next, and you can be smart and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maira-kalman/in-any-work-you-do-you-can-be-profound-one-minute-and-then-you-be/) [Maira Kalman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maira-kalman/) > [The profound study of nature is the most fertile source of mathematical discovery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-fourier/the-profound-study-of-nature-is-the-most-fertile-source-of/) [Joseph Fourier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-fourier/) > [If we begin to see how the gospel is able to change our work, it can have a profound effect on our sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kim/if-we-begin-to-see-how-the-gospel-is-able-to-change-our-work-it-can/) [David Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kim/) > [Some of my unhappiest moments have been in organizations. Somehow it seems to be quite respectable to do things in organizations that you would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-handy/some-of-my-unhappiest-moments-have-been-in-organizations-somehow-it/) [Charles Handy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-handy/) > [War always reaches the depths of horror because of idiots who perpetuate terror from generation to generation under the pretext of vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-sajer/war-always-reaches-the-depths-of-horror-because-of-idiots-who/) [Guy Sajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-sajer/) > [The tone and tendency of liberalism...is to attack the institutions of the country under the name of reform and to make war on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/the-tone-and-tendency-of-liberalism-is-to-attack-the-institutions-of/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [When observers look back 50 years from now, the arguments supporting Florida's ban on same-sex marriage, though just as sincerely held \[as views of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lewis-hinkle/when-observers-look-back-50-years-from-now-the-arguments-supporting/) Robert Lewis Hinkle > [ \[Censors are\] people with secret attractions to various temptations... 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If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/we-must-always-work-and-a-self-respecting-artist-must-not-fold-his/) [Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/) ## More by Leslie Stephen > [“The Agnostic is one who asserts 'what no one denies' that there are limits to the sphere of human intelligence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/the-agnostic-is-one-who-asserts-what-no-one-denies-that-there-are/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [God is angry with man. Unless we believe and repent we shall all be damned. It is impossible, indeed, for its advocates even to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/god-is-angry-with-man-unless-we-believe-and-repent-we-shall-all-be/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [Poe is a kind of Hawthorne and delirium tremens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/poe-is-a-kind-of-hawthorne-and-delirium-tremens/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [Genius is a capacity for taking trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/genius-is-a-capacity-for-taking-trouble/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [Philistine - a word which I understand properly to denote indifference to the higher intellectual interests. The word may also be defined, however, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/philistine-a-word-which-i-understand-properly-to-denote-indifference/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [The truth cannot be asserted without denouncing the falsehood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/the-truth-cannot-be-asserted-without-denouncing-the-falsehood/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [“No poetry lives which reflects only the cheerful emotions. Our sweetest songs are those which tell of saddest thought. We can bring harmony out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/no-poetry-lives-which-reflects-only-the-cheerful-emotions-our/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [He who sees only what is before his eyes sees the worst part of every view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/he-who-sees-only-what-is-before-his-eyes-sees-the-worst-part-of-every/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [When I ceased to accept the teaching of my youth, it was not so much a process of giving up beliefs, as of discovering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/when-i-ceased-to-accept-the-teaching-of-my-youth-it-was-not-so-much-a/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [A good talker, even more than a good orator, implies a good audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/a-good-talker-even-more-than-a-good-orator-implies-a-good-audience/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [The wilderness provides an environment for a child's inner life to develop because it requires him to be constantly aware of his surroundings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/the-wilderness-provides-an-environment-for-a-child-s-inner-life-to/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [Walking is the natural recreation for a man who desires not absolutely to suppress his intellect but to turn it out to play for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/walking-is-the-natural-recreation-for-a-man-who-desires-not/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [“No good story is quite true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/no-good-story-is-quite-true/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [Chance is a name for our ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/chance-is-a-name-for-our-ignorance/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [Every man who says frankly and fully what he thinks is doing a public service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/every-man-who-says-frankly-and-fully-what-he-thinks-is-doing-a-public/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) [Explore all 24 Leslie Stephen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) ## More Education quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [“In school you are taught to obey and not to think straight for your own good. Otherwise the world would be full of millionaires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/in-school-you-are-taught-to-obey-and-not-to-think-straight-for-your/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. So what you have is a lot of students who are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-no-authoritarian-structure-at-reed-college-but-the-education/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“What's the best thing about being in college? Good teachers. They inspire you, they entertain you, and you end up learning a ton even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/what-s-the-best-thing-about-being-in-college-good-teachers-they/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“If one has not a head of steel it will burst; if he has not within it a brain of liquid quicksilver, he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ioannes-amos-commenius/if-one-has-not-a-head-of-steel-it-will-burst-if-he-has-not-within-it/) Ioannes Amos Commenius > [“let us not teach / what we have learned badly / and not profited by”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-hilda-doolittle/let-us-not-teach-what-we-have-learned-badly-and-not-profited-by/) H.D. (Hilda Doolittle > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“I only began to enjoy studying after I got through the educational system and became a so-called member of society. If something interested me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-only-began-to-enjoy-studying-after-i-got-through-the-educational/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [English teachers tend to put more thought in the books than the author did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/english-teachers-tend-to-put-more-thought-in-the-books-than-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) [Browse all 37,666 Education quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you wish at once to do nothing and be respectable nowadays, the best pretext is to be at work on some profound study.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leslie Stephen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/if-you-wish-at-once-to-do-nothing-and-be-respectable-nowadays-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Education" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/if-you-wish-at-once-to-do-nothing-and-be-respectable-nowadays-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/864/leslie-stephen-24291_education_if-you-wish-at-once-to-do-nothing-and-be_1509461.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/864/leslie-stephen-24291_education_if-you-wish-at-once-to-do-nothing-and-be_1509461.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/864/leslie-stephen-24291_education_if-you-wish-at-once-to-do-nothing-and-be_1509461.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you wish at once to do nothing and be respectable nowadays, the best pretext is to be at work on some…” — Leslie Stephen", "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": "Leslie Stephen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you wish at once to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/if-you-wish-at-once-to-do-nothing-and-be-respectable-nowadays-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/if-you-wish-at-once-to-do-nothing-and-be-respectable-nowadays-the/#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 } } ] } ```