--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The work of the world is common as mud…" description: "\"The work of the world is common as mud. Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust. But the thing worth doing well done has a shape that satisfies,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/777/marge-piercy-2610_common_the-work-of-the-world-is-common-as-mud-b_378524.png" --- # The work of the world is common as mud. Botched, it smears… ![“The work of the world is common as mud. Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust. But the thing worth doing well done has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.” quote by Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/777/marge-piercy-2610_common_the-work-of-the-world-is-common-as-mud-b_378524.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/777/marge-piercy-2610_common_the-work-of-the-world-is-common-as-mud-b_378524.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/777/marge-piercy-2610_common_the-work-of-the-world-is-common-as-mud-b_378524.png) > “The work of the world is common as mud. Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust. But the thing worth doing well done has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.” [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) ## 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 that is careless spreads mess, while skillful effort creates clear, satisfying results. **In simple terms:** Careful work yields clean outcomes. Key Takeaway Prioritize quality over speed. Themes craftsmanship quality effort integrity Mood determined pragmatic Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - construction - art - daily tasks - project management Key Concepts skill consequence purpose Questions to Reflect On - What tasks benefit most from meticulous care? - How to balance speed and quality? A Different Perspective Rushing can still produce good results under pressure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I want to be with people who submerge in the task, who go into the fields to harvest and work in a row and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/i-want-to-be-with-people-who-submerge-in-the-task-who-go-into-the/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [The work of the world is common as mud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/the-work-of-the-world-is-common-as-mud/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [“The people I love the best jump into work head first without dallying in the shallows and swim off with sure strokes almost out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/the-people-i-love-the-best-jump-into-work-head-first-without-dallying/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [“Your work in this world is resurrection work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-langberg/your-work-in-this-world-is-resurrection-work/) [Diane Langberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-langberg/) > [I am disabled because I live and work in a world that disables me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/i-am-disabled-because-i-live-and-work-in-a-world-that-disables-me/) [Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/) > [“He wanted to learn how the world worked, and I wanted to learn how to work the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-taylor/he-wanted-to-learn-how-the-world-worked-and-i-wanted-to-learn-how-to/) [Jessica Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-taylor/) > [Those who work most for the world's advancement are the ones who demand least](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/those-who-work-most-for-the-world-s-advancement-are-the-ones-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I work in the music world in a kind of very multi-faceted way. I work around the world, in different genres.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anoushka-shankar/i-work-in-the-music-world-in-a-kind-of-very-multi-faceted-way-i-work/) [Anoushka Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anoushka-shankar/) > [I work all over the world. I have a very, very full life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stephanopoulos/i-work-all-over-the-world-i-have-a-very-very-full-life/) [George Stephanopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-stephanopoulos/) > [“I do not wish to work in a world that regards me as a slave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/i-do-not-wish-to-work-in-a-world-that-regards-me-as-a-slave/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Get leave to work In this world,--'tis the best you get at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/get-leave-to-work-in-this-world-tis-the-best-you-get-at-all/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [Part of the way the work world works is not so much creating a separation between your work and your free time, but creating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mackaye/part-of-the-way-the-work-world-works-is-not-so-much-creating-a/) [Ian MacKaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mackaye/) > [There are enormous opportunities to work for a world that is more free, peaceful and just.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-enormous-opportunities-to-work-for-a-world-that-is-more/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [To work in the world lovingly means that we are defining what we will be for, rather than reacting to what we are against.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-baldwin/to-work-in-the-world-lovingly-means-that-we-are-defining-what-we-will/) [Christina Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-baldwin/) > [“Don't be in a hurry about finding your work in the world for yourself—you are not old enough to judge for yourself yet; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hughes/don-t-be-in-a-hurry-about-finding-your-work-in-the-world-for-yourself/) [Thomas Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hughes/) ## More by Marge Piercy > [Shared laughter is erotic too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/shared-laughter-is-erotic-too/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [Work is its own cure. You have to like it better than being loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/work-is-its-own-cure-you-have-to-like-it-better-than-being-loved/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [The anger of the weak never goes away, Professor, it just gets a little moldy. It molds like a beautiful blue cheese in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/the-anger-of-the-weak-never-goes-away-professor-it-just-gets-a-little/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [“The people I love the best jump into work head first without dallying in the shallows and swim off with sure strokes almost out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/the-people-i-love-the-best-jump-into-work-head-first-without-dallying/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [Every poet has a certain amount of "stuff." That's what you draw from for imagery. The more stuff you know well, not simply intellectually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/every-poet-has-a-certain-amount-of-stuff-that-s-what-you-draw-from/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [the body is simple as a turtle / and straight as a dog: / the body cannot lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/the-body-is-simple-as-a-turtle-and-straight-as-a-dog-the-body-cannot/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [We must shine with hope, stained glass windows that shape light into icons, glow like lanterns borne before a procession. Who can bear hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/we-must-shine-with-hope-stained-glass-windows-that-shape-light-into/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [Remember that every son had a mother whose beloved son he was, and every woman had a mother whose beloved son she wasn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/remember-that-every-son-had-a-mother-whose-beloved-son-he-was-and/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [We live in a media soup and are constantly being programmed or are fighting that programming. Thus any truthful account of a life, every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/we-live-in-a-media-soup-and-are-constantly-being-programmed-or-are/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [The moon is always female and so am I although often in the vale of razorblades I have wished I could put on and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/the-moon-is-always-female-and-so-am-i-although-often-in-the-vale-of/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [Sometimes when a character in a novel is difficult for me to enter, I sue something in myself or in my own life as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/sometimes-when-a-character-in-a-novel-is-difficult-for-me-to-enter-i/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [Doorways are sacred to women for we are the doorways of life and we must choose what comes in and what goes out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/doorways-are-sacred-to-women-for-we-are-the-doorways-of-life-and-we/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [“Writing sometimes feels frivolous and sometimes sacred, but memory is one of my strongest muses. I serve her with my words. So long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/writing-sometimes-feels-frivolous-and-sometimes-sacred-but-memory-is/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [We're herded into schools and terrified into behaving. Taught how we're supposed to pretend to be, taught to parrot all kinds of nonsense at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/we-re-herded-into-schools-and-terrified-into-behaving-taught-how-we/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [Whatever is not an energy source, is an energy sink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/whatever-is-not-an-energy-source-is-an-energy-sink/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) [Explore all 158 Marge Piercy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) ## More Common quotes > [I'm Fine!, the most common LIE in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/i-m-fine-the-most-common-lie-in-the-world/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [ Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a \[Soviet socialistic\] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-national-socialism-have-anything/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [When you have a cavity in your tooth and you let it get worse, eventually you have to get a root canal. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/when-you-have-a-cavity-in-your-tooth-and-you-let-it-get-worse/) [Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/common-sense-is-nothing-more-than-a-deposit-of-prejudices-laid-down/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [Those who advocate common usage in philosophy sometimes speak in a manner that suggests the mystique of the 'common man.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/those-who-advocate-common-usage-in-philosophy-sometimes-speak-in-a/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) Browse all 7,866 Common quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The work of the world is common as mud. 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