--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Tom said to himself that it was not such…" description: "\"“Tom said to himself that it was not such a hollow world, after all. He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it -- namely, that ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef5/mark-twain-22_artificial-flowers_tom-said-to-himself-that-it-was-not-such_2658079.jpg" --- # Tom said to himself that it was not such a hollow world… ![“Tom said to himself that it was not such a hollow world, after all. He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it -- namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain. If he had been a great and wise…” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef5/mark-twain-22_artificial-flowers_tom-said-to-himself-that-it-was-not-such_2658079.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef5/mark-twain-22_artificial-flowers_tom-said-to-himself-that-it-was-not-such_2658079.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef5/mark-twain-22_artificial-flowers_tom-said-to-himself-that-it-was-not-such_2658079.jpg) > ““Tom said to himself that it was not such a hollow world, after all. He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it -- namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain. If he had been a great and wise philosopher, like the writer of this book, he would now have comprehended that Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do. And this would help him to understand why constructing artificial flowers or performing on a tread-mill is work, while rolling ten-pins or climbing Mont Blanc is only amusement. There are wealthy gentlemen in England who drive four-horse passenger-coaches twenty or thirty miles on a daily line, in the summer, because the privilege costs them considerable money; but if they were offered wages for the service, that would turn it into work and then they would resign.”” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People desire what is scarce; effort makes something a pleasure, not a duty. **In simple terms:** Hard things become desirable; work feels like duty. Key Takeaway Make challenges desirable, not burdensome. Themes desire scarcity work play motivation Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - marketing - education - personal development - recreation - career choices Key Concepts psychology economics human behavior Questions to Reflect On - How does scarcity shape our motivations? - When does effort become counterproductive? A Different Perspective If something is too easy, it may lose appeal and become mundane. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artificial flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artificial-flowers/) [Philosopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosopher/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [“he would now have comprehended that work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that play consists of whaterver a body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/he-would-now-have-comprehended-that-work-consists-of-whatever-a-body/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [in order to make a man or boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/in-order-to-make-a-man-or-boy-covet-a-thing-it-is-only-necessary-to/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Life is not so easy, some things are difficult to attain but if you take the first step of faith youll always succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazmine/life-is-not-so-easy-some-things-are-difficult-to-attain-but-if-you-2/) [Jazmine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazmine/) > [Life is not so easy, some things are difficult to attain but if you take the first step of faith you will always succeed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-not-so-easy-some-things-are-difficult-to-attain-but-if-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Has a philosopher like you failed to discover that our country is more to be valued and higher and holier far than mother or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/has-a-philosopher-like-you-failed-to-discover-that-our-country-is/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [I should like to meet a philosopher like Nietzsche somewhere in a train or a steamer, and to spend the whole night talking to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/i-should-like-to-meet-a-philosopher-like-nietzsche-somewhere-in-a/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [You cannot believe what you are saying." 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There’s nothing I enjoy more than to observe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-amado/i-believe-that-she-has-the-kind-of-magic-that-causes-revolutions-and/) [Jorge Amado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-amado/) > [For every nineteenth-century middle-class family that protected its wife and child within the family circle, there was an Irish ora German girl scrubbing floors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-coontz/for-every-nineteenth-century-middle-class-family-that-protected-its/) [Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) ## More by Mark Twain > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [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/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is nothing training can't cannot do. Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. 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They did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-maxwell/there-was-also-a-wall-vase-with-artificial-flowers-in-it-the-flowers/) [William Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-maxwell/) > [Artificial intelligence has the same relation to intelligence as artificial flowers have to flowers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-parnas/artificial-intelligence-has-the-same-relation-to-intelligence-as/) [David Parnas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-parnas/) > [There is nothing I enjoy more than to see others enjoy themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-comiskey/there-is-nothing-i-enjoy-more-than-to-see-others-enjoy-themselves/) [Charles Comiskey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-comiskey/) > [“he would now have comprehended that work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that play consists of whaterver a body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/he-would-now-have-comprehended-that-work-consists-of-whatever-a-body/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Give me artificial flowers - porcelain and metal glories - neither fading nor decaying, forms unaging. Flowers of the splendid gardens of another place,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-p-cavafy/give-me-artificial-flowers-porcelain-and-metal-glories-neither-fading/) [C.P. Cavafy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-p-cavafy/) > [Death is the mother of beauty. Only the perishable can be beautiful, which is why we are unmoved by artificial flowers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/death-is-the-mother-of-beauty-only-the-perishable-can-be-beautiful/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) [Browse all 10 Artificial flowers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artificial-flowers/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Tom said to himself that it was not such a hollow world, after all. He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it -- namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain. 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