--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's no dignity, no decency, or health…" description: "\"There's no dignity, no decency, or health today for men that haven't got a job. All other things depend on work today.\" — Nevil Shute" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25d/nevil-shute-16517_decency_there-s-no-dignity-no-decency-or-health_2976612.jpg" --- # There's no dignity, no decency, or health today for men… ![“There's no dignity, no decency, or health today for men that haven't got a job. All other things depend on work today.” quote by Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25d/nevil-shute-16517_decency_there-s-no-dignity-no-decency-or-health_2976612.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25d/nevil-shute-16517_decency_there-s-no-dignity-no-decency-or-health_2976612.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25d/nevil-shute-16517_decency_there-s-no-dignity-no-decency-or-health_2976612.jpg) > “There's no dignity, no decency, or health today for men that haven't got a job. All other things depend on work today.” [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Work is presented as essential for personal dignity, decency, and health in modern society. **In simple terms:** Job gives men dignity and health. Key Takeaway Seek meaningful work. Themes dignity work health society Mood reflective serious Type ethical social When to use this quote - job search - career counseling - community support - policy debate - personal development Key Concepts social contract economic value Questions to Reflect On - How does work shape your sense of self? - What non‑work sources can provide dignity? A Different Perspective Not everyone can find employment; dignity can also come from other contributions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decency/) [Dignity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dignity/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [Human life cannot be formless. We live by patterns. We move in comradeships. Conformity is evil when it distorts, flattens, and erases fruitful ways,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-wouk/human-life-cannot-be-formless-we-live-by-patterns-we-move-in/) [Herman Wouk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-wouk/) > [I believe that the essence of government lies with unceasing concern for the welfare and dignity and decency and innate integrity of life for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/i-believe-that-the-essence-of-government-lies-with-unceasing-concern/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [We learned about dignity and decency - that how hard you work matters more than how much you make... that helping others means more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/we-learned-about-dignity-and-decency-that-how-hard-you-work-matters/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [You can't always depend on someone to get your work done, they could just stop one of these days and you're left with no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naquitta-faith/you-can-t-always-depend-on-someone-to-get-your-work-done-they-could/) [Naquitta Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naquitta-faith/) > [Your first problem is relying on someone else's word. Always depend on yourself. No one will work as hard for you as you will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/behdad-sami/your-first-problem-is-relying-on-someone-else-s-word-always-depend-on/) [Behdad Sami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/behdad-sami/) > [My internal and external life depend so much on the work of others that I must make an extreme effort to give as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/my-internal-and-external-life-depend-so-much-on-the-work-of-others/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Depend only upon yourself, but work in harmony with all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-d-larson/depend-only-upon-yourself-but-work-in-harmony-with-all-things/) [Christian D. Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-d-larson/) > [“What we need today is men who take a stand on the Word of God and stop trying to fit in or preach a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pastor-steve-bainbridge/what-we-need-today-is-men-who-take-a-stand-on-the-word-of-god-and/) Pastor Steve Bainbridge > [“Today, men, I ask you your lives." "I ask of you your lives and your courage. I ask of your faith, your honor-- your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/today-men-i-ask-you-your-lives-i-ask-of-you-your-lives-and-your/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [The successful men of today are men of one overmastering idea, one unwavering aim, men of single and intense purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/the-successful-men-of-today-are-men-of-one-overmastering-idea-one/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [This is the problem today. Men and women have switched places. The woman now acts more like the man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/domenico-dolce/this-is-the-problem-today-men-and-women-have-switched-places-the/) [Domenico Dolce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/domenico-dolce/) > [Around the world, we can see the results of exploitation which destroys much without taking future generations into account. Today, all men have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/around-the-world-we-can-see-the-results-of-exploitation-which/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [“The men who will act today and the men who will act tomorrow get beaten by the men who acts now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/the-men-who-will-act-today-and-the-men-who-will-act-tomorrow-get/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Plan your work for today and every day, then work your plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/plan-your-work-for-today-and-every-day-then-work-your-plan/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [May posterity show mercy when it look back upon the work we do today. We did what we could with what we had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/may-posterity-show-mercy-when-it-look-back-upon-the-work-we-do-today/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) ## More by Nevil Shute > [ The thing most worth doing in this modern world \[is to\] create jobs that men can work at, and be proud of, and make… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/the-thing-most-worth-doing-in-this-modern-world-is-to-create-jobs/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [“By 1948 I was safe on my feet and able to get about quite normally, but I was thirty-four and life was slipping past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/by-1948-i-was-safe-on-my-feet-and-able-to-get-about-quite-normally/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [“You could have done something with newspapers. We didn't do it. No nation did, because we were all too silly. We liked our newspapers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/you-could-have-done-something-with-newspapers-we-didn-t-do-it-no/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [“Until we’re dead, we Service people, the world will always be in danger of another war. We had too good a time in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/until-we-re-dead-we-service-people-the-world-will-always-be-in-danger/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [If what they say is right we're none of us going to have time to do all that we planned to do. But we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/if-what-they-say-is-right-we-re-none-of-us-going-to-have-time-to-do/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [She looked at him in wonder. "Do people think of me like that? I only did what anybody could have done." "That's as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/she-looked-at-him-in-wonder-do-people-think-of-me-like-that-i-only/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [I'm glad we haven't got newspapers now. It's been much nicer without them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/i-m-glad-we-haven-t-got-newspapers-now-it-s-been-much-nicer-without/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills,” he said, “from whence cometh my help.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/i-will-lift-up-mine-eyes-unto-the-hills-he-said-from-whence-cometh-my/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [Aircraft do not crash of themselves. They come to grief because men are foolish, or vain, or lazy, or irresolute or reckless. One crash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/aircraft-do-not-crash-of-themselves-they-come-to-grief-because-men/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [When I was first sent from H.M.S. King Alfred to be interviewed by Goodeve in the Admiralty, I was furious. The War seemed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/when-i-was-first-sent-from-h-m-s-king-alfred-to-be-interviewed-by/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [You cannot argue stupidity, you just have to accept it patiently as one of those things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/you-cannot-argue-stupidity-you-just-have-to-accept-it-patiently-as/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [“Only by an act of treachery to those who believe in us can either of us escape.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/only-by-an-act-of-treachery-to-those-who-believe-in-us-can-either-of/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [“Here they go cruising for a fortnight up in parts where everyone is dead of radiation, and all that they can catch is measles!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/here-they-go-cruising-for-a-fortnight-up-in-parts-where-everyone-is/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [“Security was now a thing of the past though it took a conscious effort to remember it; with no enemy in all the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/security-was-now-a-thing-of-the-past-though-it-took-a-conscious/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [Without work men are utterly undone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/without-work-men-are-utterly-undone/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) [Explore all 39 Nevil Shute quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) ## More Decency quotes > [Come on, that was no foul! It may be a violation of all the basic rules of human decency, but its not a foul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-walton/come-on-that-was-no-foul-it-may-be-a-violation-of-all-the-basic-rules/) [Bill Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-walton/) > [Listen, young people, I understand narcissism - clearly. But at least I have the decency to hate myself. And that's what's missing from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janeane-garofalo/listen-young-people-i-understand-narcissism-clearly-but-at-least-i/) [Janeane Garofalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janeane-garofalo/) > [What's wrong with death sir? What are we so mortally afraid of? Why can't we treat death with a certain amount of humanity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/what-s-wrong-with-death-sir-what-are-we-so-mortally-afraid-of-why-can/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [Don't overestimate the decency of the human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/don-t-overestimate-the-decency-of-the-human-race/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“Faye, if you got eaten by another shark, would you please at least have the decency to say so? My time is kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-lothlorien/faye-if-you-got-eaten-by-another-shark-would-you-please-at-least-have/) Elle Lothlorien > [Let the watchwords of all our people be the old familiar watchwords of honesty, decency, fair-dealing, and commonsense."... "We must treat each man on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/let-the-watchwords-of-all-our-people-be-the-old-familiar-watchwords/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Liberty ... was a two-headed boon. There was first, the liberty of the people as a whole to determine the forms of their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/liberty-was-a-two-headed-boon-there-was-first-the-liberty-of-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [I gather a repulsive nobody writing in a paper no one of any decency would be seen dead with has written something loathesome and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/i-gather-a-repulsive-nobody-writing-in-a-paper-no-one-of-any-decency/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [“The quality of your life ultimately depends on the quality of your relationships . . . which are basically a reflection of your sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/the-quality-of-your-life-ultimately-depends-on-the-quality-of-your/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [“No woman deserves to be treated as little more than your toy. If you feel she is nothing more than a cheap hooker, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-anne/no-woman-deserves-to-be-treated-as-little-more-than-your-toy-if-you/) [Melody Anne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-anne/) > [“Almost everything you think is sacred, good and decent, is a lie and an all-out assault against truth and decency.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/almost-everything-you-think-is-sacred-good-and-decent-is-a-lie-and-an/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I am not a member of the chamber of commerce for show business, believe me, but there are some really good people in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-fuller/i-am-not-a-member-of-the-chamber-of-commerce-for-show-business/) [Kurt Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-fuller/) > [Out of all the fighters that I have developed, clothed, financed, Gerrie Coetzee is the only one who had the decency to say 'thanks'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-king/out-of-all-the-fighters-that-i-have-developed-clothed-financed-gerrie/) [Don King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-king/) > [If I see that something is wrong, I don't care who says it. Whether it's a Republican or Democrat, the left or the right.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-aragones/if-i-see-that-something-is-wrong-i-don-t-care-who-says-it-whether-it/) [Sergio Aragones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-aragones/) > [I love our shared island, our shared Ireland and its core decency. I love it for its imagination and its celebration of the endless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-d-higgins/i-love-our-shared-island-our-shared-ireland-and-its-core-decency-i/) [Michael D. Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-d-higgins/) [Browse all 559 Decency quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decency/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There's no dignity, no decency, or health today for men that haven't got a job. 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