--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is wretched business to be digging a…" description: "\"It is wretched business to be digging a well just as thirst is mastering you.\" — Plautus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/plautus-1263_business_it-is-wretched-business-to-be-digging-a_2180772.jpg" --- # It is wretched business to be digging a well just as… ![“It is wretched business to be digging a well just as thirst is mastering you.” quote by Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/plautus-1263_business_it-is-wretched-business-to-be-digging-a_2180772.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/plautus-1263_business_it-is-wretched-business-to-be-digging-a_2180772.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/plautus-1263_business_it-is-wretched-business-to-be-digging-a_2180772.jpg) > “It is wretched business to be digging a well just as thirst is mastering you.” [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desperate actions become futile when desire overwhelms, like digging a well while thirst dominates. **In simple terms:** Desperation is futile when desire dominates. Key Takeaway Address needs before they dominate. Themes desperation desire futility Mood cautionary reflective Type moral literary When to use this quote - financial planning - health crises - emotional regulation - resource management Key Concepts stoicism selfcontrol Questions to Reflect On - What needs are you chasing without addressing the root? - How can you prioritize essential actions? A Different Perspective Even urgent needs can be misdirected. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Business Digging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business-digging-4710015/) [Digging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/digging/) [Just Thirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-thirst-4710014/) [Thirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirst/) [Thirst Mastering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirst-mastering-4710016/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [Wretched](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wretched/) [Wretched Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wretched-business-4710013/) ## Related quotes > [Nothing is more wretched than the mind of a man conscious of guilt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/nothing-is-more-wretched-than-the-mind-of-a-man-conscious-of-guilt/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [Show me one couple unhappy merely on account of their limited circumstances, and I will show you ten who are wretched from other causes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/show-me-one-couple-unhappy-merely-on-account-of-their-limited/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [“Some people in orthodox churches in Africa take poverty as a path that leads to heaven, making christianity look unattractive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/some-people-in-orthodox-churches-in-africa-take-poverty-as-a-path/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [That is a most wretched fortune which is without an enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/that-is-a-most-wretched-fortune-which-is-without-an-enemy/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [Where does the ego get its energy? The ego feeds off your desire to be something else. You are poor and you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/where-does-the-ego-get-its-energy-the-ego-feeds-off-your-desire-to-be/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [An accomplished mathematician, i.e. a most wretched orator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-barrow/an-accomplished-mathematician-i-e-a-most-wretched-orator/) [Isaac Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-barrow/) > [Do you hear the people sing Lost in the valley of the night? It is the music of a people Who are climbing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/do-you-hear-the-people-sing-lost-in-the-valley-of-the-night-it-is-the/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Multiculturalism means your kid has to learn some wretched tribal dirge for the school holiday concert instead of getting to sing 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/multiculturalism-means-your-kid-has-to-learn-some-wretched-tribal/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [It is prudence that first forsakes the wretched.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-prudence-that-first-forsakes-the-wretched/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [The people with very hard problems are understood by God. He knows what wretched machines they are trying to drive. Some day he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-people-with-very-hard-problems-are-understood-by-god-he-knows/) [C. S. 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The first two are by the routes of the wine-shop or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/there-are-but-three-ways-for-the-populace-to-escape-its-wretched-lot/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) ## More by Plautus > [Remind a man of what he remembers, and you will make him forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/remind-a-man-of-what-he-remembers-and-you-will-make-him-forget-it/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [Arrogance is the outgrowth of prosperity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/arrogance-is-the-outgrowth-of-prosperity/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [I suspect that hunger was my mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/i-suspect-that-hunger-was-my-mother/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [He is happy in his wisdom who has learned at another's expense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/he-is-happy-in-his-wisdom-who-has-learned-at-another-s-expense/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [He who dies for virtue does not perish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/he-who-dies-for-virtue-does-not-perish/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [The man who would be fully employed should procure a ship or a woman, for no two things produce more trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/the-man-who-would-be-fully-employed-should-procure-a-ship-or-a-woman/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [If you speak insults you will hear them also.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/if-you-speak-insults-you-will-hear-them-also/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [ No man has perpetual good fortune. \[Lat., Nulli est homini perpetuum bonum.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/no-man-has-perpetual-good-fortune-lat-nulli-est-homini-perpetuum-bonum/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [What you lend is lost; when you ask for it back, you may find a friend made an enemy by your kindness. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/what-you-lend-is-lost-when-you-ask-for-it-back-you-may-find-a-friend/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [Things unhoped for happen oftener than things we desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/things-unhoped-for-happen-oftener-than-things-we-desire/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [“Ut saepe summa ingenia in occulto latent (How often the greatest talents are shrouded in obscurity)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/ut-saepe-summa-ingenia-in-occulto-latent-how-often-the-greatest/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [ You little know what a ticklish thing it is to go to law. \[Lat., Nescis tu quam meticulosa res sit ire ad judicem.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/you-little-know-what-a-ticklish-thing-it-is-to-go-to-law-lat-nescis/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [Modesty should accompany youth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/modesty-should-accompany-youth/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [It is wisdom to think upon anything before we execute it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/it-is-wisdom-to-think-upon-anything-before-we-execute-it/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [A woman smells well when she smells of nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/a-woman-smells-well-when-she-smells-of-nothing/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) [Explore all 259 Plautus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) ## 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. 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And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [ “\[S\]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. 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