Action Quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson
“I hear therefore with joy whatever is beginning to be said of the dignity and necessity of labor to every citizen. There is virtue yet in the hoe and the spade, for learned as well as for unlearned hands. And labor is everywhere welcome; always we are invited to work; only be this limitation observed, that a man shall not for the sake of wider activity sacrifice any opinion to the popular judgments and modes of action.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: “Labor” in Essays, 1845
Labor dignifies all people, skilled or not, and should be valued over popular opinion.
In simple terms: Work dignifies everyone.
Key Takeaway
Respect all forms of work.
Themes
labor
dignity
virtue
Mood
reflective
serious
Type
philosophical
political
When to use this quote
- community projects
- manual jobs
- education
- political activism
Key Concepts
transcendentalism
social critique
Questions to Reflect On
- Why is manual work important?
- How can society honor all labor?
A Different Perspective
Economic pressures may devalue manual labor.
![“Some years ago I was working on some forms which were vase forms with a fairly narrow base, and it was after [Hans] Coper had died that I saw an exhibition of his, a catalogue from an exhibition, and he was showing some forms which were made by cutting and joining a lot of different parts together…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/16b/warren-mackenzie-4654_bits_some-years-ago-i-was-working-on-some-for_61245.jpg)
