--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is virtue yet in the hoe and the…" description: "\"There is virtue yet in the hoe and the spade, for learned as well as for unlearned hands. And labor is everywhere welcome; alwayswe are invited to work..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_character_there-is-virtue-yet-in-the-hoe-and-the-s_1261811.png" --- # There is virtue yet in the hoe and the spade, for learned… ![“There is virtue yet in the hoe and the spade, for learned as well as for unlearned hands. And labor is everywhere welcome; alwayswe are invited to work.” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_character_there-is-virtue-yet-in-the-hoe-and-the-s_1261811.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_character_there-is-virtue-yet-in-the-hoe-and-the-s_1261811.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_character_there-is-virtue-yet-in-the-hoe-and-the-s_1261811.png) > “There is virtue yet in the hoe and the spade, for learned as well as for unlearned hands. And labor is everywhere welcome; alwayswe are invited to work.” [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## 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 is valuable for both skilled and unskilled people, and society welcomes labor. **In simple terms:** Work is good for everyone. Key Takeaway Embrace work regardless of skill. Themes labor virtue inclusivity Mood respectful encouraging Type ethical inspirational When to use this quote - farm work - manual jobs - volunteering - learning new skills Key Concepts self-reliance dignity of work Questions to Reflect On - How can we value all types of labor? - What barriers prevent people from working? A Different Perspective Not all work is equally rewarding or safe. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [I hear therefore with joy whatever is beginning to be said of the dignity and necessity of labor to every citizen. There is virtue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-hear-therefore-with-joy-whatever-is-beginning-to-be-said-of-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I'm proud to represent those hands that labor in this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-ontiveros/i-m-proud-to-represent-those-hands-that-labor-in-this-country/) [Lupe Ontiveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-ontiveros/) > [I'm proud to represent those hands that labor in this country. I've given every maid I've ever portrayed soul and heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-ontiveros/i-m-proud-to-represent-those-hands-that-labor-in-this-country-i-ve/) [Lupe Ontiveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-ontiveros/) > [The head thinks, the hands labor, but it's the heart that laughs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-curtis-higgs/the-head-thinks-the-hands-labor-but-it-s-the-heart-that-laughs/) [Liz Curtis Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-curtis-higgs/) > [My good hoe as it bites the ground revenges my wrongs, and I have less lust to bite my enemies. In the smoothing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/my-good-hoe-as-it-bites-the-ground-revenges-my-wrongs-and-i-have-less/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [They call me Superman, leap tall hoes in a single bound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/they-call-me-superman-leap-tall-hoes-in-a-single-bound/) [Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/) > [I hope it might help players have confidence in our own ways, and not to be afraid of them, as Bernstein showed - things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/i-hope-it-might-help-players-have-confidence-in-our-own-ways-and-not/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [I abhor a hoe. I am fond of flowers but not of dirt, and had rather buy them than cultivate them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/i-abhor-a-hoe-i-am-fond-of-flowers-but-not-of-dirt-and-had-rather-buy/) [Lyman Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/) > [Hoes want attention, women want respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/hoes-want-attention-women-want-respect/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [I'm an honest hoe, and all my hoes is honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/della-reese/i-m-an-honest-hoe-and-all-my-hoes-is-honest/) [Della Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/della-reese/) > [Don't lie to the girl of your life for the hoe of the night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/don-t-lie-to-the-girl-of-your-life-for-the-hoe-of-the-night/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [I care not who hoes the lettuce of my country if I can eat the salad!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-care-not-who-hoes-the-lettuce-of-my-country-if-i-can-eat-the-salad/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Momma kept a garden, which sounds romantic to people who have never held a hoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-bragg/momma-kept-a-garden-which-sounds-romantic-to-people-who-have-never/) [Rick Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-bragg/) > [Mine was, as it were, the connecting link between wild and cultivated fields; as some states are civilized, and others half-civilized, and others savage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/mine-was-as-it-were-the-connecting-link-between-wild-and-cultivated/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Me, my niggas and some Madonna hoes that look just like virgins but trust they down to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/me-my-niggas-and-some-madonna-hoes-that-look-just-like-virgins-but/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) ## More by Ralph Waldo Emerson > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-then-creative-reading-as-well-as-creative-writing-when-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The order of things consents to virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-order-of-things-consents-to-virtue/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Life only avails, not the having lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/life-only-avails-not-the-having-lived/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-child-reminds-us-that-playtime-is-an-essential-part-of-our-daily/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [No man can be criticised but by a greater than he. Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am; therefore, I had nothing better to do than to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-am-therefore-i-had-nothing-better-to-do-than-to-think/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends, but they are imprisoned by an enchanter in these paper and leathern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-a-library-we-are-surrounded-by-many-hundreds-of-dear-friends-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Explore all 4,802 Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. 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But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. 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