--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Idleness does not consist in doing…" description: "\"“Idleness does not consist in doing nothing, but in doing a great deal not recognized in the dogmatic formualries of the ruling class.”\" — Robert Louis..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/557/robert-louis-stevenson-289_idleness_idleness-does-not-consist-in-doing-nothi_442374.jpg" --- # Idleness does not consist in doing nothing, but in doing a… ![“Idleness does not consist in doing nothing, but in doing a great deal not recognized in the dogmatic formualries of the ruling class.” quote by Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/557/robert-louis-stevenson-289_idleness_idleness-does-not-consist-in-doing-nothi_442374.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/557/robert-louis-stevenson-289_idleness_idleness-does-not-consist-in-doing-nothi_442374.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/557/robert-louis-stevenson-289_idleness_idleness-does-not-consist-in-doing-nothi_442374.jpg) > ““Idleness does not consist in doing nothing, but in doing a great deal not recognized in the dogmatic formualries of the ruling class.”” [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Idle time is not empty; it often hides unrecognized, subversive work against oppressive norms. **In simple terms:** Idle work can be subversive. Key Takeaway Recognize hidden efforts. Themes politics subversion idle work Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical political When to use this quote - activism - academic research - artistic creation Key Concepts social critique power structures recognition Questions to Reflect On - What unnoticed work are you doing? - How can hidden efforts become visible? A Different Perspective May romanticize unproductive idleness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dogmatic Formualries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dogmatic-formualries-3877004/) [Idleness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idleness/) [Idleness Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idleness-does-3260479/) [Procrastination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/procrastination/) [Recognized Dogmatic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recognized-dogmatic-3877003/) [Ruling class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruling-class/) ## Related quotes > [“Idleness as a waste of time is a damaging notion put about by its spiritually vacant enemies. The fact that idling can be enormously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/idleness-as-a-waste-of-time-is-a-damaging-notion-put-about-by-its/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [Idleness does drive me crazy, but I'd rather read or write than do anything just to work. A kind of respect has been instilled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-allen/idleness-does-drive-me-crazy-but-i-d-rather-read-or-write-than-do/) [Karen Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-allen/) > [Extreme busyness is a symptom of deficient vitality, and a faculty for idleness implies a catholic appetite and a strong sense of personal identity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/extreme-busyness-is-a-symptom-of-deficient-vitality-and-a-faculty-for/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [A faculty for idleness implies a catholic appetite and a strong sense of personal identity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/a-faculty-for-idleness-implies-a-catholic-appetite-and-a-strong-sense/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The idle brain is the devil's playground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-lange/the-idle-brain-is-the-devil-s-playground/) [Eric Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-lange/) > [It can be set down as a broad, general principle that we cannot indulge in idleness and abundance during both the first and second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/it-can-be-set-down-as-a-broad-general-principle-that-we-cannot/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [Wasting time is negative, but there is something positive about idleness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/wasting-time-is-negative-but-there-is-something-positive-about/) [Russell Lynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/) > [The reason of idleness and of crime is the deferring of our hopes. Whilst we are waiting, we beguile the time with jokes, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-reason-of-idleness-and-of-crime-is-the-deferring-of-our-hopes/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Idleness is an expert thief,and our mind is its victim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abid-al-qarni/idleness-is-an-expert-thief-and-our-mind-is-its-victim/) [Abid Al Qarni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abid-al-qarni/) > [Timing is everything. Tell me how a young man spends his evenings and I will tell you how far he is likely to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/timing-is-everything-tell-me-how-a-young-man-spends-his-evenings-and/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [“Reality has a tendency to reveal itself when man is idle, and so it is because of this that idleness is often regarded as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vd/reality-has-a-tendency-to-reveal-itself-when-man-is-idle-and-so-it-is/) [VD](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vd/) > [Idleness is paralysis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roswell-dwight-hitchcock/idleness-is-paralysis/) [Roswell Dwight Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roswell-dwight-hitchcock/) > [“Liza had a finely developed sense of sin Idleness was a sin, and card playing, which was a kind of idleness to her. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/liza-had-a-finely-developed-sense-of-sin-idleness-was-a-sin-and-card/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [The frivolous work of polished idleness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mackintosh/the-frivolous-work-of-polished-idleness/) [James Mackintosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mackintosh/) > [“Idleness is seductive. Just relax and do nothing, it says.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innocent-mwatsikesimbe/idleness-is-seductive-just-relax-and-do-nothing-it-says/) [Innocent Mwatsikesimbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innocent-mwatsikesimbe/) ## More by Robert Louis Stevenson > [You must suffer me to go my own dark way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/you-must-suffer-me-to-go-my-own-dark-way/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Nobody speaks of a beautifful view for 5 minutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/nobody-speaks-of-a-beautifful-view-for-5-minutes/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best that we find is an honest friend. He is a fortunate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/we-are-all-travelers-in-the-wilderness-of-this-world-and-the-best/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The little rift between the sexes is astonishingly widened by simply teaching one set of catchwords to the girls and another to the boys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-little-rift-between-the-sexes-is-astonishingly-widened-by-simply/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The problem of education is twofold: first to know, and then to utter. Everyone who lives any semblance of an inner life thinks more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-problem-of-education-is-twofold-first-to-know-and-then-to-utter/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“For thirty years," he said, "I've sailed the seas and seen good and bad, better and worse, fair weather and foul, provisions running out,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/for-thirty-years-he-said-i-ve-sailed-the-seas-and-seen-good-and-bad/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“Mutiny, it was plain, hung over us like a thunder-cloud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/mutiny-it-was-plain-hung-over-us-like-a-thunder-cloud/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Jealousy is the most radical primeval and naked form of admiration in war paint, so to speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/jealousy-is-the-most-radical-primeval-and-naked-form-of-admiration-in/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [It is the property of things seen for the first time, or for the first time after long, like the flowers in spring, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/it-is-the-property-of-things-seen-for-the-first-time-or-for-the-first/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [You have no idea, unless you have tried it, how endlessly long is a summer's day, that you measure out only by hunger, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/you-have-no-idea-unless-you-have-tried-it-how-endlessly-long-is-a/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Do not measure success by today's harvest. Measure success by the seeds you plant today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/do-not-measure-success-by-today-s-harvest-measure-success-by-the/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [To be idle requires a strong sense of personal identity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/to-be-idle-requires-a-strong-sense-of-personal-identity/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Saints are sinners who kept on going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/saints-are-sinners-who-kept-on-going/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Loving God, help us remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/loving-god-help-us-remember-the-birth-of-jesus-that-we-may-share-in/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The friendly cow, all red and white, I love with all my heart; She gives me cream with all her might, To eat with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-friendly-cow-all-red-and-white-i-love-with-all-my-heart-she-gives/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) [Explore all 701 Robert Louis Stevenson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) ## More Idleness quotes > [“Idleness is seductive. Just relax and do nothing, it says.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innocent-mwatsikesimbe/idleness-is-seductive-just-relax-and-do-nothing-it-says/) [Innocent Mwatsikesimbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innocent-mwatsikesimbe/) > [“Virtue? A fig! 'Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus. Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/virtue-a-fig-tis-in-ourselves-that-we-are-thus-or-thus-our-bodies-are/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The frivolous work of polished idleness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mackintosh/the-frivolous-work-of-polished-idleness/) [James Mackintosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mackintosh/) > [We are more heavily taxed by our idleness, pride and folly than we are taxed by government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/we-are-more-heavily-taxed-by-our-idleness-pride-and-folly-than-we-are/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Doing nothing is the hardest torture that a person can put himself through. For he is always brought face to face with his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iwan-goll/doing-nothing-is-the-hardest-torture-that-a-person-can-put-himself/) [Iwan Goll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iwan-goll/) > [Inactivity and deprivation of all accustomed stimulus is not rest; it is a preparation for the tomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/inactivity-and-deprivation-of-all-accustomed-stimulus-is-not-rest-it/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [“Liza had a finely developed sense of sin Idleness was a sin, and card playing, which was a kind of idleness to her. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/liza-had-a-finely-developed-sense-of-sin-idleness-was-a-sin-and-card/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Idleness is paralysis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roswell-dwight-hitchcock/idleness-is-paralysis/) [Roswell Dwight Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roswell-dwight-hitchcock/) > [The even mead, that erst brought sweetly forth The freckled cowslip, burnet, and green clover, Wanting the scythe, all uncorrected, rank, Conceives by idleness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-even-mead-that-erst-brought-sweetly-forth-the-freckled-cowslip/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There is a perennial nobleness, and even sacredness, in work. Were he never so benighted, forgetful of his high calling, there is always hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/there-is-a-perennial-nobleness-and-even-sacredness-in-work-were-he/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Great talents, by the rust of long disuse, Grow lethargic and shrink from what they were.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/great-talents-by-the-rust-of-long-disuse-grow-lethargic-and-shrink/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Far from idleness being the root of all evil, it is rather the only true good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/far-from-idleness-being-the-root-of-all-evil-it-is-rather-the-only/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [“Reality has a tendency to reveal itself when man is idle, and so it is because of this that idleness is often regarded as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vd/reality-has-a-tendency-to-reveal-itself-when-man-is-idle-and-so-it-is/) [VD](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vd/) > [Let us be grateful to Adam: he cut us out of the blessing of idleness and won for us the curse of labor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/let-us-be-grateful-to-adam-he-cut-us-out-of-the-blessing-of-idleness/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If I gave my mother a knitted scarf she'd be worried I was wasting my time doing stupid stuff like knitting instead of school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/if-i-gave-my-mother-a-knitted-scarf-she-d-be-worried-i-was-wasting-my/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) [Browse all 564 Idleness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idleness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Idleness does not consist in doing nothing, but in doing a great deal not recognized in the dogmatic formualries of the ruling class.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Louis Stevenson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/idleness-does-not-consist-in-doing-nothing-but-in-doing-a-great-deal/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Idleness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/idleness-does-not-consist-in-doing-nothing-but-in-doing-a-great-deal/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/557/robert-louis-stevenson-289_idleness_idleness-does-not-consist-in-doing-nothi_442374.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/557/robert-louis-stevenson-289_idleness_idleness-does-not-consist-in-doing-nothi_442374.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/557/robert-louis-stevenson-289_idleness_idleness-does-not-consist-in-doing-nothi_442374.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Idleness does not consist in doing nothing, but in doing a great deal not recognized in the dogmatic…” — Robert Louis Stevenson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Robert Louis Stevenson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Idleness does not consist in doing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/idleness-does-not-consist-in-doing-nothing-but-in-doing-a-great-deal/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/idleness-does-not-consist-in-doing-nothing-but-in-doing-a-great-deal/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```