--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Drudgery means doing an ungrateful task…" description: "\"“Drudgery means doing an ungrateful task for an ungrateful person – and anyone employed at the bottom of the labour market knows what that means. The”\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d3/roger-scruton-971_drudgery_drudgery-means-doing-an-ungrateful-task_2280190.jpg" --- # Drudgery means doing an ungrateful task for an ungrateful… ![“Drudgery means doing an ungrateful task for an ungrateful person – and anyone employed at the bottom of the labour market knows what that means. The” quote by Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d3/roger-scruton-971_drudgery_drudgery-means-doing-an-ungrateful-task_2280190.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d3/roger-scruton-971_drudgery_drudgery-means-doing-an-ungrateful-task_2280190.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d3/roger-scruton-971_drudgery_drudgery-means-doing-an-ungrateful-task_2280190.jpg) > ““Drudgery means doing an ungrateful task for an ungrateful person – and anyone employed at the bottom of the labour market knows what that means. The”” [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unappreciated work for ungrateful people creates deep resentment and alienation. **In simple terms:** Thankless work harms both worker and employer. Key Takeaway Recognize and value all contributions. Themes labor appreciation justice Mood disillusioned reflective Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - low‑wage jobs - volunteer work - family caretaking - unpaid internships Key Concepts existentialism social critique Questions to Reflect On - How can workplaces foster mutual respect? - What changes would make low‑skill jobs more valued? A Different Perspective Even if the task is necessary, it can erode dignity if not acknowledged. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Drudgery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drudgery/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Ungrateful person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ungrateful-person/) ## Related quotes > [“Babies need not to be taught a trade, but to be introduced to a world. To put the matter shortly, woman is generally shut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/babies-need-not-to-be-taught-a-trade-but-to-be-introduced-to-a-world/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [A grateful person is rich in contentment. An ungrateful person suffers in the poverty of endless discontentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-bednar/a-grateful-person-is-rich-in-contentment-an-ungrateful-person-suffers/) [David A. Bednar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-bednar/) > [I'm not an ungrateful person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-martin/i-m-not-an-ungrateful-person/) [Guy Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-martin/) > [When you meet an ungrateful person, be great. The moment you become great, you will become fulfilled. There is no other secret. Nothing else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/when-you-meet-an-ungrateful-person-be-great-the-moment-you-become/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [You'll never meet a happy ungrateful person, or an unhappy grateful person because gratitude and happiness go together. Sometimes happiness precedes gratitude but often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/you-ll-never-meet-a-happy-ungrateful-person-or-an-unhappy-grateful/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [You'll never see a happy ungrateful person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/you-ll-never-see-a-happy-ungrateful-person/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [Often our good deeds make enemies for us, and the ungrateful person despises us on two counts; for he is not only unwilling to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-de-souvre-marquise-de-sable/often-our-good-deeds-make-enemies-for-us-and-the-ungrateful-person/) [Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-de-souvre-marquise-de-sable/) > [When we become ungrateful to a person who was kind to us, we loose the opportunity to see the kindness of a fellow human!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/when-we-become-ungrateful-to-a-person-who-was-kind-to-us-we-loose-the/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [He who does a kindness to an ungrateful person, sets his seal to a flint and sows his seed upon the sand; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-south/he-who-does-a-kindness-to-an-ungrateful-person-sets-his-seal-to-a/) [Robert South](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-south/) > [Do not be angry with an ungrateful person; probably they are confused or inexperienced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chico-xavier/do-not-be-angry-with-an-ungrateful-person-probably-they-are-confused/) [Chico Xavier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chico-xavier/) > [Ungrateful people breed negativity. No one gets any pleasure from giving to an ungrateful person. When you show appreciation, the object of your attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccabe/ungrateful-people-breed-negativity-no-one-gets-any-pleasure-from/) Paul McCabe > [One ungrateful person does an injury to all needy people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/one-ungrateful-person-does-an-injury-to-all-needy-people/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [Drudgery, calamity, exasperation, want, are instructors in eloquence and wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/drudgery-calamity-exasperation-want-are-instructors-in-eloquence-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Freud pointed out, in his Problem of Lay Analysis, that it is extremely unlikely that a young man who would throw the best years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/freud-pointed-out-in-his-problem-of-lay-analysis-that-it-is-extremely/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [“And wings without dreams was drudgery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danyelle-leafty/and-wings-without-dreams-was-drudgery/) Danyelle Leafty ## More by Roger Scruton > [Beauty is vanishing from our world because we live as though it does not matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/beauty-is-vanishing-from-our-world-because-we-live-as-though-it-does/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“So conceived, the English police force served to emphasize a fundamental truth about the English law, which is that it exists not to control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/so-conceived-the-english-police-force-served-to-emphasize-a/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [My 2018 ended with a hate storm, in response to my appointment as chair of the government's Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/my-2018-ended-with-a-hate-storm-in-response-to-my-appointment-as/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [I've never been an optimist, but that's fine because pessimists have the possibility of being agreeably surprised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/i-ve-never-been-an-optimist-but-that-s-fine-because-pessimists-have/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [Unlike every other product that is now manufactured for the table, wine exists in as many varieties as there are people who produce it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/unlike-every-other-product-that-is-now-manufactured-for-the-table/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [The abstract, unreal freedom of the liberal intellect was really nothing more than childish disobedience, amplified into anarchy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/the-abstract-unreal-freedom-of-the-liberal-intellect-was-really/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“I think we can all see the force of the idea that there are certain things that cannot be done to human beings –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/i-think-we-can-all-see-the-force-of-the-idea-that-there-are-certain/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [When art becomes merely shock value, our sense of humanity is slowly degraded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/when-art-becomes-merely-shock-value-our-sense-of-humanity-is-slowly/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“Western democracies did not create the virtue of citizenship; on the contrary, they grew from it. Nothing is more evident in The Federalist than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/western-democracies-did-not-create-the-virtue-of-citizenship-on-the/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“If one looks back to the French Revolution, one sees just how easy it is for the doctrine of “human rights” to become an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/if-one-looks-back-to-the-french-revolution-one-sees-just-how-easy-it/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“I say it was immediately apparent, but it was not apparent to the intellectual class, which has remained largely wedded to the post-war consensus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/i-say-it-was-immediately-apparent-but-it-was-not-apparent-to-the/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [Conservatives hold on to things not only because they are attached to them, but also because they do not see the sense in radical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/conservatives-hold-on-to-things-not-only-because-they-are-attached-to/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“Academic philosophers in the English speaking world still regard philosophy as Locke defined it in the 17th century, as “the handmaiden of the sciences”:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/academic-philosophers-in-the-english-speaking-world-still-regard/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [Delia Smith is, actually, my bete noire. I consider her a most pernicious influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/delia-smith-is-actually-my-bete-noire-i-consider-her-a-most/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [Modern art was born from a desire to destroy kitsch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/modern-art-was-born-from-a-desire-to-destroy-kitsch/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) [Explore all 317 Roger Scruton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) ## More Drudgery quotes > [“And wings without dreams was drudgery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danyelle-leafty/and-wings-without-dreams-was-drudgery/) Danyelle Leafty > [Freud pointed out, in his Problem of Lay Analysis, that it is extremely unlikely that a young man who would throw the best years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/freud-pointed-out-in-his-problem-of-lay-analysis-that-it-is-extremely/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Drudgery, calamity, exasperation, want, are instructors in eloquence and wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/drudgery-calamity-exasperation-want-are-instructors-in-eloquence-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [the myth of childhood happiness flourishes so wildly not because it satisfies the needs of children but because it satisfies the needs of adults.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulamith-firestone/the-myth-of-childhood-happiness-flourishes-so-wildly-not-because-it/) [Shulamith Firestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulamith-firestone/) > [In all social systems there must be a class to do the menial duties, to perform the drudgery of life. That is, a class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-henry-hammond/in-all-social-systems-there-must-be-a-class-to-do-the-menial-duties/) [James Henry Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-henry-hammond/) > [There must be a law if there is to be liberty. Try to play a piano and you will run into laws as fixed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-rogers/there-must-be-a-law-if-there-is-to-be-liberty-try-to-play-a-piano-and/) [Adrian Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-rogers/) > [In the usual way I submitted manuscripts to publishers. This was not so much a feeling that I should be published as a wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/in-the-usual-way-i-submitted-manuscripts-to-publishers-this-was-not/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [I do everything. Of course, I have 50 people who work for me to do the drudgery of mold making and all the foundry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-macdonald/i-do-everything-of-course-i-have-50-people-who-work-for-me-to-do-the/) [Richard MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-macdonald/) > [Man is still by instinct a predatory animal given to devilish aggression. The discoveries of science have immensely increased productivity of material things. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hoover/man-is-still-by-instinct-a-predatory-animal-given-to-devilish/) [Herbert Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-hoover/) > [Who first invented work, and bound the free And holiday-rejoicing spirit down . . . . To that dry drudgery at the desk's dead wood? . . . . Sabbathless Satan!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/who-first-invented-work-and-bound-the-free-and-holiday-rejoicing/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [Work is not a curse, but drudgery is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/work-is-not-a-curse-but-drudgery-is/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“Even the ordinary business of cleaning house seemed somehow to have become sacramental.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/even-the-ordinary-business-of-cleaning-house-seemed-somehow-to-have/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [This society turns everything it touches into a potential source of progress and exploitation, of drudgery and satisfaction, of freedom and of oppression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/this-society-turns-everything-it-touches-into-a-potential-source-of/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) > [The everyday cares and duties, which men call drudgery, are the weights and counterpoises of the clock of time, giving its pendulum a true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-everyday-cares-and-duties-which-men-call-drudgery-are-the-weights/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [Hypocrites do the devil's drudgery in Christ's livery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-mcconaughey/hypocrites-do-the-devil-s-drudgery-in-christ-s-livery/) [Matthew McConaughey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-mcconaughey/) [Browse all 141 Drudgery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drudgery/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Drudgery means doing an ungrateful task for an ungrateful person – and anyone employed at the bottom of the labour market knows what that means. 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