--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man who lets himself be bored is even…" description: "\"A man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore.\" — Samuel Butler" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60a/samuel-butler-823_being-bored_a-man-who-lets-himself-be-bored-is-even_120785.jpg" --- # A man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible… ![“A man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore.” quote by Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60a/samuel-butler-823_being-bored_a-man-who-lets-himself-be-bored-is-even_120785.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60a/samuel-butler-823_being-bored_a-man-who-lets-himself-be-bored-is-even_120785.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60a/samuel-butler-823_being-bored_a-man-who-lets-himself-be-bored-is-even_120785.jpg) > “A man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore.” [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing to be bored is a conscious surrender to stagnation, which the author deems even worse than being naturally boring. **In simple terms:** Boredom by choice is more contemptible than inherent dullness. Key Takeaway Passive disengagement is a moral failing. Themes motivation self‑discipline boredom personal responsibility Mood critical reflective Type philosophical observation moral admonition When to use this quote - watching TV mindlessly - avoiding challenging tasks - procrastinating at work Key Concepts existential agency Practical Applications - set micro‑goals - introduce novelty into routine Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to actively choose boredom? - Can boredom ever be productive? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being bored](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-bored/) [Bored](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bored/) [Bored Contemptible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bored-contemptible-1409869/) [Contemptible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemptible/) [Contemptible Bore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemptible-bore-1409870/) [Man Lets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-lets-1404112/) ## Related quotes > [The man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/the-man-who-lets-himself-be-bored-is-even-more-contemptible-than-the/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [If I die prematurely at any rate I shall be saved from being bored to death by my own success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/if-i-die-prematurely-at-any-rate-i-shall-be-saved-from-being-bored-to/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [A man lets you know who he is by how he treats others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-williams/a-man-lets-you-know-who-he-is-by-how-he-treats-others/) [Mo Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-williams/) > [“I say a man that lets his religion git in the way of his drinking is a fella with his cart 'fore his horse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-belcher/i-say-a-man-that-lets-his-religion-git-in-the-way-of-his-drinking-is/) [R.S. Belcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-s-belcher/) > [A REAL MAN LETS HER HAVE MULTIPLE ORGASMS BEFORE U HAVE YOUR FIRST ONE.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fidencio-candelaria/a-real-man-lets-her-have-multiple-orgasms-before-u-have-your-first-one/) [FIDENCIO CANDELARIA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fidencio-candelaria/) > [God dwells wherever man lets Him in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/god-dwells-wherever-man-lets-him-in/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [He who loses an opportunity is like the man who lets a bird fly from his hand, for he will never recover it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-the-cross/he-who-loses-an-opportunity-is-like-the-man-who-lets-a-bird-fly-from/) [John of the Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-the-cross/) > [A real man never lets his woman step out of the house not looking drop dead fabulous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theoneikeh/a-real-man-never-lets-his-woman-step-out-of-the-house-not-looking/) [TheoneIkeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theoneikeh/) > [Where two discourse, if the one's anger rise, The man who lets the contest fall is wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/where-two-discourse-if-the-one-s-anger-rise-the-man-who-lets-the/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [ \[To become a poet\] The most important thing is to pay attention. The next would probably be to read; it's so important to pay… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/to-become-a-poet-the-most-important-thing-is-to-pay-attention-the/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [Why should I stop working? If I do, I'll die and it'll all be finished. 'm lucky to work in the most perfect of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-lagerfeld/why-should-i-stop-working-if-i-do-i-ll-die-and-it-ll-all-be-finished/) [Karl Lagerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-lagerfeld/) > [When you're bored and you just take some pictures of your self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shennon-fabiano/when-you-re-bored-and-you-just-take-some-pictures-of-your-self/) [Shennon Fabiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shennon-fabiano/) > [Dear Brain, Please start being able to tell the difference between hungry and bored. Sincerely, I am getting fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dear-brain-please-start-being-able-to-tell-the-difference-between/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [This is what I do when I'm bored as fuck just taking pics!!!!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joann/this-is-what-i-do-when-i-m-bored-as-fuck-just-taking-pics/) [Joann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joann/) > [I'm bored of being bored because being bored is very boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sachithra/i-m-bored-of-being-bored-because-being-bored-is-very-boring/) [Sachithra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sachithra/) ## More by Samuel Butler > [Is life worth living? This is a question for an embryo not for a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/is-life-worth-living-this-is-a-question-for-an-embryo-not-for-a-man/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [I am the enfant terrible of literature and science. If I cannot, and I know I cannot, get the literary and scientific bigwigs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/i-am-the-enfant-terrible-of-literature-and-science-if-i-cannot-and-i/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [If you follow reason far enough it always leads to conclusions that are contrary to reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/if-you-follow-reason-far-enough-it-always-leads-to-conclusions-that/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [All animals, except man, know that the principal business of life is to enjoy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/all-animals-except-man-know-that-the-principal-business-of-life-is-to/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [The advantage of doing one's praising for oneself is that one can lay it on so thick and exactly in the right places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/the-advantage-of-doing-one-s-praising-for-oneself-is-that-one-can-lay/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Spare the rod and spoil the child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Opinions have vested interests just as men have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/opinions-have-vested-interests-just-as-men-have/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [“we must judge men not so much by what they, as by what they make us feel that they have it in them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/we-must-judge-men-not-so-much-by-what-they-as-by-what-they-make-us/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [If I die prematurely I shall be saved from being bored to death at my own success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/if-i-die-prematurely-i-shall-be-saved-from-being-bored-to-death-at-my/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Vaccination is the medical sacrament corresponding to baptism. Whether it is or is not more efficacious I do not know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/vaccination-is-the-medical-sacrament-corresponding-to-baptism-whether/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [“Having, then, once introduced an element of inconsistency into his system, he was far too consistent not to be inconsistent consistently, and he lapsed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/having-then-once-introduced-an-element-of-inconsistency-into-his/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Brigands demand your money or your life; women require both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/brigands-demand-your-money-or-your-life-women-require-both/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [It is not sufficiently considered in the hour of exultation, that all human excellence is comparative; that no man performs much but in proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/it-is-not-sufficiently-considered-in-the-hour-of-exultation-that-all/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [“The oldest books are still only just out to those who have not read them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/the-oldest-books-are-still-only-just-out-to-those-who-have-not-read/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [It seems to be the fate of man to seek all his consolations in futurity. The time present is seldom able to fill desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/it-seems-to-be-the-fate-of-man-to-seek-all-his-consolations-in/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) [Explore all 355 Samuel Butler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) ## More Being bored quotes > [I'm bored of being bored because being bored is very boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sachithra/i-m-bored-of-being-bored-because-being-bored-is-very-boring/) [Sachithra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sachithra/) > [~comment if you wanna~](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/she-s-gone/comment-if-you-wanna/) [She's\_gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/she-s-gone/) > [This is what I do when I'm bored as fuck just taking pics!!!!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joann/this-is-what-i-do-when-i-m-bored-as-fuck-just-taking-pics/) [Joann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joann/) > [Dear Brain, Please start being able to tell the difference between hungry and bored. Sincerely, I am getting fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dear-brain-please-start-being-able-to-tell-the-difference-between/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you're bored and you just take some pictures of your self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shennon-fabiano/when-you-re-bored-and-you-just-take-some-pictures-of-your-self/) [Shennon Fabiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shennon-fabiano/) > [Why should I stop working? If I do, I'll die and it'll all be finished. 'm lucky to work in the most perfect of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-lagerfeld/why-should-i-stop-working-if-i-do-i-ll-die-and-it-ll-all-be-finished/) [Karl Lagerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-lagerfeld/) > [ \[To become a poet\] The most important thing is to pay attention. The next would probably be to read; it's so important to pay… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/to-become-a-poet-the-most-important-thing-is-to-pay-attention-the/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [Well, Im bored again. Time to open the fridge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/well-im-bored-again-time-to-open-the-fridge/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being bored is not a legitimate excuse to post 1000+ webcam photos of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-bored-is-not-a-legitimate-excuse-to-post-1000-webcam-photos-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If I die prematurely at any rate I shall be saved from being bored to death by my own success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/if-i-die-prematurely-at-any-rate-i-shall-be-saved-from-being-bored-to/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [What is the task of higher education? To make a man into a machine. What are the means employed? He is taught how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-is-the-task-of-higher-education-to-make-a-man-into-a-machine/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Be the person you wannna be dont let any one chage you lil cutie noone will hurt your stronger than they are, I love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolas-sixx-is-single-now/be-the-person-you-wannna-be-dont-let-any-one-chage-you-lil-cutie/) [Nikolas Sixx Is Single Now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolas-sixx-is-single-now/) > [When you have to study, even the ceiling looks more interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-have-to-study-even-the-ceiling-looks-more-interesting/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im bored by doing nothing this day.. wtf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-ramales/im-bored-by-doing-nothing-this-day-wtf/) [Emily Ramales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-ramales/) > [Staying busy keeps me away from being bored, which used to be a lot of my problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-windstein/staying-busy-keeps-me-away-from-being-bored-which-used-to-be-a-lot-of/) [Kirk Windstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-windstein/) [Browse all 117 Being bored quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-bored/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Butler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/a-man-who-lets-himself-be-bored-is-even-more-contemptible-than-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Being bored" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/a-man-who-lets-himself-be-bored-is-even-more-contemptible-than-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60a/samuel-butler-823_being-bored_a-man-who-lets-himself-be-bored-is-even_120785.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60a/samuel-butler-823_being-bored_a-man-who-lets-himself-be-bored-is-even_120785.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60a/samuel-butler-823_being-bored_a-man-who-lets-himself-be-bored-is-even_120785.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore.” — Samuel Butler", "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": "Samuel Butler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A man who lets himself be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/a-man-who-lets-himself-be-bored-is-even-more-contemptible-than-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/a-man-who-lets-himself-be-bored-is-even-more-contemptible-than-the/#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 } } ] } ```