--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He who labours not, cannot enjoy the…" description: "\"He who labours not, cannot enjoy the reward of labour.\" — Samuel Smiles" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9df/samuel-smiles-2037_cannot_he-who-labours-not-cannot-enjoy-the-rewa_1684663.png" --- # He who labours not, cannot enjoy the reward of labour. ![“He who labours not, cannot enjoy the reward of labour.” quote by Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9df/samuel-smiles-2037_cannot_he-who-labours-not-cannot-enjoy-the-rewa_1684663.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9df/samuel-smiles-2037_cannot_he-who-labours-not-cannot-enjoy-the-rewa_1684663.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9df/samuel-smiles-2037_cannot_he-who-labours-not-cannot-enjoy-the-rewa_1684663.png) > “He who labours not, cannot enjoy the reward of labour.” [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Those who do not work cannot appreciate the rewards that labor brings, emphasizing the value of effort. **In simple terms:** No work, no reward. Key Takeaway Earn your success through effort. Themes work ethic reward motivation self-improvement economics Mood inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career development - financial planning - personal growth Key Concepts labor value personal fulfillment social mobility Questions to Reflect On - Why is effort sometimes unrewarded? - How can societies ensure fair reward for labor? A Different Perspective Hard work alone may not guarantee success without opportunity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Labour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labour/) [Reward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reward/) [Rewards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rewards/) ## Related quotes > [The reward of labour is life. Is that not enough?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/the-reward-of-labour-is-life-is-that-not-enough/) [William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/) > [Excellence is never granted to man, but as the reward of labour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/excellence-is-never-granted-to-man-but-as-the-reward-of-labour/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [“For my part, I think that to a man of spirit there is no other aim and end of his labours except the labours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-jayaswal/for-my-part-i-think-that-to-a-man-of-spirit-there-is-no-other-aim-and/) Dr Jayaswal > [“We all know that there is a reward for every labour as well as there is a reward for every game played and won.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/godspower-oparaugo/we-all-know-that-there-is-a-reward-for-every-labour-as-well-as-there/) Godspower Oparaugo > [“You must be aware that the reward for labour, and quantity of labour, are quite disparate things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/you-must-be-aware-that-the-reward-for-labour-and-quantity-of-labour/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [“They claim their labours are to build a heaven yet their heaven is populated with horrors. Perhaps the world is not made. Perhaps nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/they-claim-their-labours-are-to-build-a-heaven-yet-their-heaven-is/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Be aware that the reward for labour, and quantity of labour, are quite disparate things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/be-aware-that-the-reward-for-labour-and-quantity-of-labour-are-quite/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [The worlds civilization started from the day on which everyone received reward for labour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-carnegie/the-worlds-civilization-started-from-the-day-on-which-everyone/) [Andrew Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-carnegie/) > [“Of what use can our labour be, when the labours we record are in themselves entirely useless?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-dircks/of-what-use-can-our-labour-be-when-the-labours-we-record-are-in/) Henry Dircks > [“The work is plentiful but the labours are few.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-work-is-plentiful-but-the-labours-are-few/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Such is the supreme folly of man that he labours so as to labour no more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/such-is-the-supreme-folly-of-man-that-he-labours-so-as-to-labour-no/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [The theologian who labours without joy is not a theologian at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-barth/the-theologian-who-labours-without-joy-is-not-a-theologian-at-all/) [Karl Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-barth/) > [In vain our labours are, whatsoe'er they be, unless God gives the Benediction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-herrick/in-vain-our-labours-are-whatsoe-er-they-be-unless-god-gives-the/) [Robert Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-herrick/) > [He who labours, prays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/he-who-labours-prays/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [If we had to preach to thousands year after year, and never rescued but one soul, that one soul would be a full reward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/if-we-had-to-preach-to-thousands-year-after-year-and-never-rescued/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) ## More by Samuel Smiles > [Biographies of great, but especially of good men are most instructive and useful as helps, guides, and incentives to others. Some of the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/biographies-of-great-but-especially-of-good-men-are-most-instructive/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [Diligence, above all, is the mother of good luck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/diligence-above-all-is-the-mother-of-good-luck/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The women of the poorer classes make sacrifices, and run risks, and bear privations, and exercise patience and kindness to a degree that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-women-of-the-poorer-classes-make-sacrifices-and-run-risks-and/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [Self-respect is the noblest garment with which a man can clothe himself, the most elevating feeling with which the mind can be inspired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/self-respect-is-the-noblest-garment-with-which-a-man-can-clothe/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The experience gathered from books, though often valuable, is but of the nature of learning; whereas, the experience gained from actual life is of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-experience-gathered-from-books-though-often-valuable-is-but-of/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The apprenticeship of difficulty is one which the greatest of men have had to serve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-apprenticeship-of-difficulty-is-one-which-the-greatest-of-men/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The spirit of self-help is the root of all genuine growth in the individual; and, exhibited in the lives of many, it constitutes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-spirit-of-self-help-is-the-root-of-all-genuine-growth-in-the/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The wise man... if he would live at peace with others, he will bear and forbear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-wise-man-if-he-would-live-at-peace-with-others-he-will-bear-and/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [Those who are the most persistent, and work in the true spirit, will invariably be the most successful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/those-who-are-the-most-persistent-and-work-in-the-true-spirit-will/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The iron rail proved a magicians' road. It virtually reduced England to a sixth of its size. It brought the country nearer to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-iron-rail-proved-a-magicians-road-it-virtually-reduced-england-to/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [This extraordinary metal, the soul of every manufacture, and the mainspring perhaps of civilised society. Of iron.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/this-extraordinary-metal-the-soul-of-every-manufacture-and-the/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [Man cannot aspire if he looked down; if he rise, he must look up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/man-cannot-aspire-if-he-looked-down-if-he-rise-he-must-look-up/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The life of a good man is at the same time the most eloquent lesson of virtue and the most severe reproof of vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-life-of-a-good-man-is-at-the-same-time-the-most-eloquent-lesson/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [It is a grand old name, that of gentleman, and has been recognized as a rank and power in all stages of society. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/it-is-a-grand-old-name-that-of-gentleman-and-has-been-recognized-as-a/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [“Many are the lives of men unwritten, which have nevertheless as powerfully influenced civilization and progress as the more fortunate Great whose names are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/many-are-the-lives-of-men-unwritten-which-have-nevertheless-as/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) [Explore all 189 Samuel Smiles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) ## More Cannot quotes > [The United States cannot and should not discriminate on the basis of religion. The free exercise of religion is at the very heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/the-united-states-cannot-and-should-not-discriminate-on-the-basis-of/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [The book is not simply the object that one holds in one's hands, and it cannot remain within the little parallelpiped that contains it:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/the-book-is-not-simply-the-object-that-one-holds-in-one-s-hands-and/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [Nothing is more private than a woman's body; it is her physical, emotional, and moral citadel. She cannot be free at all if she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/nothing-is-more-private-than-a-woman-s-body-it-is-her-physical/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [Visaaranai' reflects a stark reality from which you cannot shut yourself out: that is its success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vetrimaaran/visaaranai-reflects-a-stark-reality-from-which-you-cannot-shut/) [Vetrimaaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vetrimaaran/) > [When you put more than a million kids in school, you take a plane today and go to Haiti, you cannot see the results.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-martelly/when-you-put-more-than-a-million-kids-in-school-you-take-a-plane/) [Michel Martelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-martelly/) > [We cannot stop anyone from criticising us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inzamam-ul-haq/we-cannot-stop-anyone-from-criticising-us/) [Inzamam-ul-Haq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inzamam-ul-haq/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [The Brazilians are amazing in their nature. You cannot describe it; you must feel that warmth when you're around them to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrikh-mkhitaryan/the-brazilians-are-amazing-in-their-nature-you-cannot-describe-it-you/) [Henrikh Mkhitaryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrikh-mkhitaryan/) > [The two things you cannot do effectively on stage are pray and copulate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-welles/the-two-things-you-cannot-do-effectively-on-stage-are-pray-and/) [Orson Welles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-welles/) > [Liberty does not exist where rights are on one side and power on the other. To be liberty, rights must be armed with vital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/liberty-does-not-exist-where-rights-are-on-one-side-and-power-on-the/) [Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/) > [The reason I fight is to provide for my family, and I cannot risk having that taken away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whittaker/the-reason-i-fight-is-to-provide-for-my-family-and-i-cannot-risk/) [Robert Whittaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whittaker/) > [We cannot have players who don't give their soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/we-cannot-have-players-who-don-t-give-their-soul/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [I cannot do confrontation. You know that fight or flight thing? I'm flight. I just don't want the argument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-saunders/i-cannot-do-confrontation-you-know-that-fight-or-flight-thing-i-m/) [Jennifer Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-saunders/) > [Rahul Gandhi cannot be a prime minister because he is a citizen of Britain, and his Indian citizenship will be cancelled; he won't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subramanian-swamy/rahul-gandhi-cannot-be-a-prime-minister-because-he-is-a-citizen-of/) [Subramanian Swamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subramanian-swamy/) Browse all 2,691 Cannot quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He who labours not, cannot enjoy the reward of labour.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Smiles" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/he-who-labours-not-cannot-enjoy-the-reward-of-labour/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cannot" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/he-who-labours-not-cannot-enjoy-the-reward-of-labour/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9df/samuel-smiles-2037_cannot_he-who-labours-not-cannot-enjoy-the-rewa_1684663.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9df/samuel-smiles-2037_cannot_he-who-labours-not-cannot-enjoy-the-rewa_1684663.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9df/samuel-smiles-2037_cannot_he-who-labours-not-cannot-enjoy-the-rewa_1684663.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He who labours not, cannot enjoy the reward of labour.” — Samuel Smiles", "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 Smiles", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "He who labours not, cannot enjoy...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/he-who-labours-not-cannot-enjoy-the-reward-of-labour/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/he-who-labours-not-cannot-enjoy-the-reward-of-labour/#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 } } ] } ```