---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The love of indolence is universal, or…"
description: "\"The love of indolence is universal, or next to it.\" — Samuel Taylor Coleridge"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d0/samuel-taylor-coleridge-425_indolence_the-love-of-indolence-is-universal-or-ne_109583.jpg"
---

#  The love of indolence is universal, or next to it.

![“The love of indolence is universal, or next to it.” quote by Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d0/samuel-taylor-coleridge-425_indolence_the-love-of-indolence-is-universal-or-ne_109583.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d0/samuel-taylor-coleridge-425_indolence_the-love-of-indolence-is-universal-or-ne_109583.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d0/samuel-taylor-coleridge-425_indolence_the-love-of-indolence-is-universal-or-ne_109583.jpg)

> “The love of indolence is universal, or next to it.”

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A universal tendency toward laziness exists, often rivaled only by another equally pervasive human inclination.

**In simple terms:** Indolence is a common human trait.

Key Takeaway

Laziness is widespread.

Themes

human nature laziness universality behavior

Mood

wry reflective

Type

aphoristic observational

When to use this quote

- workplace productivity
- academic procrastination
- habit formation
- self‑care routines

Key Concepts

motivation self‑regulation

Practical Applications

- design environments that reduce friction for desired actions
- apply habit‑stacking techniques

Questions to Reflect On

- When does laziness become a virtue?
- How can we differentiate productive rest from avoidance?

A Different Perspective

Sometimes deliberate rest is beneficial, distinguishing healthy pause from detrimental indolence.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Laziness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laziness/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/)

## Related quotes

> [Indolence is the dry rot of even a good mind and a good character; the practical uselessness of both. It is the waste of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/indolence-is-the-dry-rot-of-even-a-good-mind-and-a-good-character-the/)

[Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/)

> [“It always does seem to me that I am doing more work than I should do. It is not that I object to work;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-klapka-jerome/it-always-does-seem-to-me-that-i-am-doing-more-work-than-i-should-do/)

Jerome Klapka Jerome

> [Everybody knows how much time Fang spends in bed. A local store that gives a 30 days' trial on mattresses gives Fang only 15 days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-diller/everybody-knows-how-much-time-fang-spends-in-bed-a-local-store-that/)

[Phyllis Diller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-diller/)

> [One can be deceived by three types of laziness: of indolence, which is the wish to procrastinate; the laziness of inferiority, which is doubting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/one-can-be-deceived-by-three-types-of-laziness-of-indolence-which-is/)

[Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/)

> [To will the impossible is usually a sin of indolence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-lewald/to-will-the-impossible-is-usually-a-sin-of-indolence/)

Fanny Lewald

> [A young boy shouldn't be given up for hopeless just because he's lazy, surly, and good for nothing. Don't be discouraged by those things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gracie-allen/a-young-boy-shouldn-t-be-given-up-for-hopeless-just-because-he-s-lazy/)

[Gracie Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gracie-allen/)

> [I suppose that there is no point wasting time being lazy, though of course indolence in a divine way, actually has its advantages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/i-suppose-that-there-is-no-point-wasting-time-being-lazy-though-of/)

[Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/)

> [An idle man has a constant tendency to torpidity. He has adopted the Indian maxim that it is better to walk than to run,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cecil/an-idle-man-has-a-constant-tendency-to-torpidity-he-has-adopted-the/)

[Richard Cecil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cecil/)

> [I remember once a vocational director said to Fang, "You must develop some mechanical skills - like getting out of bed."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-diller/i-remember-once-a-vocational-director-said-to-fang-you-must-develop/)

[Phyllis Diller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-diller/)

> [“You appear to me not to have understood the nature of my body & mind. Partly from ill-health, & partly from an unhealthy &…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/you-appear-to-me-not-to-have-understood-the-nature-of-my-body-mind/)

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

> [“A sloppy half-Windsor is the first symptom of serial indolence' she replied in the patronizing voice that Yellows reserved for Rule-breakers, 'and ignoring the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/a-sloppy-half-windsor-is-the-first-symptom-of-serial-indolence-she/)

[Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/)

> [The critic is a man who prefers the indolence of opinion to the trials of action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mason-brown/the-critic-is-a-man-who-prefers-the-indolence-of-opinion-to-the/)

[John Mason Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mason-brown/)

> [And indeed nothing but the most determined scepticism, along with a great degree of indolence, can justify this aversion to metaphysics. For if truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/and-indeed-nothing-but-the-most-determined-scepticism-along-with-a/)

[David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/)

> [There are two sorts of content; one is connected with exertion, the other with habits of indolence. The first is a virtue; the other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-edgeworth/there-are-two-sorts-of-content-one-is-connected-with-exertion-the/)

[Maria Edgeworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-edgeworth/)

> [In our own time the whole of Greece has been subject to a low birth rate and a general decrease of the population, owing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polybius/in-our-own-time-the-whole-of-greece-has-been-subject-to-a-low-birth/)

[Polybius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polybius/)

## More by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

> [Humor is consistent with pathos, whilst wit is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/humor-is-consistent-with-pathos-whilst-wit-is-not/)

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

> [Never can true courage dwell with them, Who, playing tricks with conscience, dare not look At their own vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/never-can-true-courage-dwell-with-them-who-playing-tricks-with/)

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

> [The first duty of a wise advocate is to convince his opponents that he understands their arguments, and sympathies with their just feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-first-duty-of-a-wise-advocate-is-to-convince-his-opponents-that/)

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

> [And the Devil did grin, for his darling sin is pride that apes humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/and-the-devil-did-grin-for-his-darling-sin-is-pride-that-apes-humility/)

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

> [Facts are not truths; they are not conclusions; they are not even premises, but in the nature and parts of premises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/facts-are-not-truths-they-are-not-conclusions-they-are-not-even/)

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

> [I do not wish you to act from these truths; no, still and always act from your feelings; only meditate often on these truths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/i-do-not-wish-you-to-act-from-these-truths-no-still-and-always-act/)

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

> [A poet ought not to pick nature's pocket. Let him borrow, and so borrow as to repay by the very act of borrowing. Examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/a-poet-ought-not-to-pick-nature-s-pocket-let-him-borrow-and-so-borrow/)

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

> [With no other privilege than that of sympathy and sincere good wishes, I would address an affectionate exhortation to the youthful literati, grounded on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/with-no-other-privilege-than-that-of-sympathy-and-sincere-good-wishes/)

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

> [Ignorance seldom vaults into knowledge...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/ignorance-seldom-vaults-into-knowledge/)

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

> [Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee, Whether the summer clothe the general earth With greenness, or the redbreast sit and sing Betwixt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/therefore-all-seasons-shall-be-sweet-to-thee-whether-the-summer/)

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

> [Why are not more gems from our great authors scattered over the country? Great books are not in everybody's reach; and though it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/why-are-not-more-gems-from-our-great-authors-scattered-over-the/)

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

> [Life went a-maying With Nature, Hope, and Poesy, When I was young!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/life-went-a-maying-with-nature-hope-and-poesy-when-i-was-young/)

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

> [No voice; but oh - the silence sank Like music on my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/no-voice-but-oh-the-silence-sank-like-music-on-my-heart/)

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

> [The three great ends which a statesman ought to propose to himself in the government of a nation, are 1. Security to possessors; 2.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-three-great-ends-which-a-statesman-ought-to-propose-to-himself-in/)

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

> [“We in ourselves rejoice! And thence flows all that charms or ear or sight, All melodies the echoes of that voice, All colours a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/we-in-ourselves-rejoice-and-thence-flows-all-that-charms-or-ear-or/)

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

[Explore all 570 Samuel Taylor Coleridge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

## More Indolence quotes

> [In our own time the whole of Greece has been subject to a low birth rate and a general decrease of the population, owing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polybius/in-our-own-time-the-whole-of-greece-has-been-subject-to-a-low-birth/)

[Polybius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polybius/)

> [There are two sorts of content; one is connected with exertion, the other with habits of indolence. The first is a virtue; the other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-edgeworth/there-are-two-sorts-of-content-one-is-connected-with-exertion-the/)

[Maria Edgeworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-edgeworth/)

> [And indeed nothing but the most determined scepticism, along with a great degree of indolence, can justify this aversion to metaphysics. For if truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/and-indeed-nothing-but-the-most-determined-scepticism-along-with-a/)

[David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/)

> [The critic is a man who prefers the indolence of opinion to the trials of action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mason-brown/the-critic-is-a-man-who-prefers-the-indolence-of-opinion-to-the/)

[John Mason Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mason-brown/)

> [To will the impossible is usually a sin of indolence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-lewald/to-will-the-impossible-is-usually-a-sin-of-indolence/)

Fanny Lewald

> [“A sloppy half-Windsor is the first symptom of serial indolence' she replied in the patronizing voice that Yellows reserved for Rule-breakers, 'and ignoring the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/a-sloppy-half-windsor-is-the-first-symptom-of-serial-indolence-she/)

[Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/)

> [“A man must find his occasions in himself, it is true. The natural day is very calm, and will hardly reprove his indolence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-man-must-find-his-occasions-in-himself-it-is-true-the-natural-day/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [To an active mind, indolence is more painful than labor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/to-an-active-mind-indolence-is-more-painful-than-labor/)

[Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/)

> [It is not error which opposes the progress of truth; it is indolence, obstinacy, the spirit of routine, every thing which favors inaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-robert-jacques-turgot-baron-de-laune/it-is-not-error-which-opposes-the-progress-of-truth-it-is-indolence/)

[Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-robert-jacques-turgot-baron-de-laune/)

> [“You despise books; you whose lives are absorbed in the vanities of ambition, the pursuit of pleasure or indolence; but remember that all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/you-despise-books-you-whose-lives-are-absorbed-in-the-vanities-of/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [Could you understand the meaning of light if there were no darkness to point the contrast? Day and night, life and death, love and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-goudge/could-you-understand-the-meaning-of-light-if-there-were-no-darkness/)

[Elizabeth Goudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-goudge/)

> [I suppose that there is no point wasting time being lazy, though of course indolence in a divine way, actually has its advantages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/i-suppose-that-there-is-no-point-wasting-time-being-lazy-though-of/)

[Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/)

> [Indolence is the dry rot of even a good mind and a good character; the practical uselessness of both. It is the waste of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/indolence-is-the-dry-rot-of-even-a-good-mind-and-a-good-character-the/)

[Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/)

> [Pain, indolence, sterility, endless ennui have also their lesson for you, if you are great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/pain-indolence-sterility-endless-ennui-have-also-their-lesson-for-you/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [He who saddens at thought of idleness cannot be idle, / And he's awake who thinks himself asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/he-who-saddens-at-thought-of-idleness-cannot-be-idle-and-he-s-awake/)

[John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/)

Browse all 169 Indolence quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The love of indolence is universal, or next to it.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Samuel Taylor Coleridge"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-love-of-indolence-is-universal-or-next-to-it/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Indolence"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-love-of-indolence-is-universal-or-next-to-it/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d0/samuel-taylor-coleridge-425_indolence_the-love-of-indolence-is-universal-or-ne_109583.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d0/samuel-taylor-coleridge-425_indolence_the-love-of-indolence-is-universal-or-ne_109583.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d0/samuel-taylor-coleridge-425_indolence_the-love-of-indolence-is-universal-or-ne_109583.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The love of indolence is universal, or next to it.” — Samuel Taylor Coleridge",
                "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 Taylor Coleridge",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The love of indolence is universal,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-love-of-indolence-is-universal-or-next-to-it/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-love-of-indolence-is-universal-or-next-to-it/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```