--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our labour preserves us from three great…" description: "\"Our labour preserves us from three great evils -- weariness, vice, and want.\" — Voltaire" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc7/voltaire-173_evil_our-labour-preserves-us-from-three-great_1757198.png" --- # Our labour preserves us from three great evils… ![“Our labour preserves us from three great evils -- weariness, vice, and want.” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc7/voltaire-173_evil_our-labour-preserves-us-from-three-great_1757198.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc7/voltaire-173_evil_our-labour-preserves-us-from-three-great_1757198.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc7/voltaire-173_evil_our-labour-preserves-us-from-three-great_1757198.png) > “Our labour preserves us from three great evils -- weariness, vice, and want.” [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Labor protects us from boredom, immoral behavior, and desire by keeping us occupied. **In simple terms:** Work shields against idleness, vice, and want. Key Takeaway Stay productive to avoid pitfalls. Themes work ethic self‑discipline virtue Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - career - daily routine - personal development - mental health Key Concepts philosophy social commentary Questions to Reflect On - Can work replace all sources of desire? - How does meaningful work differ from mere occupation? A Different Perspective Work alone may not fulfill deeper needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evils Weariness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evils-weariness-1658677/) [Great Evils](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-evils-1658679/) [Labour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labour/) [Labour Preserves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labour-preserves-1658676/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Weariness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weariness/) [Weariness Vice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weariness-vice-1658678/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [Work helps to preserve us from three great evils -weariness, vice, and want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/work-helps-to-preserve-us-from-three-great-evils-weariness-vice-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Faith is one of the world's great evils, comparable to the smallpox virus but harder to eradicate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/faith-is-one-of-the-world-s-great-evils-comparable-to-the-smallpox/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Labor rids us of three great evils; tediousness, vice, and poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/labor-rids-us-of-three-great-evils-tediousness-vice-and-poverty/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [“Thus have they committed two great evils, in which they persist, and from which they hate to be reformed; they take away from God's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-henry/thus-have-they-committed-two-great-evils-in-which-they-persist-and/) [Matthew Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-henry/) > [As is true with respect to other great evils, the measures by which war might be made altogether impossible for the future may well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/as-is-true-with-respect-to-other-great-evils-the-measures-by-which/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [To great evils we submit; yet we resent little provocations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/to-great-evils-we-submit-yet-we-resent-little-provocations/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [When great evils happen, I am in the habit of looking out for what good may arise from them as consolations to us, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/when-great-evils-happen-i-am-in-the-habit-of-looking-out-for-what/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [It is some compensation for great evils, that they enforce great lessons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/it-is-some-compensation-for-great-evils-that-they-enforce-great/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [Misery and ignorance are always the cause of great evils. Misery is easily excited to anger, and ignorance soon yields to perfidious counsels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/misery-and-ignorance-are-always-the-cause-of-great-evils-misery-is/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [To great evils we submit; we resent little provocations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/to-great-evils-we-submit-we-resent-little-provocations/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The greatest temptations are not those that solicit our consent to obvious sin, but those that offer us great evils masking as the greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-greatest-temptations-are-not-those-that-solicit-our-consent-to/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [All the great evils which men cause to each other because of certain intentions, desires, opinions, or religious principles, are likewise due to non-existence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/all-the-great-evils-which-men-cause-to-each-other-because-of-certain/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [The authors of great evils know best how to remove them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/the-authors-of-great-evils-know-best-how-to-remove-them/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [How can so much beauty hide such a bruised and steely heart, and why must I love him, why must I lean in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/how-can-so-much-beauty-hide-such-a-bruised-and-steely-heart-and-why/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [In the eyes of those lovers of perfection, a work is never finished a word that for them has no sense but abandoned; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/in-the-eyes-of-those-lovers-of-perfection-a-work-is-never-finished-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) ## More by Voltaire > [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Fanaticism, to which men are so much inclined, has always served not only to render them more brutalized but more wicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/fanaticism-to-which-men-are-so-much-inclined-has-always-served-not/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [History is the study of the world's crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-the-study-of-the-world-s-crime/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good; we do the best we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/we-re-neither-pure-nor-wise-nor-good-we-do-the-best-we-know/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part, the rest are lost in the multitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-with-books-as-with-men-a-very-small-number-play-a-great-part/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Meslier was the most singular phenomenon ever seen among all the meteors fatal to the Christian religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/meslier-was-the-most-singular-phenomenon-ever-seen-among-all-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Being unable to make people more reasonable, I preferred to be happy away from them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/being-unable-to-make-people-more-reasonable-i-preferred-to-be-happy/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [When his highness sends a ship to Egypt, does he trouble his head whether the mice on board are at their ease or not?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/when-his-highness-sends-a-ship-to-egypt-does-he-trouble-his-head/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Madness is to think of too many things in succession too fast, or of one thing too exclusively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/madness-is-to-think-of-too-many-things-in-succession-too-fast-or-of/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/god-gave-us-the-gift-of-life-it-is-up-to-us-to-give-ourselves-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is not inequality which is the real misfortune, it is dependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-not-inequality-which-is-the-real-misfortune-it-is-dependence/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Providence has given us hope and sleep as a compensation for the many cares of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/providence-has-given-us-hope-and-sleep-as-a-compensation-for-the-many/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Men use thought only to justify their wrong doings, and employ speech only to conceal their thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/men-use-thought-only-to-justify-their-wrong-doings-and-employ-speech/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/work-spares-us-from-three-evils-boredom-vice-and-need/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) [Explore all 934 Voltaire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## More Evil quotes > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-done-out-of-love-always-takes-place-beyond-good-and-evil/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Evil cannot be "treated" -- nor should it be. Evil has to \[be\] confronted and destroyed and it matters not why the evil is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/evil-cannot-be-treated-nor-should-it-be-evil-has-to-be-confronted-and/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/attack-the-evil-that-is-within-yourself-rather-than-attacking-the/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) [James Nayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nayler/) > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Water is so friendly when you have it on your palms, but so evil when they have you on theirs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/water-is-so-friendly-when-you-have-it-on-your-palms-but-so-evil-when/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [THE ART OF PEACE is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morihei-ueshiba/the-art-of-peace-is-not-easy-it-is-a-fight-to-the-finish-the-slaying/) [Morihei Ueshiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morihei-ueshiba/) [Browse all 11,163 Evil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our labour preserves us from three great evils -- weariness, vice, and want.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Voltaire" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/our-labour-preserves-us-from-three-great-evils-weariness-vice-and-want/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Evil" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/our-labour-preserves-us-from-three-great-evils-weariness-vice-and-want/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc7/voltaire-173_evil_our-labour-preserves-us-from-three-great_1757198.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc7/voltaire-173_evil_our-labour-preserves-us-from-three-great_1757198.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc7/voltaire-173_evil_our-labour-preserves-us-from-three-great_1757198.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our labour preserves us from three great evils -- weariness, vice, and want.” — Voltaire", "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": "Voltaire", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Our labour preserves us from three...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/our-labour-preserves-us-from-three-great-evils-weariness-vice-and-want/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/our-labour-preserves-us-from-three-great-evils-weariness-vice-and-want/#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 } } ] } ```