--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [All the ancient wisdom] tells us that…" description: "\"[All the ancient wisdom] tells us that work is necessary to us, as much a part of our condition as mortality; that good work is our salvation and our j..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c1/wendell-berry-236_america_all-the-ancient-wisdom-tells-us-that-wor_1212112.jpg" --- # \[All the ancient wisdom\] tells us that work is necessary… ![“[All the ancient wisdom] tells us that work is necessary to us, as much a part of our condition as mortality; that good work is our salvation and our joy; that shoddy or dishonest or self-serving work is our curse and our doom. We have tried to escape the sweat and sorrow promised in Genesis…” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c1/wendell-berry-236_america_all-the-ancient-wisdom-tells-us-that-wor_1212112.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c1/wendell-berry-236_america_all-the-ancient-wisdom-tells-us-that-wor_1212112.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c1/wendell-berry-236_america_all-the-ancient-wisdom-tells-us-that-wor_1212112.jpg) > “\[All the ancient wisdom\] tells us that work is necessary to us, as much a part of our condition as mortality; that good work is our salvation and our joy; that shoddy or dishonest or self-serving work is our curse and our doom. We have tried to escape the sweat and sorrow promised in Genesis - only to find that, in order to do so, we must forswear love and excellence, health and joy. (pg. 44, "The Unsettling of America")” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Work is essential to human purpose; honest labor brings joy, while dishonest work leads to ruin. **In simple terms:** Good work is vital; bad work harms us. Key Takeaway Pursue meaningful, honest work. Themes purpose labor ethics Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career choices - personal fulfillment - societal impact Key Concepts meaningful work honesty ful Questions to Reflect On - How can you align your job with personal values? - What steps foster honest work in your field? A Different Perspective Ideal work may be hard to find in modern economies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Ancient wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient-wisdom/) [Curse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curse/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Doom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doom/) [Excellence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excellence/) [Genesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genesis/) [Good work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-work/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Mortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortality/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Salvation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/salvation/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) [Sweat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweat/) [Sweat Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweat-sorrow-3678676/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Work Curse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-curse-1771026/) [Work Necessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-necessary-481222/) [Work Salvation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-salvation-525651/) ## Related quotes > [“But is work something we have a right to escape? And can we escape it with impunity? We are probably the first entire people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/but-is-work-something-we-have-a-right-to-escape-and-can-we-escape-it/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“I will purge my mind of the airy claims of church and state, and observe the ancient wisdom of tribesman and peasant, who understood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-will-purge-my-mind-of-the-airy-claims-of-church-and-state-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Work is the curse of the drinking classes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/work-is-the-curse-of-the-drinking-classes/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [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/) > [We don't consider manual work as a curse, or a bitter necessity, not even as a means of making a living. We consider it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ben-gurion/we-don-t-consider-manual-work-as-a-curse-or-a-bitter-necessity-not/) [David Ben-Gurion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ben-gurion/) > [Always you have been told that work is a curse and labor a misfortune. But I say to you that when you work you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/always-you-have-been-told-that-work-is-a-curse-and-labor-a-misfortune/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Work is not the curse, but drudgery is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/work-is-not-the-curse-but-drudgery-is/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Too much work, and no vacation, Deserves at least a small libation. So hail! my friends, and raise your glasses, Work's the curse of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/too-much-work-and-no-vacation-deserves-at-least-a-small-libation-so/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Everyone wants to be strong and self sufficient, but few are willing to put in the work necessary to achieve worthy goals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/everyone-wants-to-be-strong-and-self-sufficient-but-few-are-willing/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I saw what it means to work every weekend and every night, and I realized it doesn't work for me. It's not necessary. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-zucchelli/i-saw-what-it-means-to-work-every-weekend-and-every-night-and-i/) [Italo Zucchelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-zucchelli/) > [All work which is necessary ennobles him who performs it. Only one thing is shameful - to contribute nothing to the community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/all-work-which-is-necessary-ennobles-him-who-performs-it-only-one/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [I did it as first lady, I did it as a senator, I did it as secretary of state, and I know how hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-did-it-as-first-lady-i-did-it-as-a-senator-i-did-it-as-secretary-of/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Work was always necessary to survive. Then I decided the goal should be to survive without working. But now I have much more work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurizio-cattelan/work-was-always-necessary-to-survive-then-i-decided-the-goal-should/) [Maurizio Cattelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurizio-cattelan/) > [“There’s a common misconception that work is necessary. You will meet people working at miserable jobs. They tell you they are “making a living”.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-tan/there-s-a-common-misconception-that-work-is-necessary-you-will-meet/) [Adrian Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-tan/) > [In science it is not enough to think of an important problem on which to work. It is also necessary to know the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-szilard/in-science-it-is-not-enough-to-think-of-an-important-problem-on-which/) [Leo Szilard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-szilard/) ## More by Wendell Berry > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The two families, sundered in the ruin of a friendship, were united again first in new friendship and then in mariage. My grandfather made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-two-families-sundered-in-the-ruin-of-a-friendship-were-united/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The living can't quit living because the world has turned terrible and people they love and need are killed. They can't because they don't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-living-can-t-quit-living-because-the-world-has-turned-terrible/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“I knew a man who, in the age of chain-saws, went right on cutting his wood with a handsaw and an axe. He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-knew-a-man-who-in-the-age-of-chain-saws-went-right-on-cutting-his/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The concept of country, homeland, dwelling place becomes simplified as "the environment" -- that is, what surrounds us, we have already made a profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-concept-of-country-homeland-dwelling-place-becomes-simplified-as/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-community-is-the-mental-and-spiritual-condition-of-knowing-that-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“That we can prescribe the terms of our own success, that we can live outside or in ignorance of the Great Economy are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/that-we-can-prescribe-the-terms-of-our-own-success-that-we-can-live/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The mind that comes to rest is tended In ways that it cannot intend: Is borne, preserved, and comprehended By what it cannot comprehend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mind-that-comes-to-rest-is-tended-in-ways-that-it-cannot-intend/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The mercy of the world is time. Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mercy-of-the-world-is-time-time-does-not-stop-for-love-but-it/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-dislike-the-thought-that-some-animal-has-been-made-miserable-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) [Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. 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