--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is the curse of prosperity that it…" description: "\"It is the curse of prosperity that it takes work away from us, and shuts that door to hope and health of spirit.\" — William Dean Howells" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/william-dean-howells-10621_curse_it-is-the-curse-of-prosperity-that-it-ta_2146319.jpg" --- # It is the curse of prosperity that it takes work away from… ![“It is the curse of prosperity that it takes work away from us, and shuts that door to hope and health of spirit.” quote by William Dean Howells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/william-dean-howells-10621_curse_it-is-the-curse-of-prosperity-that-it-ta_2146319.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/william-dean-howells-10621_curse_it-is-the-curse-of-prosperity-that-it-ta_2146319.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/william-dean-howells-10621_curse_it-is-the-curse-of-prosperity-that-it-ta_2146319.jpg) > “It is the curse of prosperity that it takes work away from us, and shuts that door to hope and health of spirit.” [William Dean Howells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dean-howells/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Prosperity distracts from meaningful work, eroding hope and spiritual health. **In simple terms:** Wealth can drain purpose and spirit. Key Takeaway Balance material success with inner fulfillment. Themes prosperity work spiritual health hope balance Mood contemplative thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - mindfulness practice - community involvement - financial planning Key Concepts existential meaning materialism well‑being Questions to Reflect On - What gives your life purpose beyond money? - How can you nurture hope daily? A Different Perspective Focusing solely on wealth may ignore deeper needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Curse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curse/) [Curse Prosperity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curse-prosperity-4492702/) [Doors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doors/) [Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Prosperity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prosperity/) [Prosperity Takes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prosperity-takes-4492703/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) [Work Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-away-504436/) ## Related quotes > [The one who prosperity takes too much delight in will be the most shocked by reverses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-one-who-prosperity-takes-too-much-delight-in-will-be-the-most/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [I think I would like the sort of job where you can work away in obscurity to try and improve things, without being caught…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-power/i-think-i-would-like-the-sort-of-job-where-you-can-work-away-in/) [Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) > [Frankly, I just come to the sets, complete my work and go away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiten-tejwani/frankly-i-just-come-to-the-sets-complete-my-work-and-go-away/) [Hiten Tejwani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiten-tejwani/) > [That's the real work, being away from my loved ones, my family, my household. There's nothing that's hurt any more than being away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-reigns/that-s-the-real-work-being-away-from-my-loved-ones-my-family-my/) [Roman Reigns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-reigns/) > [It is a challenge to work away from India and with a cast and crew from all over the world. But it's also very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huma-qureshi/it-is-a-challenge-to-work-away-from-india-and-with-a-cast-and-crew/) [Huma Qureshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huma-qureshi/) > [I like to work out while I'm away - it's good to clear my head and makes me feel cuter poolside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-goreski/i-like-to-work-out-while-i-m-away-it-s-good-to-clear-my-head-and/) [Brad Goreski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-goreski/) > [When I find a cover song that I like, I'll work away at it until I kind of believe that I wrote it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lowe/when-i-find-a-cover-song-that-i-like-i-ll-work-away-at-it-until-i/) [Nick Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lowe/) > [When it is time to get to work, I go away completely and don't do anything except the work. 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What can I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-douglas/yes-disappointment-over-perceived-unfairness-injustice-promises-not/) [Mary Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-douglas/) > [The old men of the village of Mahotière say that the Mistress of the Water is a mulatto woman. At midnight she comes out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-roumain/the-old-men-of-the-village-of-mahoti-re-say-that-the-mistress-of-the/) [Jacques Roumain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-roumain/) > [You have been deceived by your own cold heart - a curse upon your house and all within it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beauty-and-the-beast/you-have-been-deceived-by-your-own-cold-heart-a-curse-upon-your-house/) [Beauty And The Beast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beauty-and-the-beast/) > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Who knew the counter-curse was just unjellify?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-malfoy/who-knew-the-counter-curse-was-just-unjellify/) [Lucius Malfoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-malfoy/) ## More by William Dean Howells > [It is the still, small voice that the soul heeds, not the deafening blasts of doom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dean-howells/it-is-the-still-small-voice-that-the-soul-heeds-not-the-deafening/) [William Dean Howells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dean-howells/) > [“How strange it (the earthquake) must all have seemed to them, here where they lived so safely always! They thought such a dreadful thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dean-howells/how-strange-it-the-earthquake-must-all-have-seemed-to-them-here-where/) [William Dean Howells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dean-howells/) > [n artistic atmosphere does not create artists a literary atmosphere does not create literators; poets and painters spring up where there was never a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dean-howells/n-artistic-atmosphere-does-not-create-artists-a-literary-atmosphere/) [William Dean Howells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dean-howells/) > [Preach the blessings of our deeply incorporated civilization by the mouths of our eight-inch guns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dean-howells/preach-the-blessings-of-our-deeply-incorporated-civilization-by-the/) [William Dean Howells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dean-howells/) > [If we like a man's dream, we call him a reformer; if we don't like his dream, we call him a crank.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dean-howells/if-we-like-a-man-s-dream-we-call-him-a-reformer-if-we-don-t-like-his/) [William Dean Howells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dean-howells/) > [The action is best that secures the greatest happiness for the greatest number.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dean-howells/the-action-is-best-that-secures-the-greatest-happiness-for-the/) [William Dean Howells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dean-howells/) > [“If he was not commonplace, it was through nothing remarkable in his mind, which was simply clear and practical, but through some combination of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dean-howells/if-he-was-not-commonplace-it-was-through-nothing-remarkable-in-his/) [William Dean Howells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dean-howells/) > [Is it worth while to observe that there are no Venetian blinds in Venice?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dean-howells/is-it-worth-while-to-observe-that-there-are-no-venetian-blinds-in/) [William Dean Howells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dean-howells/) > [The swelling and towering omnibuses, the huge trucks and wagons and carriages, the impetuous hansoms and the more sobered four-wheelers, the pony-carts, donkey-carts, hand-carts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dean-howells/the-swelling-and-towering-omnibuses-the-huge-trucks-and-wagons-and/) [William Dean Howells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dean-howells/) > [“Our theory of disaster, of sorrow, of affliction, borrowed from the poets and novelist, is that it is incessant; but every passage in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dean-howells/our-theory-of-disaster-of-sorrow-of-affliction-borrowed-from-the/) [William Dean Howells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dean-howells/) > [Christ and the life of Christ is at this moment inspiring the literature of the world as never before, and raising it up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dean-howells/christ-and-the-life-of-christ-is-at-this-moment-inspiring-the/) [William Dean Howells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dean-howells/) > [Inequality is as dear to the American heart as liberty itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dean-howells/inequality-is-as-dear-to-the-american-heart-as-liberty-itself/) [William Dean Howells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dean-howells/) > [“It's easy enough to be sensible for other people. But when it comes to myself, there I am! Especially, when I want to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dean-howells/it-s-easy-enough-to-be-sensible-for-other-people-but-when-it-comes-to/) [William Dean Howells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dean-howells/) > [If ever the public was betrayed by its press, it's ours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dean-howells/if-ever-the-public-was-betrayed-by-its-press-it-s-ours/) [William Dean Howells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dean-howells/) > [He who sleeps in continual noise is wakened by silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dean-howells/he-who-sleeps-in-continual-noise-is-wakened-by-silence/) [William Dean Howells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dean-howells/) [Explore all 64 William Dean Howells quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dean-howells/) ## More Curse quotes > [Who knew the counter-curse was just unjellify?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-malfoy/who-knew-the-counter-curse-was-just-unjellify/) [Lucius Malfoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-malfoy/) > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [You have been deceived by your own cold heart - a curse upon your house and all within it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beauty-and-the-beast/you-have-been-deceived-by-your-own-cold-heart-a-curse-upon-your-house/) [Beauty And The Beast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beauty-and-the-beast/) > [The old men of the village of Mahotière say that the Mistress of the Water is a mulatto woman. At midnight she comes out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-roumain/the-old-men-of-the-village-of-mahoti-re-say-that-the-mistress-of-the/) [Jacques Roumain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-roumain/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Were you indeed not blinded by the Curse Of Self-exile, that still grows worse and worse, Yourselves would know that, though you see him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farid-al-din-attar/were-you-indeed-not-blinded-by-the-curse-of-self-exile-that-still/) [Farid al-Din Attar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farid-al-din-attar/) > [Down where I grew up, able-bodied people do that which we believe God created them to do. Work is a blessing; it's not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-southerland/down-where-i-grew-up-able-bodied-people-do-that-which-we-believe-god/) [Steve Southerland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-southerland/) > [I especially like the songs Hurry Up and The Curse Of Castle Dragon, and I often include them in my live show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gilbert/i-especially-like-the-songs-hurry-up-and-the-curse-of-castle-dragon/) [Paul Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gilbert/) > [If the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labour, entertainment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/if-the-idea-of-having-to-change-ourselves-makes-us-uncomfortable-we/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [“Mungu akikubariki kipaji chako watu watasema ni laana. Maisha yako ni sawa na mto. Unakoelekea ni baharini. Lakini sasa umefika kwenye mlango wa bahari.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enock-maregesi/mungu-akikubariki-kipaji-chako-watu-watasema-ni-laana-maisha-yako-ni/) [Enock Maregesi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enock-maregesi/) > [Partisanship is our great curse. We too readily assume that everything has two sides and that it is our duty to be on one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-harvey-robinson/partisanship-is-our-great-curse-we-too-readily-assume-that-everything/) [James Harvey Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-harvey-robinson/) > [You have power over my body but the Lord Jesus hath power over my body and soul; and assure yourselves thus much, you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-hutchinson/you-have-power-over-my-body-but-the-lord-jesus-hath-power-over-my/) [Anne Hutchinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-hutchinson/) > [“The penis, often regarded as a weapon, is also a burden, the male curse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gay-talese/the-penis-often-regarded-as-a-weapon-is-also-a-burden-the-male-curse/) [Gay Talese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gay-talese/) > [“Beauty will always be a curse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-c-perry/beauty-will-always-be-a-curse/) [L.C. Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-c-perry/) > [“Sometimes," Helena continued, "I have a terrible dream of the future. Not now, but presently, people may forget their loyalty to their kings and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/sometimes-helena-continued-i-have-a-terrible-dream-of-the-future-not/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) [Browse all 1,718 Curse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curse/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is the curse of prosperity that it takes work away from us, and shuts that door to hope and health of spirit.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Dean Howells" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dean-howells/it-is-the-curse-of-prosperity-that-it-takes-work-away-from-us-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Curse" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dean-howells/it-is-the-curse-of-prosperity-that-it-takes-work-away-from-us-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/william-dean-howells-10621_curse_it-is-the-curse-of-prosperity-that-it-ta_2146319.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/william-dean-howells-10621_curse_it-is-the-curse-of-prosperity-that-it-ta_2146319.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/william-dean-howells-10621_curse_it-is-the-curse-of-prosperity-that-it-ta_2146319.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is the curse of prosperity that it takes work away from us, and shuts that door to hope and health of…” — William Dean Howells", "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": "William Dean Howells", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dean-howells/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is the curse of prosperity...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dean-howells/it-is-the-curse-of-prosperity-that-it-takes-work-away-from-us-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dean-howells/it-is-the-curse-of-prosperity-that-it-takes-work-away-from-us-and/#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 } } ] } ```