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Quote by Elif Batuman

“You just go around getting hung up on all the least convenient things--and if the only obstacle in your way is a little extra work, then that's the wonderful gift right there.”

Book:The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them

Work

The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them

This book delves into the world of Russian literature, examining the impact of books on the lives of readers and the cultural significance of literary works in Russia. more

Author

Elif Batuman

Elif Batuman is a Turkish-American author born in 1977. Her works are known for their humor and depth, primarily exploring themes of personal identity, cultural differences, and the experience of growing up. Her debut novel, 'The Possessed', received widespread acclaim. more

“...but since He gave it them for their benefit and the greatest conveniences of life they were capable to draw form it, it cannot be supposed He meant it should always remain common and uncultivated. He gave it to the use of the industrious and rational (and labour was to be his title to it)...”

Work Labor Diligence

Book:Second Treatise of Government

Source: Second Treatise of Government

“[...] but just as formerly these pursuits and ideas had seemed petty and insignificant in comparison with the darkness that overshadowed all existence, so now they seemed as petty and insignificant in comparison with the brilliant sunshine in which the future was bathed. He went on with his work but now he felt that the centre of gravity of his attention had shifted, making him look at his work quite differently and with greater clarity. Formerly this work had been an escape from life: he used to feel that without it life would be too gloomy. Now he needed it so that life might not be too uniformly bright.”

Work Perspective

Book:ANNA KARENINA

Source: ANNA KARENINA

“The incommensurability between the modern economic system and the people who staff it explains why modern workers have so often been depicted as 'cogs' in the larger 'machinery' of industrial civilization; for while the practical rationalization of enterprise does require workers to be consistent, predictable, precise, uniform, and even to a certain extent creative, it does not really require them to be persons, that is, to live examined lives, to grow, to develop character, to search for truth, to know themselves, etc.”

Work Rationalism Industrialization

Book:The Way of the (Modern) World: Or, Why It's Tempting to Live As If God Doesn't Exist

Source: The Way of the (Modern) World: Or, Why It's Tempting to Live As If God Doesn't Exist