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Toiling Quotes

Browse 55 quotes about Toiling.

Toiling Quotes

“If human pleasure did not have both a lid and a time limit, we would not bestir ourselves to do things that were not pleasurable, such as toiling for our subsistence. And then we would not survive. By the same token, should our mass mind ever become discontented with the restricted pleasures doled out by nature, as well as disgruntled over the lack of restrictions on pain, we would omit the mandates of survival from our lives out of a stratospherically acerbic indignation. And then we would not reproduce. As a species, we do not shout into the sky, “The pleasures of this world are not enough for us.” In fact, they are just enough to drive us on like oxen pulling a cart full of our calves, which in their turn will put on the yoke. As inordinately evolved beings, though, we can postulate that it will not always be this way. “A time will come,” we say to ourselves, “when we will unmake this world in which we are battered between long burden and brief delight, and will live in pleasure for all our days.” The belief in the possibility of long-lasting, high-flown pleasures is a deceptive but adaptive flimflam. It seems that nature did not make us to feel too good for too long, which would be no good for the survival of the species, but only to feel good enough for long enough to keep us from complaining that we do not feel good all the time.”

WorldPainNaturePleasureSurvivalSpeciesCurseToilSurviveReproductionToilingReproduce
Book:The Conspiracy Against the Human Race
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“The story of Sisyphus is no different from what we have to go through every day of our lives. We wake up, toil during the day, come home eventide and rest only to begin toiling again the next day. The only difference is that we are mere mortals and one day, we will die. Death excuses us from our daily toils unlike Sisyphus who has to toil till eternity.”

DeathEternityMortalsDieSisyphusToilingDays Of Our Lives
Book:Unforgettable: Living a Life That Matters
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“I reached this level by sheer dint of hard work, toiling away at scores of tricks and experiments. I used to play with the ball from dawn till dusk and just kept practising. If I wasn't playing matches, it was trying out one on one or two against two with a tennis ball. Then I used to try aiming at certain targets. That's the only way to learn. And if I missed the target, I kept trying until I scored”

IfsWayTryingTwoHardPlayUsedCertainLevelsHard WorkBallsTricksExperimentsDawnTennisScoreTargetSheerDuskOne On OneToilingTennis Balls
Author:Zinedine Zidane
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“I say: liberate yourself as far as you can, and you have done your part; for it is not given to every one to break through all limits, or, more expressively, not to everyone is that a limit which is a limit for the rest. Consequently, do not tire yourself with toiling at the limits of others; enough if you tear down yours. He who overturns one of his limits may have shown others the way and the means; the overturning of their limits remains their affair.”

IfsWayMayMeanDoneEnoughGivenBreakTearsLimitsRemainsAffairTireAnarchismBreak ThroughToiling
Author:Max Stirner
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“The growth of New England was a result of the aggregate efforts of a busy multitude, each in his narrow circle toiling for himself, to gather competence or wealth. The expansion of New France was the achievement of a gigantic ambition striving to grasp a continent. It was a vain attempt.”

GrowthWealthResultsEffortAchievementAmbitionEnglandStriveBusyCirclesFranceVainContinentsMultitudesExpansionCompetenceNew EnglandToiling
Book:Pioneers of France in the New World
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“I'm fascinated by the period that goes from the Industrial Revolution to right after World War II. There's something about that period that's epic and tragic. There's a point after the industrial period where it seems like humanity's finally going to make it right. There were advances in medicine and technology and education. People are going to be able to live longer lives; literacy is starting to spread. It seemed like finally, after centuries of toiling and misery, that humanity was going to get to a better stage. And then what happens is precisely the contrary. Humanity betrays itself.”

PeopleWorldWarSeemsHappensAbleHumanityTechnologyCenturyStageRevolutionPeriodsMedicineMiseryStartingSpreadContraryWar Of The WorldsTragicFascinatedWorld War IiBetrayWorld War IEpicLiteracyIndustrial RevolutionToilingTechnology And EducationLonger Life
Author:Carlos Ruiz Zafon
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“When we have discovered a continent, or crossed a chain of mountains, it is only to find another ocean or another plain upon the further side. . . . O toiling hands of mortals! O wearied feet, travelling ye know not whither! Soon, soon, it seems to you, you must come forth on some conspicuous hilltop, and but a little way further, against the setting sun, descry the spires of El Dorado. Little do ye know your own blessedness; for to travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive, and the true success is to labour.”

KnowsWayLittlesHandsSeemsSidesSunFeetMountainTravelOceanSettingSettingsChainsMortalsHopefullyLabourContinentsBlessednessTrue SuccessToilingSpires
Author:Robert Louis Stevenson
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“Oh! welcome to the wearied Earth The Sabbath resting comes, Gathering the sons of toil and care Back to their peaceful homes; And, like a portal to the skies, Opens the House of God, Where all who seek may come and learn The way the Saviour trod. But holier to the wanderer seems The Sabbath on the deep, When on, and on, in ceaseless course, The toiling bark must keep, And not a trace of man appears Amid the wilderness Of waters--then it comes like dove Direct from heaven to bless.”

MenWayMayHomeSeemsCareEarthCoursesHouseHeavenWaterSkySonDirectWelcomePeacefulWildernessBlessToilGatheringSaviourDoveBarkSabbathPortalWanderersToilingHouse Of GodPeaceful Home
Author:Sarah Josepha Hale
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“On eyes that watch as well as eyes that weep Descends the solemn mystery of sleep, Toiling and climbing to the very close, The weary Body, longing for repose, On the gained level of the day's ascent, Halts for the night and pitches there its tent.”

WellsBodyEyeNightSleepLevelsWatchesMysteryLongingClimbingWearySolemnReposeHaltTentsAscentToiling
Book:The Microcosm: A Poem, Read Before the Medical Society of New Jersey at Its Centenary Anniversary: with the Address Delivered as President, Jan. 24, 1866
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“To every toiling, heavy-laden sinner, Jesus says, Come to me and rest. But there are many toiling, heavy-laden believers, too. For them this same invitation is meant. Note well the words of Jesus, if you are heavy-laden with your service, and do not mistake it. It is not, Go, labor on, as perhaps you imagine. On the contrary, it is stop, turn back, Come to me and rest. Never, never did Christ send a heavy laden one to work; never, never did He send a hungry one, a weary one, a sick or sorrowing one, away on any service. For such the Bible only says, Come, come, come.”

IfsWellsTurnsJesusChristMistakeImagineLaborSickSalvationNotesHeavyContraryBelieverHungrySinnerWearyInvitationsToiling
Author:Hudson Taylor
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“Even today, some opt for the comforts of mystification, preferring to believe that the wonders of the ancient world were built by Atlanteans, gods, or space travelers, instead of by thousands toiling in the sun. Such thinking robs our forerunners of their due, and us of their experience. Because then one can believe whatever one likes about the past - without having to confront the bones, potsherds, and inscriptions which tell us that people all over the world, time and again, have made similar advances and mistakes.”

PeopleThinkingWorldBelieveMadeTodayPastSpaceMistakeWonderSunComfortBuiltAncientBonesDuesLikesTravelerSpace TravelInscriptionsToilingAncient WorldForerunners
Book:An Illustrated Short History of Progress
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“I know truth is more like a mountain that has to be scaled. The peak of the mountain pierces the clouds and can only rarely be seen, and has never been reached. And what you see of it, moreover, depends upon the flank of the mountain you stand upon, and how exhausted getting even so far has made you. Virtue lies in looking upwards, toiling upwards, and sometimes joyously leaping from one precarious crag of fact and feeling to the next.”

KnowsMadeSometimesFactsFeelingsLyingNextVirtueDependsTruth IsMountainCloudsExhaustedPiercePrecariousToiling
Book:The President’s Child
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“Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble!”

PlayFireTroubleMemorableWitchBubblesHalloweenToilSpookyHappy HalloweenApparitionsMacbeth PlayFunny HalloweenScary HalloweenToilingGargoylesHalloween WishesInspirational HalloweenImportant MacbethCauldronsFunny Happy HalloweenHalloween And FriendsMacbeth KeyMacbeth ConflictDouble MeaningHalloween GreetingMacbeth ThemeSpooky HalloweenHalloween CardHalloween JokesHalloween Party
Author:William Shakespeare
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“At Christmas A man is at his finest towards the finish of the year; He is almost what he should be when the Christmas season's here; Then he's thinking more of others than he's thought the months before, And the laughter of his children is a joy worth toiling for. He is less a selfish creature than at any other time; When the Christmas spirit rules him he comes close to the sublime.”

ThinkingMenShouldYearsChildrenJoySpiritMonthsCreaturesLaughterSeasonsSelfishChristmasFinestSublimeChristmas SpiritChristmas DayChristmas HolidayChristmas ThoughtsBest ChristmasChristmas WishesChristmas SeasonChristmas MessageChristmas TimeChristmas Holiday GreetingsToilingChristmas JoyMerry Christmas WishesChristmas GreetingsMerry Christmas GreetingsHoliday SpiritHoliday Greeting CardChildren ChristmasTrue Spirit Of ChristmasChrist Child
Author:Edgar Guest
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“It is a time when one’s spirit is subdued and sad, one knows not why; when the past seems a storm-swept desolation, life a vanity and a burden, and the future but a way to death. It is a time when one is filled with vague longings; when one dreams of flight to peaceful islands in the remote solitudes of the sea, or folds his hands and says, What is the use of struggling, and toiling and worrying any more? let us give it all up.”

KnowsWayGivingUseDreamHandsSeemsPastSpiritWorryStruggleSeaSolitudeFilledLongingBurdenStormFlightPeacefulVanityIslandsVagueFoldsDesolationToiling
Book:The Complete Works of Mark Twain: All 13 Novels, Short Stories, Poetry and Essays
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“And thus ever by day and night, under the sun and under the stars, climbing the dusty hills and toiling along the weary plains, journeying by land and journeying by sea, coming and going so strangely, to meet and to act and react on one another, move all we restless travellers through the pilgrimage of life.”

MovingNightStarsSunSeaLandHillsClimbingWearyRestlessDay And NightTravellerPilgrimageToiling
Book:Little Dorrit: Extended Annotated & Illustrated Edition
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“The birds sang, the proles sang. the Party did not sing. All round the world, in London and New York, in Africa and Brazil, and in the mysterious, forbidden lands beyond the frontiers, in the streets of Paris and Berlin, in the villages of the endless Russian plain, in the bazaars of China and Japan — everywhere stood the same solid unconquerable figure, made monstrous by work and childbearing, toiling from birth to death and still singing.”

WorldMadeStillsPartyStreetsLandFiguresNew YorkBirthSingingBirdRoundsChinaLondonEndlessMysteriousParisJapanVillageForbiddenFrontiersBerlinMonstrousBrazilUnconquerableToilingChildbearingBazaarsChina And JapanStreets Of Paris
Book:1984
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“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”

WarHistorySacrificeBloodMilitaryTearsHard WorkOffersDeterminationConservativeMinistersGreat MenHistorianSweatWorld War IiWorld War IFinestToilPrime MinisterHistoricWorld HistoryWwiiWorld War 2Second World WarSweatingInspirational MilitaryWorld War 1Military HistoryGreat DeterminationDarkest HourGreat MilitarySweat And TearsGreat VictoryToilingGreatest VictoryBlood Sweat And TearsMisquotingWar VictoryFinest HourHistorical MilitaryPearl Harbor DayGreatest GenerationBlood And SweatTears Of BloodBattle Of Britain
Author:Winston Churchill
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“This day relenting God Hath placed within my hand A wondrous thing; and God Be praised. At His command, Seeking His secret deeds With tears and toiling breath, I find thy cunning seeds, O million-murdering Death. I know this little thing A myriad men will save. O Death, where is thy sting? Thy victory, O Grave? Poem he wrote following the discovery that the malaria parasite was carried by the amopheline mosquito.”

KnowsMenLittlesGodHandsSecretMillionsTearsVictoryDiscoveryBreathsSeekingFollowingDeedsSeedsGravesCommandThis DayLittle ThingsCunningWondrousParasitesMosquitoesMalariaToiling
Author:Ronald Ross
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“We must express the view, based on our empirical observations, that a substantial number of journalists are ignorant, lazy, opinionated, and intellectually dishonest. The profession is heavily cluttered with aged hacks toiling through a miasma of mounting decrepitude and often alcoholism, and even more so with arrogant and abrasive youngsters who substitute 'commitment' for insight. The product of their impassioned intervention in public affairs is more often confusion than lucidity.”

ViewsNumbersProductsCommitmentAffairInsightProfessionIgnorantConfusionObservationJournalismJournalistLazySubstitutesArrogantInterventionAlcoholismYoungstersHacksOpinionatedLucidityPublic AffairsImpassionedToiling
Author:Conrad Black
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“They maintain that only a dictatorship - their dictatorship, of course - can create the will of the people, while our answer to this is: No dictatorship can have any other aim but that of self-perpetuation, and it can beget only slavery in the people tolerating it; freedom can be created only by freedom, that is, by a universal rebellion on the part of the people and free organization of the toiling masses from the bottom up.”

PeopleSelfCoursesAnswersMassOrganizationUniversalAimSlaveryBottomRebellionAnarchyDictatorshipBegetsToiling
Author:Mikhail Bakunin
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“The professional dedicates himself to mastering technique not because he believes technique is a substitute for inspiration but because he wants to be in possession of the full arsenal of skills when inspiration does come. The professional is sly. He knows that by toiling beside the front door of technique, he leaves room for genius to enter by the back.”

KnowsWantBelieveDoeInspirationRoomsDoorsFrontsGeniusSkillsPossessionTechniqueSubstitutesArsenalFront DoorsSlyToiling
Book:The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
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“If I were to speak of war, it would not be to show you the glories of conquering armies but the mischief and misery they strew in their tracks; and how, while they marched on with tread of iron and plumes proudly tossing in the breeze, some one must follow closely in their steps, crouching to the earth, toiling in the rain and darkness, shelterless themselves, with no thought of pride or glory, fame or praise, or reward; hearts breaking with pity, faces bathed in tears and hands in blood. This is the side which history never shows.”

IfsHeartWarShowsHandsEarthFacesSpeakSidesStepsDarknessBloodTearsPrideFameGloryRainArmyPraiseMiseryRewardsTrackPityConquerIronBreezeMischiefHeart BreakHeart BreakingToiling
Author:Clara Barton
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“I live here among the ignorant like a lost man in fact like one whom the rest seems careless of having anything to do with — they hardly dare talk in my company for fear I shoud mention them in my writings & I find more pleasure in wandering the fields then in mixing among my silent neighbours who are insensible of everything but toiling & talking of it & that to no purpose.”

MenShouldWritingFactsPurposeLostPleasureCompanyTalkingFieldsSilentDareIgnorantWanderNeighbourCarelessMusingsInsensibleToiling
Author:John Clare
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“If humankind - from humble farmers in the fields and toiling workers in the cities to teachers, people of independent means, those who have reached the pinnacle of fame or fortune, even the most frivolous of society women - if they knew what profound inner pleasure awaits those who gaze at the heavens, then France, nay, the whole of Europe, would be covered with telescopes instead of bayonets, thereby promoting universal happiness and peace.”

PeopleIfsMeanWholeWould BeHeavenPleasureCitiesTeacherFieldsFameEuropeUniversalIndependentFortuneProfoundWorkersHumbleFranceCoveredFarmersHumankindPromotingTelescopesFrivolousPinnacleBayonetsToiling
Author:Camille Flammarion
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“We shook hands. For a moment our eyes met - which I found surprisingly destabilizing. Then we pulled back and there was a mement of what seemed like mutual appraisal. For me, it was like being at a regatta, sizing up the competition on the dock before climbing into the shells. Could I take him? ... He could inflict serious damage. I sensed that. But he would be unfamiliar with rowers - men used to toiling backwards, blindly, trained, most of all, to endure.”

MenMomentsHandsWould BeEyeUsedFoundSeriousMetsCompetitionEndureDamageMutualClimbingShellsBackwardsUnfamiliarRowingDocksAppraisalToiling
Author:Stefan Kieszling
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“Very close by the CMS shops, hidden about a quarter mile away in the woods, was the prison's rifle range. Correctional officers could spend quality time with their firearms down there, and the hammering of multiple rounds was typical background noise during our workdays. There was something unsettling about toiling away for a prison while listening to your jailers practice shooting you.”

QualityPracticeListeningPrisonRoundsWoodsMilesBackgroundsNoiseShootingRangeShopsOfficersQuartersMultipleTypicalRiflesFirearmsMiles AwayQuality TimeToilingJailerBackground Noise
Book:Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison
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