He was one of those men who possess almost every gift, except the gift of the power to use them.
Charles KingsleyRead
Being forced to work, and forced to do your best, will breed in you temperance and self-control, diligence and strength of will, cheerfulness and content, and a hundred virtues which the idle will never know.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Hard work develops important virtues that laziness does not provide.
This quote highlights the idea that being compelled to work and strive for excellence cultivates essential qualities such as self-discipline, perseverance, and a positive mindset. It suggests that through effort and commitment, one gains virtues that those who lead a lazy life may never experience, emphasizing the value of hard work in personal development.
Themes
WorkDiligenceSelf-ControlStrengthVirtues
In practice
Example use cases
In motivational speeches to encourage employees to embrace their tasks.
More from Charles Kingsley
All quotes →Beauty is God's handwriting — a wayside sacrament; welcome it in every fair face, every fair sky, every fair flower, and thank for it Him.
Charles KingsleyRead
Take comfort, and recollect however little you and I may know, God knows; He knows Himself and you and me and all things; and His mercy is over all His works.
Charles KingsleyRead
Do today's duty, fight to-day's temptation; and do not weaken and distract yourself by looking forward to things which you cannot see, and could not understand if you saw them.
Charles KingsleyRead
You must not talk about 'ain't and can't' when you speak of this great wonderful world round you, of which the wisest man knows only the very smallest corner, and is, as the great Sir Isaac Newton said, only a child picking up pebbles on the shore of a boundless ocean.
Charles KingsleyRead
A blessed thing it is for any man or woman to have a friend, one human soul whom we can trust utterly, who knows the best and worst of us, and who loves us in spite of all our faults.
Charles KingsleyRead
Similar quotes
Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.
ConfuciusRead
We shouldn't be looking for heroes, we should be looking for good ideas.
Noam ChomskyRead
We are our choices. Build yourself a great story.
Jeff BezosRead
From the errors of others, a wise man corrects his own.
Publilius SyrusRead
Alas, we think of ourselves as unique entities-minds unlike any others-and thus we often reject the lessons that the emotional experience of others has to teach us.
Daniel GilbertRead
We can chart our future clearly and wisely only when we know the path which has led to the present.
Adlai E. StevensonRead