Blow the candle out, I don't need to see what my thoughts look like.
Emile ZolaRead
People like comfort; that's natural. But as for making money simply for the sake of making it, and giving yourself far more trouble and anxiety to gain it than you can ever get pleasure from it when it's gained, why, as for me, I'd rather sit still and cross my arms.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Comfort is natural, but the pursuit of money for its own sake can lead to unnecessary stress.
In this quote, Emile Zola emphasizes the inherent human desire for comfort and safety. He critiques the relentless pursuit of wealth, suggesting that the anxiety and trouble one might endure in seeking money outweighs the joy that money can bring once acquired. Zola advocates for a more balanced approach to life, favoring contentment and stillness over the relentless chase for material gain.
Themes
ComfortMoneyAnxietyPleasureContentment
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about work-life balance, this quote serves as a reminder to prioritize mental well-being over financial gain.
More from Emile Zola
All quotes βI believe that all is illusion and vanity outside the treasure of truths slowly accumulated, and which will never again be lost. I believe that the sum of these truths, always increasing, will at last confer on man incalculable power and peace, if not happiness. Yes, I believe in the final triumph of life.
Emile ZolaRead
A ruined man fell from her hands like a ripe fruit, to lie rotting on the ground.
Emile ZolaRead
Oh, the fools, like a lot of good little schoolboys, scared to death of anything they've been taught is wrong!
Emile ZolaRead
Did not one spend the first half of one's days in dreams of happiness and the second half in regrets and terrors?
Emile ZolaRead
They dared not peer down into their own natures, down into the feverish confusion that filled their minds with a kind of dense, acrid mist.
Emile ZolaRead
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