Endurance is nobler than strength, and patience than beauty.
John RuskinRead
Men don't and can't live by exchanging articles, but by producing them. They don't live by trade, but by work. Give up that foolish and vain title of Trades Unions; and take that of laborers Unions.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes that human fulfillment comes from productive work rather than mere trade or exchange.
John Ruskin's quote highlights the idea that true value and purpose in life stem from the act of creating and working rather than just exchanging goods or services. He advocates for a shift in perspective from viewing labor merely as a means of trade to recognizing it as a fundamental aspect of human identity and dignity, suggesting that unions should focus on the labor itself rather than the commercial aspect of trades.
Themes
LaborWorkProductionValueUnions
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of valuing manual labor over mere commercial interests.
More from John Ruskin
All quotes →In health of mind and body, men should see with their own eyes, hear and speak without trumpets, walk on their feet, not on wheels, and work and war with their arms, not with engine-beams, nor rifles warranted to kill twenty men at a shot before you can see them.
John RuskinRead
You talk of the scythe of Time, and the tooth of Time: I tell you, Time is scytheless and toothless; it is we who gnaw like the worm - we who smite like the scythe. It is ourselves who abolish - ourselves who consume: we are the mildew, and the flame.
John RuskinRead
To be able to ask a question clearly is two-thirds of the way to getting it answered.
John RuskinRead
See that your children be taught, not only the labors of the earth, but the loveliness of it.
John RuskinRead
A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money.
John RuskinRead
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