No man needs a vacation so much as the man who has just had one.
—Elbert Hubbard, 1904
Idleness attracts vices.
—Saint Bernard
29
Idle man does not know what it is to enjoy rest, for he has not earned it.
—John Lubbock, 1913
An idle brain is the devil’s workshop.
—English proverb
Blessed is the person who is too busy to worry in the daytime and too sleepy to worry at
night.
—Anonymous
30
Man is so made that he can only find relaxation from one kind of labor by taking up
another.
—Anatole France, 1881
A change is as good as a rest.
—English proverb
***
Nobody who’s really using his ego, his real ego, has any time for any goddam hobbies.
—J. D. Salinger, 1957
It is impossible to imagine Goethe or Beethoven being good at billiards or golf.
—Anonymous
31
To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization, and at present very
few people have reached this level.
—Bertrand Russell, 1930
There is no public entertainment which does not inflict spiritual damage.
—Tertullian, *197 AD
Pleasures steal away the mind.
—Dutch proverb
29
As quoted, without a date, by Geoffrey Chaucer in his Canterbury Tales (written between 1387
and 1400).
30
I have seen this aphorism attributed to Leo Aikman, but could not find a reliable confirmation of
his authorship.
31
Broadly (and very plausibly) attributed to H. L. Mencken, but I was unable to find a reliable
confirmation of his authorship.
22
On Work and Leisure
—Elbert Hubbard, 1904
Idleness attracts vices.
—Saint Bernard
29
Idle man does not know what it is to enjoy rest, for he has not earned it.
—John Lubbock, 1913
An idle brain is the devil’s workshop.
—English proverb
Blessed is the person who is too busy to worry in the daytime and too sleepy to worry at
night.
—Anonymous
30
Man is so made that he can only find relaxation from one kind of labor by taking up
another.
—Anatole France, 1881
A change is as good as a rest.
—English proverb
***
Nobody who’s really using his ego, his real ego, has any time for any goddam hobbies.
—J. D. Salinger, 1957
It is impossible to imagine Goethe or Beethoven being good at billiards or golf.
—Anonymous
31
To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization, and at present very
few people have reached this level.
—Bertrand Russell, 1930
There is no public entertainment which does not inflict spiritual damage.
—Tertullian, *197 AD
Pleasures steal away the mind.
—Dutch proverb
29
As quoted, without a date, by Geoffrey Chaucer in his Canterbury Tales (written between 1387
and 1400).
30
I have seen this aphorism attributed to Leo Aikman, but could not find a reliable confirmation of
his authorship.
31
Broadly (and very plausibly) attributed to H. L. Mencken, but I was unable to find a reliable
confirmation of his authorship.
22
On Work and Leisure