#idle

Prayer is not an old woman's idle amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action. ↗

— Mahatma Gandhi

#amusement #applied #idle #instrument #most

Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination: never put off till tomorrow what you can do today. ↗

— Lord Chesterfield

#every #idleness #know #laziness #moment

Diligence is the mother of good fortune, and idleness, its opposite, never brought a man to the goal of any of his best wishes. ↗

— Miguel de Cervantes

#best #brought #diligence #fortune #goal

I don't think necessity is the mother of invention. Invention, in my opinion, arises directly from idleness, possibly also from laziness - to save oneself trouble. ↗

— Agatha Christie

#arises #directly #i #idleness #in my opinion

Ivanov: I am a bad, pathetic and worthless individual. One needs to be pathetic, too, worn out and drained by drink, like Pasha, to be still fond of me and to respect me. My God, how I despise myself! I so deeply loathe my voice, my walk, my hands, these clothes, my thoughts. Well, isn't that funny, isn't that shocking? Less than a year ago I was healthy and strong, I was cheerful, tireless, passionate, I worked with these very hands, I could speak to move even Philistines to tears, I could cry when I saw grief, I became indignant when I encountered evil. I knew inspiration, I knew the charm and poetry of quiet nights when from dusk to dawn you sit at your desk or indulge you mind with dreams. I believed, I looked into the future as into the eyes of my own mother... And now, my God, I am exhausted, I do not believe, I spend my days and nights in idleness. ↗

— Anton Chekhov

#idleness #pathetic #dreams