best quotations about
Inaction |
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Quotations
 | The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing. — Albert Einstein, 1879-1955, German-Jewish physicist 40 likes |
 | The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. — Edmund Burke, 1729-1797, British statesman & philosopher 39 likes |
 | He who acts, destroys; he who grasps, loses. Therefore the Sage does not act, and so does not destroy; he does not grasp, and so he does not lose. — Lao-Tzu, 6th cent. BC, Chinese philosopher 17 likes |
 | Nothing is often a good thing to do and always a good thing to say. — Will Durant, 1885-1981, American historian & philosopher 14 likes |
 | The only man who makes no mistakes is the man who never does anything. — Theodore Roosevelt, 1858-1919, American President [1901-1909] 13 likes |
 | Nobody deserves to be praised for goodness unless he is strong enough to be bad, for any other goodness is usually merely inertia or lack of will-power. — La Rochefoucauld, 1613-1680, French writer 13 likes |
 | Chess is a foolish expedient for making idle people believe they are doing something very clever, when they are only wasting their time. — George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish writer, Nobel 1925 12 likes |
| A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. — George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish writer, Nobel 1925 12 likes |
 | Imperfect action is better than perfect inaction. — Harry Truman, 1884-1972, American President [1945-1953] 9 likes |
 | To do nothing is sometimes a good remedy. — Hippocrates, 460-370 BC, Ancient Greek physician, the “Father of Medicine” 8 likes |
 | Nothing is so intolerable to man as being fully at rest, without a passion, without business, without entertainment, without care. — Blaise Pascal, 1623-1662, French thinker 8 likes |
| Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing. — Lao-Tzu, 6th cent. BC, Chinese philosopher 7 likes |
| A perpetual holiday is a good working definition of hell. — George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish writer, Nobel 1925 7 likes |
 | I never worry about action, but only about inaction. — Winston Churchill, 1874-1965, British Prime Minister, Nobel 1953 7 likes |
 | It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little. — Sydney Smith, 1771-1845, British writer & cleric 6 likes |
 | There is no comparison between that which is lost by not succeeding and that which is lost by not trying. — Francis Bacon, 1561-1626, English philosopher 5 likes |
 | There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction. — John Kennedy, 1917-1963, American President [1961-1963] 5 likes |
 | Men need some kind of external activity, because they are inactive within. — Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788-1860, German philosopher 4 likes |
| To sit home, read one's favorite paper, and scoff at the misdeeds of the men who do things is easy, but it is markedly ineffective. It is what evil men count upon the good men's doing. — Theodore Roosevelt, 1858-1919, American President [1901-1909] 4 likes |
| The only way to avoid being miserable is not to have enough leisure to wonder whether you are happy or not. — George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish writer, Nobel 1925 4 likes |
 | They won't let me ... I can't be ... good! — Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 1821-1881, Russian writer 4 likes |
 | Do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing, and you'll never be criticized. — Elbert Hubbard, 1856-1915, American writer 4 likes |
 | If what you did yesterday seems big, you haven't done anything today. — Lou Holtz, 1937-, American football coach 4 likes |
 | Vision without execution is just hallucination. — Henry Ford, 1863-1947, American industrialist, founder of FORD 4 likes |
| It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. — Theodore Roosevelt, 1858-1919, American President [1901-1909] 4 likes |
| When nothing is done, nothing is left undone. — Lao-Tzu, 6th cent. BC, Chinese philosopher 3 likes |
 | Idleness is the rust of the soul. — Duc de Levis, 1764-1830, French politician & author of maxims 3 likes |
| Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little. — Edmund Burke, 1729-1797, British statesman & philosopher 3 likes |
 | Nothing happens. Nobody comes, nobody goes. It's awful. — Samuel Beckett, 1906-1989, Irish writer, Nobel 1969 3 likes |
| The only people who aren't going to be criticized are those who do absolutely nothing — Lou Holtz, 1937-, American football coach 3 likes |
 | There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still. — Franklin Roosevelt, 1882-1945, American President [1936-1945] 3 likes |
 | Not being able to do everything is no excuse for not doing everything you can. — Ashleigh Brilliant, 1933-, British cartoonist & epigrammatist 3 likes |
 | Boredom is the conviction that you can't change ... the shriek of unused capacities. — Saul Bellow, 1914-2005, Canadian-American writer, Nobel 1976 3 likes |
 | The sure conviction that we could if we wanted to is the reason so many good minds are idle. — Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, 1742-1799, German author of maxims 3 likes |
 | The goal of the future is full unemployment, so we can play. That's why we have to destroy the present politico-economic system. — Arthur Clarke, 1917-2008, British Sci-Fi writer 2 likes |
 | Having precise ideas often leads to a man doing nothing. — Paul Valery, 1871-1945, French poet 2 likes |
 | It is not industry, but idleness, that is degrading. — Calvin Coolidge, 1872-1933, American President [1923-1929] 2 likes |
 | You don't drown by falling in water; you only drown if you stay there. — Zig Ziglar, 1926-2012, American self-help writer 2 likes |
 | If you are idle, be not solitary; if you are solitary be not idle. — Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784, English writer 2 likes |
 | It is, no doubt, an immense advantage to have done nothing, but one should not abuse it. |
 | It takes a lot of time to be a genius. You have to sit around so much, doing nothing, really doing nothing. |
 | People who have time on their hands will inevitably waste the time of people who have work to do. |
 | People who have little to do are excessive talkers. |
| I have nothing to do, and that's what takes all my time. |
 | There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting. |
 | As long as nothing happens, anything is possible. |
 | Indolence is a delightful but distressing state; we must be doing something to be happy. |
 | The most fitting occupation for a civilized man is to do nothing. |
 | To be idle requires a strong sense of personal identity. |
 | This great unrecognized spring of so many human behaviors, idleness. |
 | For a moment, nothing happened. Then, after a second or so, nothing continued to happen. |
 | An energetic man will succeed where an indolent one would vegetate and inevitably perish. |
 | Don't stare out the window; run through the fields. — Marty Rubin, 1930-1994, Canadian gay activist, author & journalist |
| Retirement is an illusion. Not a reward but a mantrap. The bankrupt underside of success. A shortcut to death. Golf courses are too much like cemeteries. — Saul Bellow, 1914-2005, Canadian-American writer, Nobel 1976 |
 | The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly. |
 | It's only those who do nothing that make no mistakes, I suppose. |
 | Idleness is only a coarse name for my infinite capacity for living in the present. |
 | Waiting is still an occupation. It is having nothing to wait for that is terrible. |
 | Without duty, life is soft and boneless. |
 | I usually solve problems by letting them devour me. |
Quotes in Verse
 | We would rather be ruined than changed We would rather die in our dread Than climb the cross of the moment And let our illusions die. |
Funny Quotes
 | I don't like to meddle in my private affairs. — Karl Kraus, 1874-1936, Austrian writer 2 likes |
 | The man who dies by drowning sees his whole life pass by in a flash, when it would be better to just swim. |
 | I am so busy doing nothing… that the idea of doing anything – which as you know, always leads to something – cuts into the nothing and then forces me to have to drop everything. |
Ancient Greek
 | A wrongdoer is often a man who has left something undone, not always one who has done something. Αδικεί πολλάκις ο μη ποιών τι, ου μόνον ο ποιών τι. — Marcus Aurelius, 121-180 AD, Roman Emperor ‐ Meditations IX, 5 14 likes |
 | Cheats and hypocrites are those who do everything with words and do nothing with actions. Κίβδηλοι και αγαθοφανέες οι λόγω μεν άπαντα, έργω δε ουδέν έρδοντες. — Democritus, 470-370 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher 12 likes |
 | The favorable conditions will not wait for our sluggishness and haughtiness . Οι δε των πραγμάτων ού μένουσι καιροί την ημετέραν βραδύτητα και ειρωνείαν. — Demosthenes, 384-322 BC, Ancient Athenian & statesman orator 8 likes |
| That which is used, gets stronger. That which is not used wastes away. Ότι χρήσις κρατύνει, αργίη δε τήκει. — Hippocrates, 460-370 BC, Ancient Greek physician, the “Father of Medicine” 6 likes |
 | Heaven never helps the man who will not act. Θεός τοις αργούσιν ου παρίσταται. — Sophocles, 496-406 BC, Ancient tragic poet 5 likes |
| All labor is better than inactivity. Της ησυχίης πάντες οι πόνοι ηδίονες. — Democritus, 470-370 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher 3 likes |
| All speech is vain and empty unless it be accompanied by action. Ως άπας μεν λόγος, αν απή τα πράγματα, μάταιόν τι φαίνεται και κενόν. — Demosthenes, 384-322 BC, Ancient Athenian & statesman orator 3 likes |
Proverbs
 | Since the house is on fire, let’s keep ourselves warm. 5 likes |
 | He who rests grows rusty. Wer rastet, der rostet. 3 likes |
 | To live in peace, one must be blind, deaf and mute. 3 likes |
 | The devil finds work for idle hands to do. 3 likes |
