Even if the path is near, one will not arrive without walking; even if the task is small, it will not be accomplished without action. —— Xun Kuang
If you carve and then abandon, even rotten wood will not break; if you carve persistently, even metal and stone can be engraved. —— Xun Kuang
Standing by the water and envying the fish, you should have gone back to make a net. —— Ban Gu
A life without diligence is a sin. Diligence without skill is barbarism. —— Ruskin
If good fields are not weeded, orchids wither and their fragrance fades. —— Wang Jian
Laziness, like rust, consumes the body even more than labor; the key that is used often always remains shining. —— Franklin
Everyone wants to rely on the strong, but the only one you can truly rely on is yourself. —— Tokuma Daikichi
One who relies wholly on themselves and possesses everything within themselves—if such a person is not happy, who can you believe in? —— Cicero
Without hardship, one cannot win the laurel; without grinding, one cannot achieve results; without disaster, one cannot gain honor.
Scholars spend their lives repeating what others have said, while geniuses can say new things, even if they only say one sentence in their lifetime.
Our sincere advice is: every person should persist in the path they have opened for themselves, not be intimidated by authority, not be restrained by prevailing views, and not be misled by fashion. —— Goethe
We should not be like ants, merely collecting; nor like spiders, pulling silk only from their own bellies; we should be like bees, both gathering and organizing, so that we can brew sweet honey. —— Bacon
No animal is more diligent than the ant, yet it is the most silent.
If one does not strive, there is only failure and self-pity. —— Thomas
Love gives rise to diligence, and diligence gives rise to genius. One part of toil yields one part of harvest.
Anyone who is diligent will certainly achieve success and stand out. Even monks who have left home, dwelling in rocky caves and wandering among mountains and waters, must practice the art of progress. —— Anonymous
A diligent person may sacrifice some mental clarity or creativity due to their diligence, but they will still be praised. —— Nietzsche
Boredom is a serious problem for moralists, as more than half of human sins stem from the fear of it. —— Russell
Laziness and poverty are always disgraceful, so everyone tries their best to hide their laziness from themselves and their wealth from others. —— Samuel Johnson
Laziness is the factory of poverty; one cannot hope to be both great and comfortable. What matters is diligence, for only diligence provides not only the means of living but also the only value in life. —— Schiller
