proverb · Words worth keeping
Labour warms, sloth harms.
Labour warms, sloth harms.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Useful effort can bring an immediate sense of activity and progress, while avoidable neglect may cause trouble. The warmth image contrasts engagement with inaction.
Example
A group begins a feasible repair before a small maintenance problem becomes harder to address.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The saying pairs labour’s warmth with the harm attributed to sloth. It can encourage beginning a manageable task instead of indefinitely postponing it. The physical image does not establish a health recommendation or a duty to work without rest. Capacity, conditions and the value of the task matter. A careful use asks whether activity is helpful here and whether what looks like inaction is actually needed recovery or work that goes unrecognised.
When to use it
Use it to encourage a useful task that is within present capacity.
Keep in mind
Rest is necessary, and work is not always beneficial or safely available.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Date unknown
- Culture
- English