"To write the lives of the great in separating them from their works necessarily ends by above all stressing their pettiness, because it is in their work that they have put the best of themselves."

Work

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Insight & Reflection

This reflection on work by Simone Weil resonates across generations. It highlights a fundamental truth about human nature: our continuous search for meaning in work is what ultimately defines our character and our path forward.

About Simone Weil

Simone Adolphine Weil was a French philosopher, mystic, political activist and labourer. Despite her short life, her ideas concerning religion, spirituality and politics have remained widely influential in contemporary philosophy.

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Editorial Note: This quote is curated and fact-checked by the Quotes Archive Editorial Team. Verified Literature Specialist.

More by Simone Weil

"To want friendship is a great fault. Friendship ought to be a gratuitous joy, like the joys afforded by art or life."

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"Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions reality can be attained only by someone who is detached."

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More about Work

"I always supported the women I worked with having time off to go to parent-teacher conferences and doctors' appointments or bringing their infants into the office."

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"Not since the digital revolution in the early '90s has technology placed such a comprehensive burden on business, employees and individuals to reinvent their business plans, services and products, and themselves to keep pace with the changing marketplace."

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