Labor Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old labor quotes, labor sayings, and labor proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

All labor is coerced labor and hence a form of servitude. Steven B. Smith
Labor is discovered to be the grand conqueror, enriching and building up nations more surely than the proudest battles. William Ellery Channing
Labor in all its variety, corporeal and mental, is the instituted means for the methodical development of all our powers, under the direction and control of will. Josiah Gilbert Holland
Labor was the first price, the original purchase money that was paid for all things. Adam Smith
The end of labor is to gain leisure. Aristotle
There is no labor a person does that is undignified; if they do it right. Bill Cosby
All that love's labor serves the nation. All that harms labor is treason to America. There is no America without labor, and to fleece one is to rob the other. Abraham Lincoln
Labor is the great producer of wealth; it moves all other causes. Webster
Labor overcometh all things. Thomas Fuller
Labor, the symbol of man's punishment; Labor, the secret of man's happiness. James Montgomery
Honest labor bears a lovely face. Thomas Dekker
Without labor, nothing prospers. Sophocles
We put our love where we have put our labor. Emerson
Men are made that they can only find relaxation from one kind of labor by taking up another. Anatole France
By labor, fire is got out of stone. Dutch Proverb
Some do the sowing, others the reaping. Italian Proverb
A man who begins and does not finish loses his labor. French Proverb
Rise early, and you will observe; labor, and you will have. Danish Proverb
Labor has a bitter root, but a sweet taste. Danish Proverb
The size of organized labor is a blessing—and its strength is a powerful force for the good of all America. John F. Kennedy
Those who labor on the earth are the chosen people of God if he ever had a chosen people. Thomas Jefferson
All wealth is created by labor. Wealth can't be derived from complicated financial algorithms. It can only be produced by labor. Matt Burriesci
There is no permanent class of hired laborers among us. Twenty-five years ago, I was a hired laborer. The hired laborer of yesterday labors on his own account today, and he will hire others to labor for him tomorrow. Abraham Lincoln
And in as much as most good things are produced by labor, it follows that such things of right belong to those whose labor has produced them. Abraham Lincoln
Hard workers are usually honest; industry lifts them above temptation. Bovee.
The lottery of honest labor, drawn by time, is the only one whose prizes are worth taking up and carrying home. Theodore Parker
There is but one method of success, and that is hard labor, and a man who will not pay that price for distinction had better at once dedicate himself to the pursuit of the fox. Sydney Smith
There are many ways of being frivolous, on;y one way of being intellectually great; that is honest labor. Sydney Smith
Love, therefore, labor; if thou should not want it for food, thou mayest for physic. It is wholesome to the body and good for the mind; it prevents the fruit of idleness. Penn
Excellence in any department can be attained only by the labor of a lifetime; it is not to be purchased at a lesser price. Johnson