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Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure.
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“Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure.”

Benjamin Franklin

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Source
Poor Richard’s Almanack
Date
18th century
Meaning

Meaning of “Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to…”

Leisure is easier to protect when working time is used deliberately, linking time management with freedom rather than treating organization as an end in itself.

Source context

Where does it come from?

Poor Richard’s Almanack; the maxim connects disciplined use of working time with the ability to gain leisure.

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Ideas connected with this quotation

BusinessCalmDiscipline Quotes About Habits, Practice & ConsistencyEffortHabitsHard WorkInspirational Quotes About Hope, Courage & PossibilityLife Is ShortMindfulnessMotivational Quotes for Action, Effort & PersistencePatiencePeacePresent MomentProductivityResponsibilitySelf-Control Quotes About Restraint & JudgmentShortSuccessTimeWisdom Quotes About Judgment & Living WellMotivation For WorkWork Ethic
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Never leave that till tomorrow, which you can do to-day.
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“Never leave that till tomorrow, which you can do to-day.”

Benjamin Franklin · The Way to Wealth · 1758
Voice: Authorial persona / framed maxim · Poor Richard maxim, repeated through Father Abraham
Meaning & context

The maxim turns prompt action into a habit: work that can reasonably be completed now should not be needlessly transferred to an uncertain tomorrow.

Source details

The Way to Wealth; a Poor Richard maxim on delay and useful employment of time.

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The master-word is Work
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“The master-word is Work”

William Osler · The Master-Word in Medicine · 1903
Meaning & context

Osler makes sustained work the organizing principle of his address to medical students, emphasizing disciplined practice over brilliance without application.

Source details

The Master-Word in Medicine, address delivered October 1, 1903 at the opening of the new buildings of the University of Toronto Medical Faculty; reviewed against the represented 1903 John Murphy pamphlet, Internet Archive identifier b28060805. ‘The master-word is Work’ is Osler’s organizing refrain and is followed by his appeal to write the word on the heart and forehead. This remains historical professional rhetoric rather than an endorsement of unsafe working hours or workaholism.

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This was, in truth the secret of his success
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“This was, in truth the secret of his success”

Samuel Smiles · Men of Invention and Industry · 1884
Meaning & context

Smiles uses Bianconi’s minute-conscious working habits to illustrate how disciplined use of time contributed to practical business success.

Source details

Men of Invention and Industry, Chapter IX, “Charles Bianconi: A Lesson of Self-Help in Ireland”; Project Gutenberg #725. This excerpt is Smiles’s narrative conclusion immediately after an anecdote about saving time.

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Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.
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“Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.”

Proverbs · King James Bible — Proverbs 6:6 · 1611
Meaning & context

The proverb uses the ant as an example of self-directed preparation, turning observation of repeated practical behavior into a lesson about disciplined habits.

Source details

Proverbs 6:6 in the King James Version; the following verses describe the ant preparing food without an overseer.

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