First of all: what is work? Work is of two kinds: first, altering the position of matter at or near the earth's surface relatively to other such matter; second, telling other people to do so. The first kind is unpleasant and ill paid; the second is pleasant and highly paid.

— Bertrand Russell, In Praise of Idleness and Other Essays (1935)

From chapter 1, 'In Praise of Idleness', of In Praise of Idleness and Other Essays (1935).

Topics: life