Frederick Douglass: “Food, to the indolent lounger, is poison, not sustenance.”

On the recordJanuary 1, 1855

Food, to the indolent lounger, is poison, not sustenance.

Said by

Frederick Douglass

Source

In his autobiography, Douglass observes that for the idle and self-indulgent, even basic sustenance can become detrimental rather than beneficial.

More from Frederick Douglass

Jan 1, 1881

To-day the negro, starting from nothing, pays taxes upon six millions in Georgia, and forty millions in Louisiana.

Jan 1, 1881

Another ground of hope for our race is in the progress of education.

Jan 1, 1881

No power beneath the sky can make an ignorant, wasteful, and idle people prosperous, or a licentious people happy.

Jan 1, 1881

They cannot be coaxed or driven to vote with their enemies against their friends.