Ah! Five hundred years I have toiled to entice this creature, despairing, doubting, brooding by night, yet never abandoning hope that my calculations were accurate and my great talisman cogent. Then, when finally it appears, you fall upon it for no other reason than to sate your repulsive gluttony!
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- A speaker laments wasted years of effort on someone's greed.
- In plain terms
- I worked hard for this, but you just want to eat it.
- What can you take from it?
- Recognize when others misuse your work.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Is the effort ever worth it?
- How do you handle ingratitude?
Another view
Accusing others of gluttony may be biased.
More from Jack Vance
The creature displayed the qualities reminiscent of both coelenterate and echinoderm. A terrene nudibranch? A mollusc deprived of its shell? More importantly, …
Permalink to quote #18 The void in his mind athrob for the soothing pressure of knowledge.
Permalink to quote #20 At his elbow a voice said, 'I am Chun the Unavoidable.'
Permalink to quote #17
Related quotes
It just seems so useless to have to work so hard and nothin' ever really seems to come from it.
Tom PettyTom Petty quote #20 Have you ever tried to split sawdust?
Eugene McCarthyEugene McCarthy quote #1 I only know we loved in vain; I only feel-farewell! farewell!
Lord ByronLord Byron quote #5