eat to live, not live to eat

English

Alternative forms

• live not to eat, but eat to live

Etymology

Often attributed to Socrates and Benjamin Franklin.

Proverb

eat to live, not live to eat

1. (medicine, imperative) It is best not to be gluttonous; eating shouldn't be one's favorite activity, but one should eat only to supply health.
   • 2013, Carl H. Klaus, A Self Made of Words: Crafting a Distinctive Persona in Nonfiction Writing, →ISBN:

     Balance can be used to heighten matched pairs of ideas, as in the maxim "one should eat to live, not live to eat."

Usage notes

Often used as an advice or imperative.