Expression: "To be idle..."

[Tom]

Hi

Please see below:

"To be idle requires a strong sense of personal identity."
Robert Stevenson

Could you please explain it to me?

Millions of thanks in advance

Yours

Tom

[Yankee]

Hi Tom

I'd interpret it this way:

Since many (most?) people define (identify) themselves in terms of what they do, you must already have a strong sense of identity if you don't do anything.

Amy
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Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English