It seems that
we live in a time when we all long for a break from tedious work. The notion of a quick buck seems to have
infested American society. The recent
economic troubles of the last several years though seem to have returned
Americans to a more industrious mode.
And that signifies a return to American roots. Americans built a grand
country by living upstanding lives as
industrious workers. So I take this
moment to focus on some of Ben Franklin’s comments concerning industry and
leisure from the 1700’s.
Ben Franklin
wrote Poor Richard’s Almanac, an annual
publication full of wit and wisdom for the Colonial American. One of his sage pieces of advice was that “A
life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things. There will be sleeping
enough in the grave.”
As Franklin noted: “He that hath a trade hath an
estate; and he that hath a calling, hath an office of profit and honor.” But there is a catch –
“the trade must be worked at, and the calling
followed, or neither the estate nor the office will enable us to pay our taxes.
If we are industrious, we shall never starve; for, at the working man's house hunger looks in, but dares not enter.
Nor will the bailiff or the constable enter, for industry pays debts, while despair increaseth them.
The point being that we are called to work. But at the same time there needs to
be balance. We need leisure to balance
those things. Franklin’s advice on that
is that ironically being industrious produces more leisure time. Franklin points out though that even leisure
is a time for doing something useful. As he states:
Employ thy time
well, if thou meanest to gain leisure; and, since thou art not sure of a
minute, throw not away an hour. Leisure is time for doing something useful;
this leisure the diligent man will obtain, but the lazy man never; for A life
of leisure and a life of laziness are two things. Many, without labor, would
live by their wits only, but they break for want of stock; whereas industry
gives comfort, and plenty, and respect.
