Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1868-05-08
DIGNITY OF LABOR.


One of the great ends for which man was
made is that he should be laborer The
author of nature so constituted him physi-
cally, mentally and morally, that activity
of mind and body is necessary to his hap
piness. This is a fixed law of our nature,
interviewer with the warp and woof of our
constitution. Hence, from the beginning,
man was designed for an Intelligent work
man, whether he remained a state of
holiness or not. This we learn from the
divine record, And the Lord God took
this man and put him into the garden of
Eden to dress it and to keep it. The gar
den was to be trimmed, pruned and dress
ed in a most tasteful manner. 1t was also
to be "kept" or guarded SO that the beasts
would not break it down and destroy it.
This was the labor assigned our first par
ents while they were yet in their innocency.
Then we reason thus that if labor is one
of the great ends for which man was crea-
ted, and part of the primal law Of his
nature, it is certainly no disgrace to &C
comp lish that end. But on the contrary,
it is highly praiseworthy and honorable.
All the laws OF God are "holy, just and
good, and the first law relative to labor is,
I'm the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat
bread till thou return unto the ground -
and again, man shall "tM the ground from
whence he was taken" To obey this man.
date of heaven, is not only our duty, but
it is honorable and praiseWOrthy, and also
adds to the general stock of happiness. 10
disobey in this matter, is to set God at de-
tiance, to act lawlessly, and become QrOnes
in the busy hive of society Yes, honest
labor IS honorable, because God has COM
manded 1t.
"And the Lord God took the man and
put him into the garden of Eden to dress
it and TO keep it," Do we not get broad
hint from this divine example, how we
should make the agricultural art both hon
orable and profitable Adam was placed
in garden, as his sphere of operations
This was his farm. 1t was a small tract of
land that ne was to cultivate. He was to
dress it, to beautify and adorn it. 1t was
also to be thoroughly guarded or "kept" "
from the encrOachments Of animals. Here
let us learn wisdom. Should we not make
our farms like gardens ? Let them be
small and rich abounding with necessary
grain, adorned and beautihed with all sorts
of fruits and flowers. This mingling in
beautiful harmony utiLe cum dmIci. This
mode of labor will be most profitable, and
therefore the best, because marked out by
Divine wisdom.
One acre may be made to yield more
than ten acres do under the common mode.
1t is better to raise one hundred bushels
of corn on one acre than on ten or twenty
acres, because it takes ten or twenty times
less labor. And labor saved is money
made. Thus, as the agriculturist ap-
proaches the Divine method of tillage, in
the same ratio he approaches success
And success in this world is everything
Alas that it should be SO. 1t makes
wrong right and right wrong oftentimes.
But the successful farmer, like the sue
cessfHl warrior, is sure to bear off the
wreath and honors of victory.
Labor thus condensed according to the
garden system, having naultum IN parrO,
the farmer will have ample time for read
ing and study, without which he cannot
hope to make name in the agricultural
world. Without study, he will always fol-
lo,c and never Lead Thought moves the
world, and thought drives the plow sue
cessfr.lIy. In order that labor be made
honorable, it should be the embodyment
and realization of thought-careful and
we'll -digested thought; SO that when the
farm shall be examined, it will be found
to be tangible, visible exhibition of mind.
In like manner let the mechanism of the
mechanic be we'll done, and the labOrer
will reap bis reward of praise and honor.
Poor thinking makes poor farming, fol
thought is the father of action. The ag-
riculturist should have his library. He
should have the sages of his art; the writ
lngs OF grear men; sound minded, practi-
cal men, gathered about him in his house,
so that he can consult them on any and
every subject appertaining to his avocation.
He will thus learn what his land needs; if
it be sick, he vii! know how to cure it, and
how to administer the medicine Alright
He will thus become light in his commu.
nifty; his counsel will We sought after, and
he will be made honorable and his profes
sion be dignifed.
Next, let us notice some of the reasons
why labor in past years has been regarded
by certain class as disgraceful for honora
ole men and women to engage in.
1st. Hitherto. for the most part, learning
and agriculture have been separated L
has been prevailing opinion that farmer
need not be educated; that that art needs
no learning; that any one can plant corn
ploW and hoe it, and gather when ripe
Inns has been deemed all-suficient. No
thing can be more deieterious to progress
IN agriculture than this baneful hallucina
ton. And as a consequence, thousand.
spend their fe-time in the great Iaborato
~ OF nature blindfolded, wholly unac