Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-05-26
For the VERMONT FARMER.
The Nobility of Labor. ~


The God whom we adore is an active
working God. We worship no idler, but
One in sympathy with workingmen, the
Builder Of life, the Author and Exemplar of
work. Labor is noble, godlike,-a shrine Of
acceptable worship, the level upon which
man and his Maker may hold communion
There is no grander view Of life than is to
be had in the workshop; nor is there any
nobler music than the noise aud din Of count
less wOrkmen, handling the saw, plying the
shuttle, swinging the sledge, as il blends in
one sublime chorus, rising and swelling in
praise of the Master Architect of the uni
verse. True work is worship; they who
work best worship best, best employ the tai.
ent intrusted to them by the divine Master.
A christian idler is church-going hypocrite.
God made man to work. "Six days shalt
thou labor" Read the Divine injunction in
the hand, in the sinews Of the arm, in tho
steady increase of the power to think and do,
and say whether an idler can be an earnest
and consistent worshiper. The true worship
ing man is the patient, intelligent working
man, in whose temple Of prayer, whether it
be the field, the study or the counting.room,
cousecrated to the service of Almighty Tod
by honest toll, more acceptable worship is
offered than is possible to the kid-gloved
idler purchasing the gospel at the desk of
some popular preacher. Not every working
man, however, is true christian, but every
true christian is, if in health, working
man, Sinking no duty, lodging no obliga.
ton.
Idleness is incompatible with maniness
Put this inert element into the makeup of a
man aud see all that is nobe--courage, self
respect, independence, -dwindle into insigni6-
canoe. Actlon,-stirring, effective action
is the vital element of manhood Without it,
there can be no sef-relianoe, no manlness ;
without it, man cannot live; he may stay,
but to lire is something moro than an abid-
ing on earth, aimless and useless-itis TO act
To be alive is, indeed, no easy thing. There
are walking dead.men all about us; men
too lazy to lire, who dodge and shirk and
are pushed through life, doing nothing but
eat and drink aud sleep. Such men stay
here; they are found in every calling, i'm
positions and libels upon mankind. The
idler, wherever we find him, is virtually
dead,---dead to himself, to his family, to So
ciety, in fact to everything in the line Of
work and duty, intent only on lodging the
cofin,-the sole sphere that he will ever salts
iactorily fill
Look at the drone aud judge for yourself.
There he is, lazy, listless, laggard and a
lounger. Take the measure of his stature,
physical, intellectual, moral, and tell me
have you the measure of man Do you iud
the requisite breadth Of intellect and depth
Of soul mo" you answer, "too narrow
too shallow, too much contracted every way"
So 1t is there are no genuine men and
women except those trained in honest, intel.
ligent work, These all bear the impress Of
true nobility, the recorded and recognized
trademark of the Maker; but idleness, fear
ing not to tresspass upon the lawful province
of work, and call down the judgment of tn,
Eternal Courts for the infringement, is evel
palming off specimens of humanity without
the first semblance Of true nobility abou
them, though often clothed in broadcloth, Gu
Ia mode, or in silk slashed and plated anC
shirred to order-an imitation so base aud
worthless as to deceive only those who choose
deception.
Like the true christian, the true autocrat Of
this world is the patient, intelligent working
man, whether he labor 10 the editorial sane.
tum, or be sturdy and black with toiling at
the forge. There is no other influence thrown
around man in this life SO pure aud emo
bling as that Of work : nor is there one baser
and more degrading than the sinister power
exerted by idleness. Work, though repul
sive in appearance is true at heart, but idle
ness, decEed in the gaudy trappings of leis.
ure and fair to the sight, is an iusidious and
crafty foe. The one says little of the pres.
ent, but, opening the future to our gaze, dis,
closes competence; the other talks much
of to-day and its pleasures, but is careful t.
conceal the inevitable morrow of shame and
want
True work is discipline. 1t strengthens
the mind, invigorates the body, and lifts VI