The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1886-03-17
HE DIGNITY OF LABOR, WHICH
\ is MORE GENTEEL THAN -
IDLENESS.a .rt.,i .a4

Labor, especially agricultural la
bPr, is, | fear, becoming unfashion-
able. Boys turn their. backs on
HoWs and hoes, to tend bar, or to
Handle yard-sticks, and the, nobility
IT labor is never heard of. GEN
tlemen too frequently are Judged by
the texture of the coat they have on
their backs, by the delicacy. of their
hands the fairness of their skin;
while in truth it is the heart that
Constitutes the true gentleman, and
the raiment a man wears is no
mbre a test of his gentility than the
bfard is. an index of manhood The
meaning Of this word gentleman is
dmeek man, being composed Of the
adjective gentle and the noun man.
Society has SO corrupted this word
that its definition now depends
Upon the tastes Of those defining it,
Labor and gentility are not antago-
nistic. The connection between
them in their true Specification is SO
strong that they r almost insep-
arabic. Every man who labors is
not a gentleman, but no man can be
a gentleman without labor in some
way, though the spheres in which
men labor are as various as the
human face. Some of the greatest
meh were the hardest workers. It
is by this means that they have be-
COME great. Who would think of
having fruitful crops without labor?
The soil must be cultivated or it will
not produce. SO great men are
not ia spontaneous production Of
nature, but they are formed by the
sevefest toll, of the s~trictest self
denial, and the most active energy.
'Farmers are often sneered at be-
cause their hands are hard and their
clothes soiled, yet it is these farmers,
with mechanics and laborers, who
mainly sustain the Government. 1t
is Upon them that our safety Or hon
~orErests; they are the strong arm Of
the State, the fertilization of the
Republic. Tie man who sneers at
them because of their calling in
life, and derides1 manual labor and
toll, is no honor to the race Of hui
mahity, but a mere poppinjay,
whose mind is cramped by the
foolish whims and caprices Of fash
ion. Has one of these mock-gen-
tlemen ever contributed his mite to
the support Of the great mass of
humanity? Is the world benefited
by his existence, or is he a burden
and a curse to it? All must come
to the latter conclusion. .l"H fadt
Labor is one of the first COM
mands Of God; idleness is depre-
Gated in the Holy Writ; the one is
honorable, the other dishonorable.
Labor strengthens the physical
constitution; it gives power to the
mind; it ennobles the feelings, and
makes great men and good citizens.
Idleness, on the contrary, impairs the
body, enervates the mind, destroys
natural integrity, promotes dissipa-
ton, and is a source of incalculable
evil. 1t will on examination be
found to be the root Of intemper-
ance and debauchery and in many
instances of crime It wrecks the
physical system, debases the mental
faculties, fills our prisons and poor
hou. es and icumbers the earth
with a race of beings, who live upon
the sweat of others brows and pass
off the stage of life without 'bene-
filing others or developing them
selves. Is not labor, then, more
genteel than idleness Ben Perley
Poore, IN american Cultivator. ~