CHAPTER III.

INDUSTRY.

"Time well employed is Satan's deadliest foe."

WHEN the head of our race was cast out of Paradise, it was decreed, as one of the punishments of his sin, that he and his posterity should eat their bread in the sweat of their brow. Before, the earth had brought forth every thing necessary for the comfort and subsistence of man and beast; but now it was cursed, and thorns and thistles sprang up. Of course, it became absolutely necessary that man should till the soil; and this, probably, was the first labor which he performed. As men advanced in civilization, other labor must be performed; they must have clothing, and tents, and houses, and cooking utensils. Then they built ships, to sail on the waters. And in a still later and more refined age, they

erected lofty monuments,

noble temples, At the present

and splendid works of art. day, when civilization has arrived at such great perfection, the wants of men are innumerable. And who is to supply these wants? Of course, man is to do it, or we must go back again to the pastoral ages, when men did little else but till the ground and tend the cattle.

The "pleasant way" is not a way of idleness. He who would walk in it must expect to labor, as he will find work enough to employ him. Lazy servants are unfaithful, and God wishes for none such. You see, therefore, my young friends, that if you would walk in the ways of pleasantness, you must do something. Every one ought to have some occupation, by which he can earn his own bread, and benefit his fellow-men. It is not expected, of course, that all will labor with their hands, for there ought always to be some to labor with their minds. Still this number will be comparatively few, while the majority will have to employ themselves in occupations of a different nature. But of the number

who ought to labor with their hands, some consider themselves too good to work, and others are too lazy. They are like the man whom Solomon describes so admirably "The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets. As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful man upon his bed. The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom; it grieveth him to bring it back again to his mouth."

I know that in this country there are comparatively few who will answer to this description; because, as a whole, this is an enterprising nation. But there are some, even here, whom it almost grieves to bring their hand to their mouth. And there are many more, who, obliged to do something for a livelihood, take up an occupation that confers no possible benefit upon themselves or others, but rather injures both. Such are the occupations of play-actors, dancers, circus-riders, jugglers, and some other "wonderful performers." They have an occupation, but it is a worthless and injurious one; and it would be better for the

world at least, if they rolled all day upon their beds, instead of performing their "wonderful feats," and leading others to idleness and vice. Alexander the Great once met with one of these worthless persons, who was very expert in shooting peas through the eye of a needle. To show his contempt for such a useless attainment, he sent the man a very appropriate present,a basket of peas. We have just such men among us now, though they do not perform exactly the same feat. They are found in every circus, and sometimes at other places of amusement. I hope none who read this will ever countenance or patronize these lazy fellows. Let them be starved out of their worthless occupations, and then they may become of some use to society.

Let us now look at some of the reasons why we should be industrious. The first one is, the Bible plainly teaches the duty. Not only is it decreed in the word of God that man shall earn his bread, but it is commanded and enforced. Paul in his epistle to the Thessalonians, says, "And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your

own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you." As a reason for this, he adds, "That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing." The same apostle says, in his second epistle to the Thessalonians, "For when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busy bodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread." We are also commanded to be "not slothful in business," and to "provide things honest in the sight of all men ;" and Paul even says, that "if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."

These inspired commands of Paul are enforced by his own example. In Acts 18: 3, we find that he wrought as a tentmaker; and in several other places, he