affirms that his hands had ministered unto his necessities. We also find that those men spoken of in the Bible who walked with God, and were remarkable for their piety and wisdom, had occupations of some kind. Cain and Abel, the first men that were born, had their different occupations. Our Saviour, too, probably spent the greater part of his life in the service of his father, as a carpenter, and his disciples, also were poor and laboring men.

Another reason why we should labor is, our happiness requires it. God's command, requiring us to work, is in this respect benevolent, like all his other commands. God has given us a body and a mind, both of which are to be improved and strengthened by exercise. For the body, the best exercise is manual labor; for it not only expands and invigorates, but it is also useful and profitable. The man who does not labor with his hands, and who neglects bodily exercise, can never expect to be a healthy or a happy man. decays, and he sinks into

His body soon an early grave.

But the man who labors with his body,

and eats his bread in the sweat of his brow, if he is temperate and prudent, is generally a strong and healthy man, and lives to a good old age.

Another reason why we should labor is, because industry keeps us from sin. The motto placed at the head of this chapter is a true one; for there is no time when we have so little to fear from Satan as when we are well employed. Bishop Hall remarked, "Our idle days are the devil's busy ones." There is another quaint proverb, full of meaning, which says, "an idle man's head is the devil's workshop." And it is the testimony of an old Puritan, "I find diligence the best preservative from temptation; for when Satan comes to me with his proposals, I say to him, 'I cannot attend to thee now, I am so busy.' No doubt, many who are now confined in our jails and prisons were first led into sin by idleness. They loved more to spend their days in sport and idleness, than in study and labor; and they thus formed bad acquaintances, and were led into mischief. Such persons are a curse to any

community, as they scatter the seeds of death around them. The river, whose waters leap onward, and seem alive with activity, fertilizes the soil, and causes many a tree and flower to bud. But should its waters stop in their course, they soon stagnate, and scatter the seeds of disease and death all around. So man, when active and well employed, not only has little to fear himself from Satan, but may scatter around him fertility and health, where all without his example and aid would be barren and useless. My young readers, there is an Italian proverb which I wish you would always remember: "He who is employed is tempted by one devil; he who is idle, by a hundred devils."

A fourth reason why we should labor is, because it is profitable. It seems to be necessary that all in this world should possess some property; and the principal means by which this is to be acquired is labor. The wise man said, "In all labor there is profit;" and he added, "He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread." If we look around us, we shall find that many of

the most wealthy persons in the land earned their money by their own industry.

But this is not the only "profit" which the industrious man reaps. Solomon says, "Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men." In other words, he who is diligent in business will generally rise in the scale of society. Though he may begin in humble circumstances, yet he will one day be able to associate with the influential men of the earth. In no country do we find so many illustrations of this as in our own. Take Franklin, for an example, who, from a printer's boy, became a great philosopher through his own industry, and was honored by the great and learned men of the earth. Look at all the chief men of our land, and see how many of them arose from poverty. Even some of our presidents began life in obscure circumstances. And how did they rise? It was by INDUSTRY. How many of our governors, and senators, and judges, and public officers, and clergymen, were once obliged to earn their daily bread by the toil

of their hands! Yet by industry they arose to distinction, and now "stand before kings."

The last reason I shall mention why we should labor, is, because nature teaches it. Solomon sent the slothful man to the ant, to learn a lesson of industry; and that little insect remains, as industrious as ever, and an example to all who love to fold their hands in idleness. See how willingly it toils from morn till night, with no compulsion but its necessity and happiness. See how the industrious bee flies from flower to flower, to "provide things honest" for itself. See how industrious the bird is, in building its nest, and providing for its young. See how the intelligent beaver builds a strong dam in the river, and then, with its paws and tail, constructs solid and strong habitations, till a little village appears. And see how patiently the horse, the ox, the camel, &c., labor for man, obeying all his commands, and proving of incalculable service to him. These animals are not lazy, but they labor hard, and receive but little in return. And shall