SER M. chofen, labour; or whether it be to be eschewed, labour, XIII. that thou mayeft not labour; for by not labouring, labour is * not escaped, but is rather pursued; and St. Chryfoftom doth upon the fame confideration urge industry, becaufe Sloth, faith he, is wont to fpoil us, and to yield us much pain. No man can cozen nature, efcaping the labour to which he was born; but rather attempting it, will delude himself, then finding moft, when he fhunneth all labour. Sloth, indeed, doth affect ease and quiet, but by affecting them doth lofe them; it hateth labour and trouble, but by hating them doth incur them; it is a felf-deftroying vice, not fuffering those who cherish it to be idle, but creating much work, and multiplying pains unto them; engaging them into divers neceffities and ftraits, which they cannot fupport with eafe, and out of which, without extreme trouble, they cannot extricate themfelves: of this the Ecclef. x.18. Preacher doth afford us a plain inftance; By much flothfulness, faith he, the building decayeth, and through idleness of the bands the house droppeth through. A little care taken at first about repairing the house, would have faved its decay and ruin, and confequently the vaft charge and trouble, becoming needful to re-edify it; and the like doth happen in most other cafes and occurrences of life: idleness commonly doth let flip opportunities and advantages, which cannot with ease be retrieved; it letteth things fall into a bad cafe, out of which they can hardly be recovered. The certain confequences of it (difgrace, penury, want of experience; difobliging and lofing friends, with all the like mifchiefs) cannot be fupported without much difquiet; and they difable a man from redreffing the inconveniences into which he is plunged. But industry, by a little voluntary labour taken in * Η αργία Διαφθείρειν ἡμᾶς εἴωθε, καὶ πολὺν παρέχει τὸν πόνον. Chryf. in Job. Orat. 36. due due place and feafon, doth fave much neceffary la- s ER M. bour afterward, and by moderate care doth prevent XIII. intolerable distress; and the fruits of it (wealth, reputation, skill, and dexterity in affairs, friendships, all advantages of fortune) do enable a man to pafs his life with great ease, comfort, and delight. 2. Industry doth beget eafe, by procuring good habits, and facility of acting things expedient for us to do. By taking pains to-day we fhall need lefs pains to-morrow; and by continuing the exercise, within a while we shall need no pains at all, but perform the most difficult tasks of duty, or of benefit to us, with perfect ease, yea commonly with great pleafure. What fluggish people account hard and irkfome (as to rife early, to hold close to study or businefs, to bear fome hardship) will be natural and fweet; as proceeding from another nature, raised in us by ufe. Industry doth breed affurance and courage, needful for the undertaking and profecution of all neceffary business, or for the performance of all duties incumbent on us. No man can quite decline bufinefs, or difengage himself from duty, without infinite damage and mifchief accruing to himself: but these an induftrious man (confiding in this efficacious quality) will fet upon with alacrity, and difpatch with facility, his diligence avoiding obftacles, and fmoothing the way to him; when as idlenefs finding fome difficulties, and fancying more, foon difhearteneth, and caufeth a man to defift from action, rather choofing to crouch under the burthen, than by endeavour to carry it through, to discharge himself thereof: whence as to an induftrious man things feeming difficult will prove eafy, fo to a flothful perfon the eafieft things will appear impoffible; according to Solomon's obfervation: The way, faith he, of a flothful man is an hedge of thorns, * *by. Prov. xv. 19. Οδοὶ ἀνεργῶν ἐσρωμέναι, αἱ δὲ τῶν ἀνδρείων τετριμμένας. but XIII. SER M. but the way of the upright is made plain; whereas a flothful man, being apt to neglect his obligations, is opposed to an upright man, who hath a confcionable regard to them, and is willing to take pains in the difcharge of them: fo it is declared, that to the one the way is rough and thorny, to the other beaten and expedite. And again, The flothful man*, faith he, doth fay, there is a lion without, I fhall be flain in the fireets: he is very apt to conceit, or to pretend imaginary difficulties and hazards, and thence to be deterred from going about his business, or doing his duty. This confideration St. Chryfoftom doth propofe, exciting to an earnest pursuit of virtue; because, There is, faith he, nothing fo eafy, which our great floth doth not reprefent very grievous and burthenfome; nothing fo painful and difficult, which diligence and willingness do not fhew to be very easy. 3. We may confider that induftry will sweeten all our enjoyments, and feason them with a grateful relifh; for as no man can well enjoy himself, or find found content in any thing, while bufinefs or duty lie unfinished on his hand; fo when he hath done his beft toward the difpatch of his work, he will then comfortably take his eafe, and enjoy his pleasure; then his food doth tafte favourily, then his divertisements and recreations have a lively guftfulness, then his fleep is very found and pleafant, according to Ecclef. v. that of the Preacher, The fleep of a labouring man is Tüdény. fweet. 12. 4. Especially thofe accommodations prove most * Prov. xxii. 13. xxvi. 13. Προφασίζεται, καὶ λέγει ὀκνηρὸς, Λέων ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς, ἐν δὲ ταῖς πλατείαις φονευταί. † Οὐδὲν ὕτως ἐτὶ ῥᾴδιον, ὁ μὴ σφόδρα βαρὺ καὶ ἐπαχθὲς ὁ πολὺς δείκνυσιν ἔκνος ἡμῶν· ὥσπερ ἐπίπονον καὶ ἡ δυσχερὲς ὁ μὴ λίαν εὔχολον ἡ σπουδὴ καὶ #godopía. Chryf. Tom. 6. Or. p. 15. 144. Τὰ μὲν ῥᾴδια τὰς ἀμελοῦντας φεύγει, τὰ δὲ χαλεπὰ ἐπιμελείαις αλίσκετ ras. Plut. de Educ. delightful, delightful, which our induftry hath procured to us; SER M. we looking on them with a fpecial tenderness of affec- XIII. tion, as on the children of our endeavour; we being fenfible at what cofts of care and pain we did purchase them. If a man getteth wealth by fraud or violence, if he rifeth to preferment by flattery, detraction, or any bad arts, he can never taste any good favour, or find found comfort in them; and from what cometh merely by chance, as there is no commendation due, fo much fatisfaction will not arise. It is the wife man's obfervation, The flothful man roaft- Prov. xii, eth not that which he took in bunting, and therefore it 27. cannot be very grateful to him; but, addeth he, the fubftance of a diligent man is precious; that is, what a man compaffeth by honeft industry, that he is apt highly to prize; he triumpheth in it, and (in St. Paul's 1 Cor. ix. fense innocently) boafteth of it; he feeleth a folid 15. pleasure and a pure complacency therein: the manner of getting it doth more pleafe him than the thing itself; as true hunters do love the fport more than the quarry, and generous warriors more rejoice in the victory than in the fpoil; for our foul, as St. Chryfoftom difcourfeth †, is more affected with those things, for which it hath laboured; for which reason, addeth he, God hath mixed labours with virtue itself, that he might endear it to us. Yea farther, 5. The very exercife of induftry immediately in itself is delightful, and hath an innate fatisfaction, which tempereth all annoyances, and even ingratiateth the pains going with it. The very fettlement of our mind on fit objects, or its acquiefcence in determinate action, conducing to a good end, whereby we are freed of doubt, distraction, and faftidious liftleffnefs, doth minifter content. * Cui fit conditio dulcis fine pulvere palme? Hor. Ep. 1. 1. † Περὶ ἐκεῖνα μᾶλλον ἡ ψυχὴ διακείται, ὑπὲς ὧν ἔκαμε· διὰ τοῦτο καὶ πόνους ἀνέμιξεν ἀρετῇ οἰκειῶσαι αὐτῇ ταύτην βουλόμενος. Chryf. in Job. Orat. 36. I The SERM. The reflection upon our having embraced a wife XIII. choice, our proceeding in a fair way, our being in chace of a good purpose, doth breed complacence. Prov. xiv. 23. 1 Cor. ix. JO. Rom. xii. 12. v. 2. Heb. iii. 6. Tim. iv. Col. i. To confider that we are fpending our time accountably, and improving our talents to good advantage (to the fervice of God, the benefit of our neighbour, the bettering of our own ftate) is very cheering and comfortable. And whereas in all labour, as the wife man telleth us, there is profit, the forefight of that profit affordeth pleasure, the foretafting the good fruits of our industry is very delicious. Hope, indeed, doth ever wait on industry: and what is more delightful than hope? This is the incentive, the support, the condiment of all honest labour; in virtue whereof the husbandman toileth, the merchant trudgeth, the scholar ploddeth, the fol2 Cor. ii. dier dareth with alacrity and courage, not resenting John iii. any pains, not regarding any hazards which attend their undertakings: this the holy apoftles tell us did Pet. i. 3. enable them with joy to fuftain all their painful work, Tit ii. 13. and hazardous warfare; enjoining us also as to work with fear, fo to rejoice in hope. 12. 3. In fine, industry doth free us from great difpleafure, by redeeming us from the moleftations of idlenefs, which is the moft tedious and irkfome thing in the world, racking our foul with anxious fufpenfe, and perplexing diftraction; ftarving it for want of fatisfactory entertainment, or caufing it to feed on its own heart by doleful confiderations; infefting it with crowds of frivolous, melancholic, troublesome, ftinging thoughts; galling it with a fenfe of our fquandering away precious time, of our flipping fair * ipfa operis difficultate lætus fpem fegetis de labore me. titur. Apud Aug. Ep. 142. + Otio qui nefcit uti plus habet negotii, &c. Otiofo in otio animus nefcit quid quidem velit, &c. Ennius apud Agel. 19. 10. oppor |