quote · Legacy record
Labour, with envy and annoyance, where strangers will thee wealth; Labour, with indolence and gloom, where wealth falleth from a father; Labour unto all, whether aching thews, or aching head, or spirit; The curse on the sons of men, in all their states, is labour. Nevertheless, to the diligent, labour bringeth blessing; The thought of duty sweeteneth toil, and travail is a pleasure; And time spent in doing, hath a comfort that is not for the idle, The hardship is transmuted into joy by the dear alchemy of mercy. Labour is good for man, bracing up his energies to conquest, And without it life is dull, the man perceiving himself useless. For wearily the body groaneth, like a door on rusty hinges, And the grasp of the mind is weakened, as the talons of a caged vulture.
Labour, with envy and annoyance, where strangers will thee wealth; Labour, with indolence and gloom, where wealth falleth from a father; Labour unto all, whether aching thews, or aching head, or spirit; The curse on the sons of men, in all their states, is labour. Nevertheless, to the diligent, labour bringeth blessing; The thought of duty sweeteneth toil, and travail is a pleasure; And time spent in doing, hath a comfort that is not for the idle, The hardship is transmuted into joy by the dear alchemy of mercy. Labour is good for man, bracing up his energies to conquest, And without it life is dull, the man perceiving himself useless. For wearily the body groaneth, like a door on rusty hinges, And the grasp of the mind is weakened, as the talons of a caged vulture.
In print by 1888 AD · industrial
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- M. F. Tupper (identity unresolved)
Attribution: unknown - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1888 AD · industrial
In print by 1888: recorded in A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888) (1888 AD)
Page 349 · printed citation: M. F. Tupper · subject: LABOUR
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.