[115] St. Benedict, Regula Monachorum, 48.
[116] St. Bernard, De modo bene vivendi, ch. 51 (Opera omnia, ii. 883 sq.).
[117] Speculum Monachorum, in St. Bernard, Opera omnia, ii. 818. von Eicken, op. cit. p. 494 sq. Cf. Thomas Aquinas, op. cit. ii.-ii. 182. 3.
[118] Thomas Aquinas, op. cit. ii.-ii. 187. 3; 118. 1.
This doctrine was more or less realised in the monastic life, but was hardly held applicable to laymen. The mediæval baron and knight resembled the Teutonic warrior described by Tacitus, who regarded it as “a dull and stupid thing to accumulate painfully by the sweat of the brow what might be won by a little blood.”[119] In England, after the Conquest, the aristocracy in general lived a life of idleness but indulged eagerly in hunting, and its members continually sallied forth in parties to plunder.[120] For a long time the lower classes, constituting the mass of society, existed only for the benefit of the upper class. It was considered honourable to live in sloth supported by the exertions of others, it was held degrading to depend on the gains of industry. The degradation really attached to the gains of labour rather than labour itself; for labour ceased to be degrading if not prosecuted for gain. “Louis XVI. may make locks, the ladies of his court may make butter and cheese, provided it is only for amusement. Lord Rosse may build a telescope as an amateur in the interest of science, and still be noble. But if the locks, the butter, or the telescope are sold, the makers are degraded to the level of the tradesman.”[121] However, as Mr. Spencer observes, trade, while at first relatively unessential (since essential things were mostly made at home) and consequently lacking the sanction of necessity and of ancestral custom, ceased to be despised when it grew in importance.[122] Among ourselves the respect in which a certain occupation is held is largely determined by the degree of mental power implied in it; hence manual labour, and especially unskilled labour, is still in some degree looked down upon. But we do not regard as dishonourable any kind of work which is not opposed to the ordinary rules of morality. We distinguish more clearly than the ancients did between social and moral inferiority. Our moral judgments are less influenced by class antipathies. We recognise that a high standard of duty is compatible even with the humblest station in life. And when we duly reflect upon the matter, we admit that the moral value of industry depends, not on the occupation in which it is displayed, but on the purpose of the labourer.
[119] Tacitus, Germania, 14.
[120] Wright, Domestic Manners and Sentiments in England during the Middle Ages, p. 102.
[121] Harris, ‘The Christian Doctrine of Labor,’ in New Englander, xxiv. 245.
[122] Spencer, Principles of Ethics, i. 429.
But though industry is applauded or insisted on, rest is also in certain circumstances regarded as a duty. By doing too much work a person may injure himself and indirectly other persons as well. In early society there is little inducement to overwork, but the case is very different in modern civilisation. This accounts for the persistence and general popularity of an institution which originally sprang from quite different sources, namely, the Sunday rest.