The beauty and blessedness of labor are finely presented by John Greenleaf Whittier:—
Give fools their gold, and knaves their power;
Let fortune's bubbles rise and fall;
Who sows a field, or trains a flower,
Or plants a tree, is more than all.
For he who blesses most is blest;
And God and man shall own his worth
Who toils to leave, as his bequest
An added beauty to the earth.
1064
Genius begins great works; labor alone finishes them.
1065
The fruit derived from labor is the sweetest of all pleasures.
—Vauvenargues.
1066
I have also seen the world, and after long experience have discovered that ennui is our greatest enemy, and remunerative labor our most lasting friend.