Nov 1st, 2007 Posted in Virtue | no comment »
“Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.”
(one of three definitions)
1. Diligent hard work (formal or literary)
In the ordinary business of life, industry can do anything which genius can do, and very many things that it cannot.- Henry Ward Beecher
If you have genius, industry will improve it; if you have none, industry will supply its place.- Sir Joshua Reynolds
A man who gives his children habits of industry provides for them better than by giving them a fortune.- Richard Whatley
Franklin’s words are direct, and sound to the untrained as a recipe for certain burnout and boredom. Mr. Franklin, while very industrious, did not disdain to share his belief that relaxation and “fun” were necessary. “Something useful” does not mean boring. Family life, play with children, walking with your spouse, these are all “useful.” The concept of industry adds to the approach of frugality by suggesting that we should always be employed with something that will teach or benefit us. (What does this virtue mean to television?) Read the rest of this entry »
