How to be happy though human / by W. Béran Wolfe.
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197 (canvas 217)
The image contains the following text:
If we do not work, we die of cold and exposure, of
hunger and thirst, and, in a civilized state, of boredom
and isolation. Without work we should have neither
food nor protection, neither tools nor communication.
Certainly civilization is unthinkable in its present terms
unless every individual contributes and cooperates in the
maintenance of society and the social structure. Without
work and the recording of man’s accomplishments, each
of us would be compelled to learn over again ail that our
ancestors gained by bitter experience. The chances are
that most of us would die in the attempt. Work is a
fundamental element, therefore, in man’s continued
existence as a race, and a source of personal salvation to
the individual within the social structure.
There are some people who still believe that work is a
curse, and that the happiest possible state a human being
could exist in would be a paradise of leisure and ease.
Whatever the theological attitude toward work may be,
it is certain that the civilized man finds work a source of
personal salvation. We are endowed with so much
energy and activity that we must find some outlet, and the
best outlet for our creative energy is in work that helps
to maintain the structure of our society. It is the reciprocal
formula of human existence, without which society and
life would be unthinkable. There are many people who
believe it their private concern whether they work or not,
and others who are so placed by the peculiar economic
conditions of our times that they are practically prevented
from working because the immediate goals of work-
power, security, prestige, and social esteem-—are theirs
by the right of inheritance from ancestors who worked so
hard that they accumulated an excess of worldly goods.
The average, well-adjusted human being is so richly
endowed with energy and interest in the world that he
not only works to contribute to society’s maintenance,
but also possesses enough reserve energy to enjoy
avocations, hobbies, and artistic interests in addition.
When we speak of work as a contribution to society, it
does not necessarily imply that every mechanic, hedge