How to be happy though human / by W. Béran Wolfe.
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What if you wish to forego the verdict of history and remain idle simply because it suits you better not to work ? This is a very pertinent point. Many say : “ I can’t be a genius. Why shouldn’t I just enjoy life ? ” The common sense of daily life answers : if you do not contribute and cooperate in the world’s work, neither man nor God will punish you. But nature will punish you in her own way for breaking one of her fundamental laws. You eat and drink and sleep. You develop a formidable reserve of vital energy that requires an outlet. If there is no adequate use for this energy, it turns inward and destroys you. The mere pursuit of pleasure quickly becomes a retreat from the hell of boredom. Ennui leads by gradual steps, via the various perversions of human conduct, to suicide or insanity, to the negation of life and the annihilation of the thrill of living. Life without work is a living death. Society, moreover, guards jealously against parasites within its body. Those who are not destroyed by nature are isolated by society. The burglar and the thief, whose work is antisocial, the insane and the mentally defective, are removed from the enjoyment of the full fruits of citizenship in their community. Our very word “ idiot ” is derived from the Greek word for a non-productive member of society. In earlier days society was more brutal than it is to-day. In savage communities, the aged, the infirm, and the insane are still quickly removed from the community, either actively by being put to death or passively by being allowed to starve. Civilized men are more tolerant of those who are temporarily incapacitated. A greater value is put on past contributions, but any man or woman who remains voluntarily idle for long periods is eventually removed from the usufructs ot social life. We must work, whether we wish to work or whether we prefer to be idle. The question of work is not a matter for us to decide according to our personal whim or fancy. The only choice that remains open to the individual is the manner in which he will make his