1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and
eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
3 Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure
mercies of David.

The state of mind which enables a man to do work of this kind is akin to that of the religious worshiper or the lover; the daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart.

Do you realize that a great republic, Greece provided a great degree of freedom and a high standard of living but it vanished? Rome came along with a great republic. Roman citizenship was cherished – yes, it was sought, it was bought. But Rome, falling into the throes of cheap politics, began to tax everything that could be taxed and to regulate everything that could be regulated – even to the load that could be carried on an ass. And what was the result? They began to put names on the public payroll until a third of the citizens of Rome were on the national payroll, and that republic collapsed... The empire fell – and great was the fall thereof. It ushered in a period known as the Dark Ages, lasting a thousand years. Should our American private free-enterprise system fall, what will be the result?

Channing Pollock observed that most democracies last for about two hundred years. The are conceived and developed by simple, vigorous, idealistic, hard-working people who, unfortunately, with success become rich and decadent, learn to live without labor, depend more on the largess of big government, and end by trading domestic tyrants for foreign tyrants.

Even among free nations we see the encroachment of government upon the lives of the citizenry by excessive taxation and regulation, all done under the guise that the people would not willfully or charitably distribute their wealth, so the government must take it from them. We further observe promises by the state of security, whereby men are taken care of from the womb to the tomb rather than earning this security by the ‘sweat of their brow’; deception in high places, with the justification that ‘the end justifies the means’; atheism; agnosticism; immorality; and dishonesty. The attendant results of such sin and usurpation of power lead to a general distrust of government officials, an insatiable, covetous spirit for more and more material wants, personal debt to satisfy this craving, and the disintegration of the family unit.

Steadiness and toil will serve you better than brilliance.

In history--in life--possibilities do not become realities of their own accord; someone, with his hands and his brain, with his labor and his self-sacrifice, must make realities of them. . . . All we are given is possibilities--to make ourselves one thing or another. . . .

When you are labouring for others let it be with the same zeal as if it were for yourself.

There is no substitute under the heavens for productive labor. It is the process by which dreams become realities. It is the process by which idle visions become dynamic achievements. Most of us are inherently lazy. We would rather play than work. We would rather loaf than work...But it is work that spells the difference in the life of a man or woman. It is stretching our minds and utilizing the skills of our hands that lift us from mediocrity.

Excellence in any department can be attained only by the labor of a lifetime; it is not to be purchased at a lesser price.

...every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. By preferring the support of domestic to that of foreign industry, he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for the society that it was no part of it. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good.