German composition

Section 134 The Gospel of Work. I.

Work, hard⁠1 work, is a blessing to⁠2 the soul and the character⁠3 of the man who works. Young men⁠4 may not think so. They⁠5 may say: “What⁠6 more pleasant than to have⁠7 one’s fortune made for one, and⁠8 have nothing more before one than to enjoy life? What⁠6 more pleasant than to be idle; or, at least, to do only what one likes, and no more than one likes?” But they would find themselves mistaken. They would find that idleness makes a man⁠9 restless, discontented, greedy, the⁠10 slave of his own lusts and passions, and see, too late, that no man⁠9 is more to be pitied than the man⁠11 who has nothing to do. Yes, thank⁠12 God, every morning, when you get up, that you have something to do that day which must be done, whether you like it or not. Being⁠13 forced to work, and forced to do your best, will breed in⁠14 you temperance and self-control, diligence and strength of will, cheerfulness and content, and a (S. 132, N. 10) hundred virtues which the idle⁠15 man will never know.

Notes

1 schwer.

2 für.

3 character = dignity. Turn ‘of — works’ by ‘of him (dessen) who (after which insert the adv. da) works.

4 men = people, Leute. When ‘people’ signifies ‘persons’ in the general sense of the word, it is mostly rendered by Leute. In the signification of ‘nation’ it is rendered by Volk, n., corresponding to the Latin ‘populus’ and the French ‘peuple’. In the first signification, however, we can often translate it by the indefinite pronoun ‘man’, which also corresponds to the English ‘they’, ‘we’, ‘you’, used in a general and indefinite sense.

5 = They say perhaps.

6 Was giebt es.

7 to have = to see; for one = by (von) others.

8 Say ‘with no other task than to enjoy one’s life’?

9 ‘Man’ is here used in the signification of ‘human being’, when it is generally rendered by ‘der Mensch’.

10 Read S. 102, N. 13.

11 Use the demonstrative pron. derjenige.

12 When the Imperative of the 2nd pers. is used in a general application, we use it either in the 2nd pers. sing. or the 2nd pers. pl. Use the 2nd pers. sing. in this case.

13 Being — best = The compulsion (Zwang, m.) to work (zur Arbeit) and the necessity to do your (= thy) best.

14 Place ‘in you’ (= thee) after ‘virtues’, immediately before the infinitive ‘breed’ (= awaken, erwecken).

15 the idle man, der Müßiggänger.