afford him. The man who regards life as a matter of labor will
propose to himself as his object, in proportion as he acquires
understanding, skill, and endurance, greater and greater toil, which
shall constantly fill his life to a greater and greater degree. For
such a man, who sees the meaning of his life in work itself, and not
in its results, for the acquisition of property, there can be no
question as to the implements of labor. Although such a man will
always select the most suitable implements, that man will receive the
same satisfaction from work and rest, when he employs the most
unsuitable implements. If there be a steam-plough, he will use it;
if there is none, he will till the soil with a horse-plough, and, if
there is none, with a primitive curved bit of wood shod with iron, or
he will use a rake; and, under all conditions, he will equally attain
his object. He will pass his life in work that is useful to men, and
he will therefore win complete satisfaction.

And the position of such a man, both in his external and internal
conditions, will be more happy than that of the man who devotes his
life to the acquisition of property. Such a man will never suffer
need in his outward circumstances, because people, perceiving his
desire to work, will always try to provide him with the most
productive work, as they proportion a mill to the water-power. And
they will render his material existence free from care, which they
will not do for people who are striving to acquire property. And
freedom from anxiety in his material conditions is all that a man
needs. Such a man will always be happier in his internal conditions,
than the one who seeks wealth, because the first will never gain that
which he is striving for, while the latter always will, in proportion
to his powers. The feeble, the aged, the dying, according to the
proverb, "With the written absolution in his hands," will receive