;
Of labor, that in lasting fruit outgrows
Far noisier schemes, accomplished in repose,
Too great for haste, too high for rivalry.

THE PENALTY.

+Laziness leads to poverty.+--The lazy man does nothing to produce
wealth. The only way in which he can get it is by inheritance, or by
gift, or by theft. Money received by inheritance does not last long. The
man who is too lazy to earn money, is generally too weak to use it
wisely; and it soon slips through his fingers. When a man's laziness is
once found out people refuse to give to him. And the thief cannot steal
many times without being caught. Industry is the only sure and permanent
title to wealth; and where industry is wanting, there, soon or late,
poverty must come.

CHAPTER V.

Property.

The products of labor, saved up and appropriated to our use, constitute
property. Without property life cannot rise above the hand-to-mouth
existence of the savage. It is as important to save and care for
property after we have earned it, as it is to earn it in the first
place. Property does not stay with us unless we watch it sharply. Left
to itself it takes wings and flies away. Unused land is overgrown by
weeds; unoccupied houses crumble and decay; food left exposed sours and
molds; unused tools rust; and machinery left to stand idle gets out of
order. Everything goes to rack and ruin, unless we take constant care.
Hence the preservation of property is one of the fundamental concerns of
life and conduct.

THE DUTY.

+Provision for family and for old age.+--Childhood and old age ought to
be free from the necessity of earning a living. Childhood should be
devoted to growth and education; old age to enjoyment and repose. In
order to secure this provision for old age, for the proper training of
children and against sickness and accident, it is a duty to save a
portion of one's earnings during the early years of active life. The
man who at this period is not doing more than to support himself and
family, is not providing for their permanent support at all. They are
feasting to-day with the risk of starvation to-morrow.

In primitive conditions of society this provision for the future
consisted in the common ownership by family or clan of flocks and herds
or lands, whereby the necessities of life were insured to each member of
the clan or family from birth to death.

THE VIRTUE.

+The importance of systematic saving.+--In the more complex civi