The fruits of labour mean
the reward of one’s own exertions and endeavour, while the gifts of fortune
imply inherited wealth, a legacy or a lottery prize. It is a psychological fact
that the fruits of labour afford much greater delight to a man than the gifts of
fortune.
There is a keen pleasure
in honest labour. A farmer undergoes hard toil in ploughing the soil, sowing the
seeds, watering the field, looking after he young plants. Weeding out unwanted
growth. Keeping off birds and cattle from doing damage to the crops and s n.
But he performs all these labours willingly and cheerfully because he expects to
receive his full reward; it gives him a thrill to see the harvest ready for his
scythe. It refreshes his eyes to behold the ripe corn. He puts his sickle to
the grain and derives infinite joy from the process of reaping the harvest. His
labours have borne a rich fruit and his happiness is complete. Similar is the
case of a businessman who invests a small amount of money in a certain
enterprise and by dint of hard work and sincere devotion to his business makes
a considerable profit. He now increases the amount of his investment as well as
his industry’ and makes a still greater profit. B>’ degrees he emerges into
the limelight and is reckoned among. The leading businessmen. If he does not
slacken his efforts he may ‘one day find himself a famous business magnate. He
is a self-made man. As he looks back upon his past labours and hard work. He
draws an indescribable pleasure from the fact that he has been richly rewarded.
In the same way. A student experiences, a keen joy when after months of hard
study. He is rewarded by’ the news that tops the list in the examination and
wins a scholarship. In every walk of life it holds well that a man feels
intense pleasure when his labours are crowned ‘with success.
Imagine the joy of a mountaineer
when, after braving all dangers and facing all risks, he finds himself at the
top of Mount Everest. Thinks of the glow of pleasure felt by those who after
weary toil explored the north or South Pole. How happy must Columbus have been
when he reached America after month of dangerous voyaging! Bolivar‘s joy after
emancipating the south American colonies and Garibaldi’s after liberating Italy
are inconceivable. Miss Florence Nightingale must have felt a deep satisfaction
after she had brought order out of the chaos prevailing in the hospital.
Examples can, indeed, be multiplied to show that sweet is the reward of
industry.
On the other hand, the
pleasure in the gifts of fortune can never be genuine or deep. A man who has
inherited a vast amount of wealth but has earned no money by his personal
exertions may be happy. But his happiness is bound to be superficial. He feels
uncomfortable when he realizes that others regard him as a drone or as an enterprising
fellow. He has a secret sense of guilt in making use of the wealth that his
forefathers earned.
Gifts of fortune tend to
make a man idle. The owner of a large hereditary estate bringing him a regular
income feels no incentive to any hard effort. On the other hand a man who is
self- made makes constant efforts to improve his position further because he
knows that honest labour bears a lovely face. The expectation of reward always
makes a man industrious. Besides he who has earned wealth by hard labour knows
its value and is therefore careful in spending. But the possessor of inherited wealth.
Unable to realize how much toil is wanted to earn money. Will squander his
money recklessly.