“Cursëd is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground.” But we may take comfort in the fact that the Book of Genesis shows some curious discrepancies. For in the Second Chapter God is represented as making _one_ single man out of the dust of the ground, yet in the very First Chapter of the same Book we read that,-- “God created man in His own image; male and female created he _them_. “And God blessed _them_ and said unto _them_ ... Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth and _subdue_ it: and have _dominion_ over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” Thus we find that the story of Adam and Eve and the Serpent does not occur till _after_ the creation of mankind (in the plural) and _after_ the Divine order that this same mankind (in the plural) should “replenish the earth and subdue it.” No “curse” accompanied this command. On the contrary, it was sanctified by a blessing. “God blessed them.” And whether Genesis be taken seriously, or only read as poetic legend founded on some substratum of actual events, the fact remains that “to replenish the earth and subdue it,” literally means,--to WORK. The “dominion” of man over the planet he inhabits is not to be gained by sitting down with folded hands and waiting for food to drop into the mouth. It is evident that he was intended to earn his right to live. It is also evident that the blessing of God will be his, if from the first beginnings of conscious intelligence and aptitude he resolutely and honestly sets his shoulder to the wheel. It is only when we are at work that we are vitally and essentially a part of God’s great creative scheme. Idleness is an abnormal condition. It is not to be found in nature. There everything works, and in the special task allotted to it, each conscious atom finds its life and joy. The smallest seed _works_, as it slowly but surely pushes its way up through the soil;--the bird _works_, as it builds its nest and forages the earth and air to find food for its young. We cannot point to the minutest portion of God’s magnificent creation and say that it is idle. Nothing is absolutely at rest. There is--strictly speaking--no rest in the whole Universe. All things are working; all things are moving. Man clamours for rest,--but rest is what he will never get,--not even in the grave. For though he may seem dead, new forms of life germinate from his body, and go on working in their appointed way,--while, with the immortal part of himself which is his Soul, he enters at once into fresh fields of labour. Rest is no more possible than death, in the Divine scheme of everlasting progress where all is Life.