Library Essays; Papers Related to the Work of Public LibrariesBostwick, Arthur E. (Arthur Elmore)
Science
Library Essays; Papers Related to the Work of Public Libraries
Bostwick, Arthur E. (Arthur Elmore)
Library science; Public libraries
And love of one’s work becomes a very simple matter when there is love
of the subject matter of that work. Those who lament that they are
doomed to drudgery should remember that drudgery is subjective. All work
consists of a series of acts which taken apart from their relationships
are unimportant and uninteresting, but which acquire importance and
interest from those relationships. It is so also with sports. Think how
childish are the mere acts of striking a ball with a racket or of
kicking an inflated leather sphere over a cross-bar! Yet in their proper
sequence with other acts they may be the object of the breathless
interest or enthusiasm of thousands of spectators. And if this may be
the case with a mere game, how much more so with an occupation that is
part of the world’s life! To dip a brush in color and draw it across a
canvas is a simple act, yet such acts in their sequence may produce a
work of art. Here the workman understands the position and value of each
act in the sequence; hence he is not apt to feel it as drudgery.
Drudgery is work in which the elementary acts are performed
unintelligently, with little or no appreciation of their position in the
scheme of things, as when a day laborer toils at digging a hole in the
ground without the slightest knowledge of its purpose, not caring,
indeed, whether it is to be a post-hole or a grave. But to the man who
is searching for buried treasure the digging ceases to be drudgery; he
knows what he is about, and every shovelful as it is lifted brings him
nearer to possible gold and gems. To change drudgery into interested
labor, therefore, realize what you are doing; know its relation to what
has gone before and what is to come; understand what it is you are
working on and what you are working for. Learn to love that something;
and all that you can do to shape it, to increase its usefulness and to
bring it into new relationships will have a vivid interest to you.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account