_All these put their trust in their hands, And each becometh wise in his own work. Without these shall not a city be inhabited And wherever they sojourn they will not hunger. They shall not be sought for in the council of the people, And in the assembly they shall not mount up on high; They shall not sit on the seat of the judge, Nor understand the covenant of judgement, Neither shall they declare instruction and judgement, And among them that speak proverbs they shall not be found. But they will maintain the fabric of the world, And in the handiwork of their craft is their prayer_ (E. 38^{24-34}). The passage is so interesting an illustration of the attitude of the educated Jews towards manual labour that a digression is irresistible. Among the Greeks all humbler forms of labour were heartily despised. In ancient society so much of the rough work was performed by slaves that the fortunate classes could and, as a rule, did find occupation in military, political, commercial, and literary or artistic affairs. Even the farmer was reckoned of small account, because, despite the honest worth of his occupation, his busy life and practical interests denied him the intellectual leisure of the town population. The Romans had certain incidents in their historical traditions that gave to agriculture a measure of honour, at least in theory. Otherwise their standpoint was much the same as that of the Greeks. But the Jews maintained a more generous and a very sensible attitude, as is exemplified by this quotation from Ben Sirach. They recognised the limitations imposed by hard toil, but at the same time they saw that it had an essential part to play in the economy of the whole, and therefore they freely acknowledged its merits: _Hate not laborious work, For toil hath been appointed of God_ (E. 7^{15}).