work first

Work first, then rest.
-John Ruskin

Another poem from Two Hundred Poems for Teachers of Industrial Arts Education Compiled by William L. Hunter, 1933...

The Potter

The potter stood at his daily work,
One patient foot on the ground;
The other with never slackening speed
Turning his swift wheel around.

Silent we stood beside him there,
Watching the restless knee,
'Til my friend said low, in pitying voice,
"How tired his foot must be!"

The potter never paused in his work,
Shaping the wondrous thing;
'Twas only a common flower pot,
But perfect in fashioning.

Slowly he raised this patient eyes,
With homely truth inspired;
"No, Marm, it isn't the foot that works,
The one that stands gets tired!"
-- Author unknown

Those who work not, know nothing of the energy it instills, nor the strength nor wisdom one derives from it.