The son of Sirach, in his Book of Wisdom, has described the man who did
the work of the world in ancient times; for "how shall he become wise,"
begins this essay, "that holdeth the plough, that glorieth in the shaft of
the goad, that driveth oxen, and is occupied in their labors, and whose
discourse is of the stock of bulls? He will set his heart upon turning his
furrows, his wakefulness is to give his heifers their fodder. So is every
artificer and work-master that passeth his time by night as by day, they
that cut gravings of signets; and his diligence is to make great variety;
he will set his heart to preserve likeness in his portraiture, and will be
wakeful to finish his work. So is the smith, sitting by the anvil, and
considering the un-wrought iron; the vapor of the fire will waste his
flesh, and in the heat of the furnace will he wrestle with his work; the
noise of the hammer will be ever in his ears, and his eyes are upon the
pattern of the vessel; he will set his heart upon perfecting his works,
and he will be wakeful to adorn them perfectly.
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