The sun, the air, and the earth are constantly abstracting from us our vital forces.

Hence we eat and drink for nourishment, and clothe ourselves for warmth.
Nature works with us.

She provides the earth which we furrow; she grows and ripens the seeds that we sow and gather.

She furnishes, with the help of human labour, the wool that we spin and the food that we eat.
And it ought never to be forgotten, that however rich or poor we may be, all that we eat, all that we are clothed with, all that shelters us, from the palace to the cottage, is the result of labour.
Men co-operate with each other for the mutual sustenance of all.

The husbandman tills the ground and provides food; the manufacturer weaves tissues, which the tailor and seamstress make into clothes; the mason and the bricklayer build the houses in which we enjoy household life.
Numbers of workmen thus contribute and help to create the general result.
Labour and skill applied to the vulgarest things invest them at once with precious value.