During the Anti-Corn Law movement, Cobden, writing to a friend, described himself as "working like a horse, with not a moment to spare." Lord Brougham was a remarkable instance of the indefatigably active and laborious man; and it might be said of Lord Palmerston, that he worked harder for success in his extreme old age than he had ever done in the prime of his manhood--preserving his working faculty, his good-humour and BONHOMMIE, unimpaired to the end.

[1317] He himself was accustomed to say, that being in office, and consequently full of work, was good for his health.

It rescued him from ENNUI.

Helvetius even held, that it is man's sense of ENNUI that is the chief cause of his superiority over the brute,--that it is the necessity which he feels for escaping from its intolerable suffering that forces him to employ himself actively, and is hence the great stimulus to human progress.
Indeed, this living principle of constant work, of abundant occupation, of practical contact with men in the affairs of life, has in all times been the best ripener of the energetic vitality of strong natures.
Business habits, cultivated and disciplined, are found alike useful in every pursuit--whether in politics, literature, science, or art.

Thus, a great deal of the best literary work has been done by men systematically trained in business pursuits.