The greatest ancient poet, Publius Vergilius Maro, and the greatest American president, George Washington, both understood and emphasized the importance and dignity of work.
Ancient Rome — especially the heroes of the Roman Republic — was a powerful influence on the Founding Fathers, as we see in everything from our “Senate” and “Republic” to our Roman-style D.C. buildings to Founders who wrote about liberty under Roman pseudonyms. George Mason and Charles Carroll (among others) cited Vergil during the Constitutional Convention, and Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton both made particular study of his works. We know, therefore, that Vergil and his epics, the Aeneid and the Georgics, influenced and shaped the thought of numerous Founding Fathers.
The Georgics in particular matched the American attitude, as it is specifically epic poetry glorifying farming and the agricultural life. One of his most famous lines from it is “labor omnia vicit,” or “work conquered all.” The poem even has instructions on how to be a successful farmer. Unlike so many other poets, both of antiquity and of ages leading up to the American Revolution, Vergil was not an elitist — he truly did honor ordinary laborers. He even took the radical step of arguing that any virtuous man could achieve happiness in the afterlife, not just royals and demigods, which is partly why Christians found him so appealing. No wonder many Americans looked toward him as a sort of unofficial poet laureate of their political and social revolution.
The reason this is so relevant to us today is that we really need to recover the traditional American work ethic, which we might say is encapsulated in the line “work conquers all.” From the very first European colonists to land in the New World through the present, immigrants came to America for a better life. But while in the 21st century huge numbers of immigrants demand endless benefits and redistributed money, the immigrants of ages past all expected to work very hard to build their dreams. The American dream was always earned, not given.
George Washington, so famous for his generalship and presidency, considered himself primarily a farmer and once observed, “It will not be doubted that with reference either to individual or national welfare, agriculture is of primary importance.” Perhaps more broadly, we might observe that industry and labor with the hands are of primary importance.
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Indeed, for generations, children born in America — with the exception of some elitists like the Democrat plantation owners — grew up believing that they had to put a great deal of work into their futures. The technology, political philosophy, agricultural innovations, weaponry, music, and other American products that made the world marvel were all products of hard work. Sadly, Americans today seem to becoming increasingly lazy, with an ever-growing number of people on permanent welfare and demanding healthcare and housing as rights.
A huge factor in what made this country as prosperous and powerful as it is was the work ethic of generations of Americans, whether immigrant or native-born. Without that work ethic, we will fall prey to the dictators who are already trying to enslave us politically and bribe us financially. At one time, Americans were ashamed of the idea of welfare and proud of what they could produce with their own hands. Now it seems as if Americans across the political spectrum demand money they didn’t earn as their right. Everyone is looking for the shortcut to wealth and fame without any of the effort. No wonder our country is in such chaos and collapse.
Until and unless we once again understand what George Washington knew, until we once again reclaim the traditional American work ethic, our country will continue to lose its industry to foreigners and see younger generations grow up incapable of sustaining or building up a great nation. As Vergil said, work conquers all.
