The Ant
Turn on the prudent Ant thy heedless eyes,
Observe her labors, Sluggard, and be wise;
No stern command, no monitory voice,
Prescribes her duties, or directs her choice;
Yet timely provident she hastes away,
To snatch the blessings of a plenteous day;
When fruitful Summer loads the teeming plain,
She crops the harvest and she stores the grain.
How long, shall sloth usurp thy useless hours,
Unnerve thy vigor, and enchain thy powers?
While artful shades thy downy couch enclose,
And soft solicitation courts repose,
Amidst the drowsy charms of dull delight,
Year chases year with unremitted flight,
Till want now following, fraudulent and slow,
Shall spring to seize thee, like an ambushed foe.
by Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson’s poem, “The Ant,” is based on an earlier work: “Go to the Ant, thou Sluggard, consider her ways, and be wise: which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O Sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep. So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.” -Author Unknown: as quoted in “The Bible” (King James Version (1611)), ‘Proverbs,’ chapter 6, verses 6 through 11
Samuel Johnson was born on 18 September 1709 in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. As a child, he was sickly and suffered hearing loss and loss of vision in one eye, yet he went on to become one of England’s all-time best-known writers. He was an essayist, a poet, a biographer, a lexicographer, and a literary critic. Over a period of nine years and with the assistance of a small staff, he created “A Dictionary of the English Language” (1755), which remained an authoritative work for more than 100 years. He possessed great wit as a prose stylist and is known for his aphorisms, or sayings, some of which can be found elsewhere on the Make Fun Of Life! Website. Samuel Johnson passed on at 75 years of age on 13 December 1784 in London, Greater London, England.
Turn on the prudent Ant thy heedless eyes,
Observe her labors, Sluggard, and be wise;
No stern command, no monitory voice,
Prescribes her duties, or directs her choice;
Yet timely provident she hastes away,
To snatch the blessings of a plenteous day;
When fruitful Summer loads the teeming plain,
She crops the harvest and she stores the grain.
How long, shall sloth usurp thy useless hours,
Unnerve thy vigor, and enchain thy powers?
While artful shades thy downy couch enclose,
And soft solicitation courts repose,
Amidst the drowsy charms of dull delight,
Year chases year with unremitted flight,
Till want now following, fraudulent and slow,
Shall spring to seize thee, like an ambushed foe.
by Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson’s poem, “The Ant,” is based on an earlier work: “Go to the Ant, thou Sluggard, consider her ways, and be wise: which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O Sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep. So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.” -Author Unknown: as quoted in “The Bible” (King James Version (1611)), ‘Proverbs,’ chapter 6, verses 6 through 11
Samuel Johnson was born on 18 September 1709 in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. As a child, he was sickly and suffered hearing loss and loss of vision in one eye, yet he went on to become one of England’s all-time best-known writers. He was an essayist, a poet, a biographer, a lexicographer, and a literary critic. Over a period of nine years and with the assistance of a small staff, he created “A Dictionary of the English Language” (1755), which remained an authoritative work for more than 100 years. He possessed great wit as a prose stylist and is known for his aphorisms, or sayings, some of which can be found elsewhere on the Make Fun Of Life! Website. Samuel Johnson passed on at 75 years of age on 13 December 1784 in London, Greater London, England.
