The fruits of labour means the reward of one’s own exertions and endeavours, while the gifts of fortune implies inherited wealth, a legacy or a lottery prize. It is a psychological fact that the fruits of labour afford much greater delight to a man than the gifts of fortune.
There is a keen pleasure in honest labour. A farmer undergoes hard toil in ploughing the soil, sowing the seeds, watering the field, caressing the young plants, weeding out unwanted growth, keeping off birds and cattle from damaging the crops and so on. But he performs all this labour willingly and cheerfully because he expects to receive his full reward. It gives him a thrill to see the harvest ready for his scythe. It refreshes his eyes to behold the ripe corn. He puts his sickle to the grain and derives infinite joy from the process of reaping the harvest.
Imagine the joy of a mountaineer when after braving all dangers and facing all risks, he finds himself at the top of Mount Everest. Think of the glow of pleasure felt by those who after weary toil explored the North or South Pole. How happy must Columbus have been when he reached America after the months of dangerous voyaging!
Gifts of fortune tend to make a man idle. The owner of a large hereditary estate providing him a regular income feels no incentive to any hard effort. The expectation of reward always makes a man industrious. Besides, he who has earned wealth by hard labour knows its value and is, therefore, careful in spending it. A man who is self-made makes constant efforts to improve his position further because he knows that honest labour bears a lovely face. But the possessor of inherited wealth, unable to realize how much toil is wanted to earn money, will squander his money recklessly.
Vocabulary
Hereditary—bringing down from generation to generation
Squander—spend
