292 GENERAL SCIENCE 



The hours of freedom from labor, both of men and of 

 women, should yield rest and refreshment and intellectual 

 advancement, and not be spent in ways that dissipate 

 money, time, energy, or ability. The thrifty farmer a half 

 century ago was astir at five o'clock in the morning, and abed 

 at eight o'clock at night. Few if any of these intervening 



FIG. 94. Benjamin Franklin 



hours had been used for anything other than labor for the 

 family welfare. The hours of a day's labor for the housewife 

 were even longer. The vigor and vitality, the worth and 

 excellence of these people, made possible the conditions of 

 life that we enjoy. Right use of the time and energy secured 

 by a release from the drudgery of life means a higher civiliza- 

 tion, and larger individual happiness; its wrong use may mean 

 degradation for the individual, and destruction to society. 

 One great purpose of attendance upon schools is to learn 



