“I envy men whose yards are gay,
But never work as hard as they;
I also envy men who own
More wealth than I have ever known.
I'm like a lot of men who yearn
For joys that they refuse to earn.You cannot have the joys of work
And take the comfort of a shirk.
I find the man I envy most
Is he who's longest at his post.
I could have gold and roses, too,
If I would work like those who do.”

—  Edgar Guest

Source: Just Folks (1917), The Truth About Envy, third and last stanzas.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Jan. 27, 2022. History

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Edgar Guest 61
American writer 1881–1959

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