They have been to school and college， but all the time they had their eye on the medal； they have gone about in the world and mixed with clever people， but all the time they were thinking of their own affairs. As if a man’s soul were not too small to begin with， they have dwarfed and narrowed theirs by a life of all work and no play； until here they are at forty， with a listless attention， a mind vacant of all material of amusement， and not one thought to rub against another， while they wait for the train. Before he was breeched， he might have clambered on the boxes， when he was twenty， he would have stared at the girls； but now the pipe is smoked out， the snuff-box empty， and my gentleman sits bolt upright upon a bench， with lamentable eyes. This does not appeal to me as being Success in Life.
無論在中學還是在大學，在教會還是在市場，忙忙碌碌都是欠缺生命力的一個標誌。閑散的本領意味著廣泛的興趣與對個性的強烈意識。這些無精打采、陳腐之人，除了一些常規的工作外，幾乎沒有生存的意識。如果把他們帶到鄉村，或是讓他們乘船到國外去，你們就會看到他們是多麽渴望辦公桌和書房了；他們全無好奇心，也不會任由自己宣泄怒氣；他們不會在展現自己本領的活動上開心或是獨自陶醉；除非緊急情況，例如用棒子打他，他們才會前行。
與這些朋友根本無法交談：他們不會放鬆，天生不懂豪放；他們隻會昏沉地度過那些時間，他們不會傾注全力在碾金廠裏。當他們不想工作時，當他們不感到饑餓、不打算飲酒時，這個生機勃勃的世界對他們來說就是空白的。如果他們必須要等一個小時的火車，他們就會睜著眼睛陷入恍惚之中。看到他們，你就會猜到沒有什麽可看的，也沒有人可以交流；你能夠想象得到他們已經麻痹或是與世隔絕了。然而，他們很可能以自己的方式成為勤奮的工作者，而且眼光銳利，可以看出一張契約上的瑕疵或是市場行情的變化。