When Earth's last picture is painted and the tubes are twisted and dried, When the oldest colours have faded, and the youngest critic has died, We shall rest, and, faith, we shall need it - lie down for an aeon or two, Till the Master of All Good Workmen shall put us to work anew!
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- After a lifetime of labor, artists deserve rest before being called to create again by a higher power.
- In plain terms
- Work hard then rest a long time before starting new work.
- What can you take from it?
- Rest and renewal are natural parts of the creative cycle.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How should society value rest for workers?
- What happens after our creative work is done?
Another view
The poem assumes a benevolent higher power overseeing human labor.
More from Rudyard Kipling
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white, with the name of the late deceased, And the epitaph drear: 'A fool lies here who tried to hustle the East.'
Permalink to quote #89 And only the Master shall praise us, and only the Master shall blame; And no one shall work for money, and no one shall work for fame, But each for the joy of …
Permalink to quote #91 If I were damned of body and soul, I know whose prayers would make me whole, Mother o' mine, O mother o' mine.
Permalink to quote #88
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