ABSTRACT
It would be no paradox to dedicate a history of human endeavour to laziness, the queen of the world. Man works hard from sheer laziness, giving himself any amount of trouble now, to spare himself more trouble later on. Forced to work by imperious need or desire, he makes every effort while working to reduce the amount of necessary effort. He will cut through mountains and isthmuses so as to make his travelling easier and shorter, to cut down distance to lessen fatigue, to gain an hour or two or a day or two. The principal progress which we notice in material things as we pass from one epoch to another, is economy of time or of toil plus an increase in effectiveness or in production.
