罗伯特·琼斯·伯德特（Robert Jones Burdette）是一位19世纪末至20世纪初的美国联合长老会教士、作家和幽默家。他在其时代以讽刺、幽默和机智的演讲和文章而闻名，被誉为“美国的笑星牧师”。 在他的时代，伯德特的演讲和文章广受欢迎，他的作品被各种杂志和报纸广泛发表。他的幽默风格和生动的语言使他的文章具有很高的可读性和吸引力。 然而，由于他的作品大部分是针对当时的社会和文化时事，对于现代人来说可能不太容易理解或产生共鸣。因此，评价伯德特的作品应该在其时代背景下进行，同时也应该注意到他的作品的文学价值和历史意义。
Remember, my son, you have to work. Whether you handle a pick or a pen, a wheelbarrow or a set of books, digging ditches or editing a paper, ringing an auction bell or writing funny things, you must work. If you look around you will see the men who are the most able to live the rest of their days without work are the men who work the hardest. Don't be afraid of killing yourself with overwork. It is beyond your power to do that on the sunny side of thirty. They die sometimes, but it is because they quit work at six in the evening, and do not go home until two in the morning. It's the interval that kills, my son. The work gives you an appetite for your meals; it lends solidity to your slumbers, it gives you a perfect and grateful appreciation of a holiday.
There are young men who do not work, but the world is not proud of them. It does not know their names, even it simply speaks of them as "old So-and-So's boy". Nobody likes them; the great, busy world doesn't know that they are there. So find out what you want to be and do, and take off your coat and make a dust in the world. The busier you are, the less harm you will be apt to get into, the sweeter will be your sleep, the brighter and happier your holidays, and the better satisfied will the world be with you.
By Robert Jones Burdette
［参考译文］
给一位青年的忠告
罗伯特·琼斯·伯德特
孩子，记住，你得工作。不管你手里拿的是铁锹还是钢笔，是手推车还是一套书，不论你是挖掘沟渠还是编辑文稿，是在拍卖行里摇铃铛还是创作滑稽的故事，你必须工作。如果你环顾四周，你会发现那些最有资格安享晚年的必定是工作最卖力的人。不要担心“过劳死”，在三十岁以内你是走不到那一步的。有些人英年早逝，那是因为他们在傍晚六点钟下班后在外面寻欢作乐直到凌晨两点钟才归家。孩子，正是那段娱乐的时间才使他们劳累过度。劳动能增进你的食欲，有助于你睡眠，使你能怀着感恩的心情全身心地享受假日的欢乐。
有些年轻人不工作，但人们并不为他们感到骄傲。人们不知道他们的名字，只知道他们是“某某人的儿子”。没人喜欢他们，伟大而繁忙世界的人都不知道他们的存在。因此，你要知道你想成为什么样的人，想做什么事，打起精神，使自己扬名于世。你越忙碌，越不容易遭受伤害，你的睡眠就越香甜，你的假期会更快乐，而人们也对你越满意。
［注释］
-wheel-barrow [ˈwiːlbærəʊ] n. 手推车 a small vehicle with one wheel and two handles, used for moving small loads
-ditch [ˈdɪʧ] n. 沟 a channel dug in the ground
-auction [ˈɔːkʃən] n. 拍卖 a public sale in which goods are sold to the highest bidder
-overwork [ˌəʊvəˈwɜːk] v. 工作过劳 too much work
on the sunny side of thirty ：三十岁以内
So-and-So ：某人 a certain person
take off your coat ：脱下你的外衣，意即提起你的精神
make a dust in the world ：扬名于世
apt to get into ：易于遭受