“When Earth's last picture is painted And the tubes are twisted and dried When the oldest colors 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 And those that were good shall be happy They'll sit in a golden chair They'll splash at a ten league canvas With brushes of comet's hair They'll find real saints to draw from Magdalene, Peter, and Paul They'll work for an age at a sitting And never be tired at all. And only the Master shall praise us. And only the Master shall blame. And no one will work for the money. No one will work for the fame. But each for the joy of the working, And each, in his separate star, Will draw the thing as he sees it. For the God of things as they are!”

Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling - “When Earth's last picture is painted...” 1

Similar quotes

“We must knit together, in this work, as one man. We must entertain each other in brotherly affection. We must be willing to abridge ourselves of our superfluities, for the supply of others’ necessities . . .We shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all the people are upon us so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause him to withdraw his present help form us, we shall be made a story and a byword throughout all the world.”

John Winthrop
Read more

“If we go to heaven they'll put us to work on the thunder, captain.”

Georg Buchner
Read more

“Gerat will be our astonishment in that day, and we shall then realize that it is not our works which remain, but the work which God has wrought through us in his good time without any effort of will and intention on our part. Once again we simply are to look away from ourselves to him who has himself accomplished all things for us and to follow him.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Read more

“What need is there to say more?The childish work for their own benefit,The Buddhas work for the benefit of others.Just look at the difference between them.If I do not exchange my happiness, for the suffering of others, I shall not attain the state of Buddhahood.And even in Samsara I shall have no real joy. The source of all misery in the world lies in thinking of oneself;The source of all happiness lies in thinking of others.”

Shantideva
Read more

“But I shall give less thought to the future, I shall work in the present. I feel such work is within my power. For I only succeed in small things, and when I am tried by anxiety, I am bound to say it is the small joys that release me.”

Georges Bernanos
Read more