How does the following aphorism end: "He who does not work, neither shall he ____"?

He who does not work, neither shall he eat is a New Testament aphorism traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle, later cited by John Smith (1580 – 1631) in the early 1600s colony of Jamestown, Virginia, and by the Communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin (1870 – 1924) during the early 1900s Russian Revolution.

According to Vladimir Lenin, "He who does not work shall not eat" is a necessary principle under socialism, the preliminary phase of the evolution towards communist society. The phrase appears in his 1917 work, The State and Revolution. Through this slogan Lenin explains that in socialist states only productive individuals could be allowed access to the articles of consumption.

The principle was enunciated in the Russian Constitution of 1918, and also article twelve of the 1936 Soviet Constitution: "In the USSR work is a duty and a matter of honor for every able-bodied citizen, in accordance with the principle: "He who does not work, neither shall he eat".

Criticizing Stalin, Leon Trotsky wrote that: "The old principle: who does not work shall not eat, has been replaced with a new one: who does not obey shall not eat."

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

What are your thoughts on this subject?

7 Comments

Johnny Rock

This is not an aphorism. It's a biblical scripture II Thessalonians 3:10.

Wyla Reedy

Growing up on a farm, work was part of the day, every day!

Joy Holbrook

That attitude seems to have gone the way of the dinosaurs in the modern world.

John W Shreve

Johnny Rock, It's not quoted accurately. If should be, "If any 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 not work, neither should he eat." If one lacks the will to work, he/she has no right to eat. Some cannot work and this is not held against them.