In United States History I: Virginia and the Cavaliers, the statement is made that Smith came up with the saying, “He who does not work shall not eat.” Smith didn’t “come up” with this statement. He is quoting the apostle Paul from II Thessalonians 3:10, “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” And, the quote may go back even further, as Dr. Joseph Priestley suggests in his “Notes on the Scriptures” that Paul may have been quoting a known aphorism that already existed in the area.
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