Emily Dickinson, 779, The Service without Hope

      Emily Dickinson

           779   
   
The Service without Hope—
Is tenderest, I think—
Because ’tis unsustained
By stint—Rewarded Work—

Has impetus of Gain—
And impetus of Goal—
There is no Diligence like that
That knows not an Until — 


   Эмили Дикинсон

        779

Участливейший труд
Не ждёт себе награды.
Ни цель и ни расчет
Не свойственны ему.

Но в мире не найдёшь
Усердья терпеливей,
Чем в этом ремесле
Не ищущем венца.

Poem 779 F880   ‘The Service without Hope’ A work, which will be rewarded when finished, provides for its worker both the ‘impetus of Gain _ /and impetus of Goal.’ But for a person to continue working diligently with no hope of the work ever being finished is the tenderest Service, simply because it is not a set ‘stint’ with an ‘end.’ (‘end’ is a marginal variant for ‘stint.’       Ruth Miller suggests that Emily is referring to the writing of her own poetry in this poem. In reading it, breaks need to be made after ‘stint’ in line 4 and ‘Goal’ in line 6.