It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do.

Jerome’s aphorism plays on a paradox: leisure is sweetest when it is chosen against a backdrop of obligation. “Idling thoroughly” implies not mere laziness but a cultivated, guilt-free rest—something difficult to achieve if one is already unoccupied or adrift. The line also satirizes modern busyness: work creates the pressure that makes idleness feel like a reward, yet that same pressure can poison relaxation with anxiety. In effect, Jerome suggests that meaningful labor and genuine rest are interdependent; without purposeful work, leisure loses its savor and becomes emptiness rather than refreshment.