The way I heard it, ancient Roman citizens could legally compel a Jew to assist with the carrying of a burden. They could require a Jew to carry the burden for up to a mile. In the King James version, the Bible says in Matthew 5:41 that Jesus advises his followers to "go with him twain." Go an extra mile, not just the required one. Just to do a little more. In my language, I might say one should do the extra thing, as a voluntary item, just for the freedom of doing so, just for the "hell of it", as I put it.
We do seem to develop extra strength if we practice doing a little more. Of course, if we always go the extra mile, the enforcer may well come to expect that extra. But, a little extra does seem to help make a task better: done better, finished better, to count for more.
In some of the southern states in the Gulf area, we ran into the word "lagniappe" (lan yap). We had never seen or heard the French-looking word before but it was the name of a store or two and it popped up in print. I was told just what is says at the Wikipedia link: that the word means a little gift, the 13th roll or doughnut that the baker gives the customer buying a dozen. The passage also introduces Mark Twain's comments on the word and its use, including his idea that the word itself is worth going to New Orleans for.
My stepfather was not given to much advice but he did once advise me to read and apply a short piece by Bruce Barton stating three rules for success. They were
We do seem to develop extra strength if we practice doing a little more. Of course, if we always go the extra mile, the enforcer may well come to expect that extra. But, a little extra does seem to help make a task better: done better, finished better, to count for more.
In some of the southern states in the Gulf area, we ran into the word "lagniappe" (lan yap). We had never seen or heard the French-looking word before but it was the name of a store or two and it popped up in print. I was told just what is says at the Wikipedia link: that the word means a little gift, the 13th roll or doughnut that the baker gives the customer buying a dozen. The passage also introduces Mark Twain's comments on the word and its use, including his idea that the word itself is worth going to New Orleans for.
My stepfather was not given to much advice but he did once advise me to read and apply a short piece by Bruce Barton stating three rules for success. They were
- Be thorough
- Be accurate
- Stand at the head of your class in English
Going the 2nd mile, giving an extra roll, being thorough, doing something fully at once all point to the value of a good job done well and checked for completeness, errors and oversights.
