Owen H. Wangensteen, MD, my chairman during my residency years, referred to himself, as well as to all surgeons, as toilers in the vineyard. On researching his biblical quote, I identified the wording as originating in the New Testament (Matthew 20:1-16). In this controversial parable, where late-coming workers are given the same reward as those who worked from dawn, the final words are: “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” In other