Samuel Pepys and the work of naval administration

Would you prefer a captaincy or Samuel Pepys's job?

Pepys's job: it was hard work, but he was effective at it and led an unusually full and successful life.

Pepys's job is the preferred choice, though his work was demanding. He is admired for doing it well and for enjoying a full life. The personal reservation concerns his desire for children. He apparently never became a father, despite wanting to, and that unfulfilled wish tempers the favorable assessment.