310 MORALS OF THE DIFFERENT PROFESSIONS. [Part V.

not whose skill ( ars ), is purchased by their employers; “be-cause,” he says, “ the very wages they receive are a badge oftheir servitude.” Again, all those are unworthy employments,which procure a man general ill-will and hatred ; such, for in-stance, is the business of usurers, tax-collectors, officers of thecustoms, &c. Artisans of every class have but a mean sort ofcalling; and, he affirms, “ there can be nothing liberal in aworkshop.” All those employments are still more mean andcontemptible (minimi probanda ), which are the handmaids ofluxury and pleasure; and, in this sentence, he passes judgment,among others, on the employments of perfumers, dancing-masters,and the manufacturers of cards and dice. But professions andemployments, which require knowledge and skill for their suc-cessful practice, and those which are of great and acknowledgedpublic usefulness, such as medicine, architecture, and the instruc-tion of youth in good learning, are commendable and honorablein those, he says, whose rank and condition in life such em-ployments befit. The profession of merchandise is sordid andmean, he thinks, where the trade that is driven, is small and in-considerable ; but is creditable enough, when it embraces a greatamount of business, importing goods from every country, andselling them again without defrauding or deceiving; with which,he alleges, the pursuit of merchandise, in the small way, is ex-ceedingly disgraced. He admits, however, that the profession ofthe merchant is very highly honorable and praiseworthy, wherehis design is, after having obtained a sufficiency of wealth, tospend the remainder of his life in the dignified retirement of thecountry. Of all pursuits, he considers agriculture the mostpleasant, agreeable, and profitable, —as in all respects the bestand most dignified of all human employments, and, therefore, themost worthy of a man of a liberal mind. Lawyers, orators,and statesmen held a very elevated rank at Rome, as they havealways everywhere else. Rome was engaged in almost con-tinual wars, and the profession of a soldier was, therefore, asource of frequent and high distinction; still Cicero gives thepreference to the more eligible and honorable employments ofcivil and peaceful life. These views of the rank and dignityof the chief professions and employments of life are transcribed