XXXIV. Ashamed to be a Christian, To love my God and King! Thy all-atoning merit, For Thou hast died for me. THE CHOICE OF A PROFESSION. Next to religion, the choice of a profession is, to a young man, the most important inquiry. Its settlement fixes his plans, associates, train of thought, and, to a large extent, his whole future life. It is the duty and happiness of all to labour. There are zemindars who, with their grown-up sons and nephews, drag on a listless existence, divided between idleness and vice. Such men are miserable themselves, useless drones, and corrupters of society. Besides the erroneous idea that gentlemen should not work, there are false notions about the relative dignity of different kinds of labour. "Be assured," says the First Prince of Travancore, " that the wielding of a spade, or the driving of a plough, or the treading a water-lever, in one's own interest, is not a whit less honourable than scratching foolscap with goosequills, taken in itself." So much is agriculture esteemed in China, that the Emperor himself holds the plough once a year. It was a custom among the Jews for every one to learn a trade. The Crown Prince of Germany, the son-in-law of Queen Victoria, and the heir-apparent of one of the greatest European States, acquired the art of printing; his son, Prince Henry, is learning book-binding. The Rust Goftar, contrasting the above with the ideas of many in this country, says, "This constitutes the whole difference between the mighty men of India and those of Europe. This is a perfect exposition of the true vanity of men who look only on the surface, and the magnanimity and nobleness of minds which look into the reality of things." Commerce is equally to be respected. It was said of Tyre, "her merchants were princes, and her traffickers the honourable of the earth." Under King Alfred of England, the merchant who had made three voyages took his place among the nobles. But as has been well remarked, "It is the man who determines the dignity of the occupation; not the occupation which measures the dignity of the man.' All professions have their advantages and disadvantages. To wish to select an employment without any risks or troubles attending it, is almost as much as to wish not to live at all. A humble mechanic may enjoy as much real happiness as a minister of state. "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." It is far better for people to be satisfied with their own station than to be imagining that others are better off. Three principles may be laid down in choosing a profession. The first point is, What am I best fit for? Different callings have been compared to round holes and square holes. If square men are put in round holes, or vice versa, the results will be unsatisfactory. "The right man in the right place," must be the maxim. A person who has no taste for learning should not become a student; one who is physically weak is disqualified for any employment requiring bodily strength. In some cases, decision is easy; in others, it will require much thought. Parents, teachers, and friends, may all aid in the choice. Another principle is, Which employment presents the best openings? While special abilities are necessary to attain great eminence in any profession, many men are almost equally fitted for two or more callings. The selection in the latter case will be partly determined by the facilities for entering them. A father in Government employ has advantages for getting his son into the public service; a merchant can take young men into his counting-house. A profession which is already overstocked should be avoided if possible. It is true that talents, combined with industry and good conduct, will succeed in every case; but failure will be the rule. Young men are generally vain of their own abilities, and bitter experience is necessary to teach them their true powers. The great inquiry regarding every line of life generally is, which will yield most profit and honour? To a certain extent, such considerations are not condemned. Wealth and position are talents which may be employed for noble ends, though often, in the race for them, every thing else is forgotten, and, if obtained, they are prostituted. The question ought to be, How can I do most good? How can I best promote the glory of God? how can I most benefit my fellow-men? Earthly riches must soon be left behind; earthly honours will speedily be forgotten; but we may lay up everlasting treasures in heaven, and obtain crowns of glory which will never fade. The different professions which may be chosen will now be briefly noticed. Government Service.-As a rule, this is the great object of ambition. The First Prince of Travancore, referring to 10,000 boys in the schools of that State, says, "Almost without exception, all these, I suspect, look to Government employment. The posts of English writers, native Rayasams, and accountants are necessarily limited. Still more so are Police-Aminships, Tahsildarships, Munsiffships, Sirastadarships, Judgeships and Peshkarships. Butthe ships, in which our young men, following the impulse of a fertile imagination, have embarked, must, in many cases, land them in a dreamy land of disappointment. If our Government must provide for all the youths that receive education, our public offices will have to be extended miles, and public salaries to be increased by thousands of rupees, and after all to entertain a host of discontented, disobedient, and sometimes troublesome young men. The sooner the idea that Government employment is the Ultima Thule of education is scooped out of the heads of our youths, the better." The British Government is often blamed, because educated Hindoos cannot get employment; but it will be seen from the foregoing, that it is the same in a Native State. As remarked, public offices would require to be "extended miles" to receive candidates, and larger and larger additions would be necessary every year. Petty shopkeepers, mechanics, peons, and domestic servants, are making great efforts to get an English education for some of their children in the hope that they will obtain Government appointments. The supply already far exceeds the demand. The country is being filled with imperfectly educated young men, who yet think it beneath their dignity to engage in industrial employments. "In England," says the Bishop of Calcutta, "such youths would with satisfaction to themselves and benefit to the community, look forward to an honest life of handicraft work, to be bakers, carpenters, tailors, labourers, and workers in some shape or other; here they wish to live by their wits. It is a simple impossibility." Grain falls in price after a plentiful harvest. The greater the crop, the less the rate per maund. It is the same in the educational market. When university graduates were few in number, they commanded high salaries; with their increase, the rates have been declining, and there is growing difficulty. in obtaining employment. Under present circumstances, things must become worse and worse. The Hon. J. B. Norton, late of Madras, says: "This reliance upon Government, and seeking after its employ, to the exclusion of all other legitimate and honourable means of obtaining a livelihood, has to the present moment been the principal bane and curse of Native Society." Sir Richard Temple, addressing some students in Calcutta, remarked: "Then I must entreat you not to look too much to Government appointment as constituting the one great end of educational life. Doubtless the Government will always do, as it has heretofore done, all it fairly can for you in these respects. But you should try to strike out paths for yourselves, and to seek for non-official employment. You cannot all enter the public service; you cannot all rise to good positions.' The Bar-This profession is, in itself, useful and honourable; but it offers peculiar temptations. It is also overcrowded, Formerly it was lucrative. This tempted men in other walks of life to seek to qualify themselves for employment, in the hope of like success. Though a few still have large incomes, there are many without any practice. |