Page:Johnson - Rambler 4.djvu/11

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THE

RAMBLER.

Numb. 160. Saturday, Sept. 28, 1751.

——Inter sc convenit ursis,Juv.
Beasts of each kind their fellows spare;
Bear lives in amity with bear.

"THE world," says Locke, "has people of all sorts." As in the general hurry produced by the superfluities of some, and necessities of others, no man needs to stand still for want of employment; so in the innumerable gradations of ability, and endless varieties of study and inclination, no employment can be vacant fur want of a man qualified to discharge it.

Such is probably the natural state of the universe, but it is so much deformed by interest and passion, that the benefit of this adaptation of men to things is not always perceived. The folly or indigence of those who set their services to sale, inclines them to boast of qualifications which they do not possess, and attempt business which they do not understand; and they who have the power of assigning to others the task of life, are seldom honest or seldom happy in their nominations. Patrons arc corrupted by avarice, cheated by credu-

Vol.IV.
E
lity,