Boon's Lick times. [volume] (Fayette, Mo.) 1840-1848, 1843-03-25
From the St. Louis Organ.
4 WORD TO LAWYERS AND PLY
SlClANS.

Mr.. EDIToR:--I cannot but regret, when
look around me and behold how many
individuals in our community throw their
time and talents away. In this world every
individual has been placed by his Creator,
with certain duties to perform, and no ono
can have been left without his share Of
labor in the great 1corkhouSe Gf may so
speak, of the eternal father of mankind.
The world without is related to the mind
of man by certain indisSoIuble ties; but
men are miserable often, because they
either do not or cannot know what relation
they bear to it and to the race Of humanity
around them.
Look at the professions Of law and med
cine in this community! How overbur-
thened with practitioners! How many OF
these linger out days and weeks and years,
in constant idleness, land poycrty) because
they have mistaken their callings, and
have attempted to violate the laws Of ma
ture, insomuch as they will not prepare
themselves for that occupation in life for
which nature originally fitted theml Many,
many q lawyer who would have made an
excellent farmer, now hangs around his
office day after day, wasting his time.
wasting his talcnt-neglccting TO inquire
into the nature of his mind, and neglecting
the performance Of that duty which his
Creator designed him to perform. How
many hundreds of lawyers and students
of law are there in this city alone whom
people say are destitute of talent? And
,rhy, say thev-"these are men of little
capacity" Is it because they do not pos
sess talent! Not so! 1t is because their
talent is misdircCtcd. One of the most Gel.
ebrated geomctcrs that ever lived, was at
one time of his life given up TO he block
head. His teachers had tried him in gc-
ography-he could not learn. They tried
him in rhctorc--but yet he was fool.
At last they tried him in Geometry, and
there he arose to eminence. So it is with
hundreds of our lawyers They are the
veriest assess that ever "snuffed up wind"
And why! Because they sco'n to be, what
haze talent there can be no doubt, but it is
buried in the soul. Many of those who
now live like drones among their race,
could have been remarkably talented in cut
ting out and making shoes
Many of those who sit around the fires
of their offices day after day, year after
year, and when their race is run, 20 down
to the silent tomb, leaving nought behind to
tell that ever earth supported men So
worthless, might have risen to eminencc
in some one of the mechanical occupations.
But no! Such worthy men conclude that
they were never made TO soil their hands
in work. They are exalted above the me
chanic, in their opinions, as are the clouds
above the world; but see how these clouds
pass away, leaving nothing behind to tell
that ever once they toated Ger the world
| beneath them.
And there the benevolent profession Of
medicine. How crammed with men whose
minds were never meant to grasp its mys-
terics! How many mortas in this city
have groancd beneath the agonics of al
most nell itself, when under slight inds-
position at first, they had called in to their
aid some one of these "physicians," who
seem in their mistaken callings as scourges
from the "bottomess pit" Many, many
suffering mOrtal-yea even in this city
has gasped dying breath and gone so
meet his God" who, probably. Of my read.
ers are not fatalistsD might have soon re-
covered had nc not called into his assist
ancc, one Of these pould BE- physicians,
The lawyer gentry cannot do SO much
harm, but tclo can set bounds To the mis-.
chief which some of these who call them
selves, "physicians," arc capable of doing
1t is happy thing for dcpraved world
that there are many Of these, like their COED
neig hbors the lawyers, who are pcrmil,ery
ito lingcr cut their lives in id!encss