It hence results that this man looks upon the obstacle which he has
made it his profession to combat for the benefit of others, as the
immediate cause of his riches. The greater, the more serious, the more
stringent, may be this obstacle, the more he is remunerated for the
conquering of it, by those who are relieved by his labors.
A physician, for instance, does not busy himself in baking his bread,
or in manufacturing his clothing and his instruments; others do it
for him, and he, in return, combats the maladies with which his
patients are afflicted. The more dangerous and frequent these maladies
are, the more others are willing, the more, even, are they forced, to
work in his service. Disease, then, which is an obstacle to the
happiness of mankind, becomes to him the source of his comforts. The
reasoning of all producers is, in what concerns themselves, the same.
As the doctor draws his profits from _disease_, so does the ship-owner
from the obstacle called _distance_; the agriculturist from that named
_hunger_; the cloth manufacturer from _cold_; the schoolmaster lives
upon _ignorance_, the jeweler upon _vanity_, the lawyer upon _cupidity
and breach of faith_.
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