Page:An introduction to ethics.djvu/207

 perfect." The more frequently a man does a thing, the more expert he becomes in doing it. Corresponding to this, there is the psychological fact of the specialisation of function. Certain men are more fitted by nature than others to perform certain functions. It is a man's duty to perform that function for which he is best fitted, to occupy that station in the community to which he is naturally best adapted.

(3) But a man's inclinations are also of importance in the choice of vocation. If I choose my profession or trade merely because it is my duty to do so, quite apart from the question whether I have any liking for it, it is improbable that I shall make the most of life. It is usually fatal for a man to enter an occupation, simply because he is actuated by a strong sense of duty. Unless his inclinations be in accordance with his duty, a feeling of discontent is apt to remain with him all his life. Unless we like our work, we can do neither it nor ourselves justice. In a word, the calling must be congenial. Only if our vocations are congenial, only if duty and pleasure can be harmonised in them, can we adopt the attitude of loyalty towards them. And unless we are loyal to our vocations we cannot hope to fulfil them well. But, it may be asked, what does loyalty to vocation imply? In being loyal to my vocation, must I practise self-denial, or may I make my vocation the means to my own self-assertion? Does loyalty to my vocation require me to consult first the interests of others, or, since it is my vocation, may I regard it from the point of view of the satisfaction of my own interests? The attempt to