The Worker

22 The Worker All over the world, there are those who labour with their hands, and there are those who work with their brains. The world needs both kinds of workers, and each must be respected for what he contributes to the world. Sometimes, however, those who are educated and work with their brains believe that they are more important than the labourers. Such was the case long ago, when a professor asked a boatman to bring him safely across a river. As the labourer worked, the professor struck up a conversation. " Do you know about mathematics and science?" he asked. “ Have you studied philosophy and languages?" he continued arrogantly. The worker replied simply that he did not see the need to have such skills. The professor scoffed at him and said, " You have wasted your life, good man. These skills are most useful to a man. "

Time passed, and the boat came to the middle of the river. The water was deep there, and the current swift. The boat was old and weak, and it sprang a small leak. Water slowly began to fill the floor of the boat. The boatman looked at the educated man sitting deep in thoughts, thinking about mathematics, philosophy and all things scholarly. “ May I enquire as to whether or not you have learned to swim?" asked the humble working man. The educated man replied that he had never learned to swim. " I am an educated man, " he said. " What need do I have to learn such a skill as swimming?" The boatman watched the water as it began to come into the boat more quickly. “ That is too bad, dear educated man, for it means that your life has been for nothing. Look and see the water coming in. Our boat is sinking, and the river is deep and wide. "