It has been said that everyone lives by selling something.Ithe
light to this statement,teachers live by selling knowledge,
philosophers by selling wisdowm and priests by selling spirtual
comfort.Though it may be possible to measure the value of material
goods in terms of money,it is extremely difficult to estmate the
ture valu of the services which people perform for us.Ther are
times when we would wilingly give everything we possess to save
our lives,yes we might grudge paying a surgeon a high fee for
offering us precisely this service.The conditions of society are such
that skills have to be paid for in the same way that goods are paid for at a shop.
Everyone has something to sell.
Tramps seem to be the only exception to this general rule.
Beggars almost sell themselves as human beings to arouse the pity of
passers-by.But real tramps are not beggars.They have nothing to sell
and require nothing from others.In seeking independence,they do not
sacrifice their human dignity.Atramp may ask you for money,but he
will never ask you to feel sorry for him.He has deliberately chosen to
lead the life he leads and is full aware of the consequences.He may never
be sure where the next meal is coming from,but he is free from the thousands of
anxieties which afflict other people.His few materail possessions make it
possible for him to move from place to place with ease.By having to sleep
in the open,he get far closer to the world of nature than most of us ever do.
He may hunt,beg,or steal occasionally to keep himself alive;he may even,
in times of real need,do a little work;but he will never sacrifice his freedom.
We often speak of tramps with contempt and put them in the same class
as beggars,but how many of us can honestly say that we have not felt a
little envious of their simple way of life and their freedom from care?