The bond between a man and his profession is similar to that which ties him to his country; it is just as complex, often ambivalent, and in general it is understood completely only when it is broken... by retirement in the case of a trade or profession.
Source: Other People's Trades, Ex-Chemist, 1985; tr. 1989.
-- Primo Levi, (Jul 31 1919-1987), Italian-Jewish writer, chemist; He was noted for his restrained and moving autobiographical account of and reflections on survival in the Nazi concentration camps.