The Bond

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 exile or emigration in the case of one's country, by retirement in the case of a trade or profession.

-- Primo Levi (31 July 1919 - 11 April 1987), Italian chemist and author of memoirs, short stories, poems, and novels, Other People's Trades (1985), "Ex-Chemist"