When I wrote the following pages, or the following large amount of words, I was living alone, in the forest
In the woods, in Connecticut, Massachusetts. Cod City, on the shore of Walden Pond, in a log cabin I built with my own hands, one mile from any neighbor, I support myself solely by the labor of my hands. I lived there for two years and two months. At present,
I am once again a passer-by in civilized life.
If the citizens had not inquired about my lifestyle very carefully, I would not have been so abrupt and read about private matters.
Readers, please pay attention. Some people say that my lifestyle is weird, but I don't think it's weird at all. Considering my circumstances, I just think it's very natural and reasonable. Some people asked me what I had to eat; if I felt lonely,
am I scared, etc. Others are very curious and want to know what part of my income is donated to charity. There are also some people who come from wealthy families and want to know how many poor children I have supported. Therefore, when this book answers this type of question,
Please forgive me for readers who have no special interest in me. Many books avoid using the so-called first-person "I" word; this book does; the characteristic of this book is that the word "I" is used a lot. In fact, no matter what the book is, the first person speaks
but we often forget this. If my knowledge of others could compare to my self-knowledge, I would not talk so much about myself. Unfortunately my limited experience limits me to this one subject. However, for every writer, I not only ask him to write about other people's lives that he has heard about, but also ask him to write about himself sooner or later simply and sincerely. He wrote about his life as if he was sending it to his relatives from afar; because I feel that if a person lives sincerely, he must be living in a distant place. The following words may be particularly suitable for poor students.
As for the rest of the readers, I think they will take it for granted. Because no one can cut his feet to fit the shoes; only clothes and shoes that fit the size can be useful to a person.
The things I am happy to tell are not necessarily about the Chinese and Sandwich Islanders, but about you, the readers of these words, the residents living in New England, about What happened to you, especially about the local residents who were born in this world
External objects or environment, what kind of life did you live in this world? What kind of life did you have?
Is it necessary to be so bad? Can this kind of life be improved? I have been to many areas in Concord; whether in shops, offices, or fields, I saw everywhere that the residents here seemed to be atone for their sins and engaged in success
Chigusa’s astonishing hard work. I once heard of Brahmans sitting in the midst of flames, staring at the sun, or hanging upside down above the fire; or turning their heads to look at the sky, "until they couldn't Return to the original shape, and because the neck
is twisted, no other food can flow into the stomach except liquid." Or, use an iron chain to lock yourself
for the rest of your life. Under a tree: or, like caterpillars, using their bodies to measure the vast land of the empire; or,
They stand on one foot on the top of a pillar - however, this is Conscious atonement and asceticism are not necessarily less believable and more frightening than the scenes I see every day. The twelve hard labors that Heracles did were nothing compared to the hard labors that my neighbors had to do, because he only had twelve per day. That's it, but I never saw my neighbors kill or capture any monsters, nor did I see them do any hard labor. They
nor did they have a loyal servant of Hercules like Iolas, who used a red iron to brand the nine-headed monster, which
had been cut off From one head, two heads will grow.
I saw that young people, my fellow citizens, had the misfortune of inheriting fields, huts, grains
silos, cattle, sheep, and farm tools when they were born; It's easy, but it's hard to give them up. They might as well be born on an open pasture
and let wolves feed them. They would be able to see clearly what kind of environment they are working in. Who made them slaves of the land? Why can some people enjoy the sustenance of sixty acres of fields, while many more are destined to eat dust? Why do they have to dig their own graves as soon as they are born? They cannot live a human life, they cannot
not promote all this, work hard, and live a better life as much as possible.
How many poor,
eternal souls have I met, almost crushed to death under the burden of life, they cannot breathe, they crawl on the road of life,
pushed In front of them was a large barn seventy-five feet long and forty feet wide, an Augean cattle pen that had never been cleaned, and hundreds of acres of land to be pushed, hoeed, and tilled. Grass, but also grazing and forest protection! However, other people who did not
inherit the property, although they did not have such unnecessary hardships passed down from generation to generation, still had to pay for their few cubic feet of flesh and blood. Body, living with grievances, working with all his life.
People work under a big mistake. Most of the person's strong body was quickly plowed over by the plow,
and turned into fertilizer in the soil. As a scripture says, a specious fate, commonly known as "inevitable", dominates people. The wealth they accumulated is corroded by moths and rust, and attracts pests. The thief of the suitcase. This is a stupid life. You may not understand it when you are alive, but you will eventually understand it when you are dying. It is said that when Deucalion and Pierre created human beings, It's like taking a stone and throwing it behind your back. The poem goes:
Inde genus durum sumus, experimentensque laborum,
Et doeumenta damus qua simus origine nati.
Later, Raleigh also chanted two resounding poems:
"From now on, people's hearts are hard and they work hard without complaining.
It proves that our bodies are originally rocks."
It is so blind to follow the wrong divine instructions, throwing stones from the top of the head to the back without looking at where they fall
to.
Most people, even in this relatively free country, are full of imaginary worries and endless menial tasks simply because of ignorance and mistakes. The fruits of life cannot be gathered. Overwork made their fingers clumsy
and they trembled violently, making them unsuitable for collecting. Really, a working man cannot find leisure day after day to make himself truly intact; he cannot maintain the most courageous relationship between people; once his labor comes to the market,
Always falling in price. He had no time to do anything else but build a machine. How can he remember that he is ignorant - he survives solely on his ignorance - does he not constantly rack his brains? Before we comment on them, we first have to spend a lot of money to keep him warm, well fed, and use our stimulants to restore him to health. The most beautiful qualities in our nature are like the frost on a fruit. They can only be preserved with gentle hands. However, people just can't get along with each other so
gently.
Among readers, we all know these situations. Some people are poor and find life difficult. Sometimes, it can even be said that they can't even breathe.
I have no doubt that among the readers of this book, there are some who cannot afford to pay for all the meals that have been eaten
and the clothes that are quickly worn out or have been damaged. To be able to read these few pages
of words, it was time stolen from creditors. What a lowly, hiding life many of you lead.
This is obvious, because my eyesight has been sharpened on the whetstone of experience; you are often in a dilemma. Trying
to make a deal to pay off your debt, you are stuck in a very ancient quagmire, the so-called aes alie
num in Latin - someone else's copper coin. Aren't some coins made of copper? In other people's copper coins, you were born,
died, and finally buried; you promised to pay it off tomorrow, and you will pay it off tomorrow, Until your death today, the debt has not yet been settled. You begged for favors, begged for mercy, and asked for care. You used many methods to avoid going to jail. You lied, flattered, and voted. Retreat yourself into a well-behaved hard shell, or brag about yourself and put on an appearance of generosity and generosity as thin as a cloud. Only then will your neighbors trust you. You are allowed to make them shoes, hats, or coats,
or vehicles, or you are allowed to buy food for them; you are in a broken box cage, or a sock behind the plaster< /p>
If you put a handful of coins in it, or put it in the brick building of the bank, it will be safer there; no matter where you put it, it doesn’t matter how much or how little it is
It doesn’t matter how much it is. How little money you raise to prevent illness, but you make yourself sick.
Sometimes I wonder why we are so careless, I almost say, to implement the criminal system of slavery brought
from foreign countries. There were so many cruel and skilled slave owners who enslaved slaves in both the South and the North. A southern warden is vicious, and a northern warden is even worse, but being your own slave warden is the worst.
What to talk about - the sanctity of man! Looking at the horse drivers on the road, rushing to the market day and night, what sacred thoughts are stirring in their hearts? Their highest duty is to provide fodder and water for donkeys and horses! Compared with transportation profits, what is their fate? Aren't they driving donkeys and horses for a busy gentleman? What do they have that is sacred and what do they have that is immortal? Look at them crouching and sneaking, trembling all day long. They are not holy or immortal at all. They see their industry and know that they belong to the category of slaves or prisoners. Compared with our self-knowledge, the violent monarch of public opinion appears weak and powerless. It is how a person views himself that determines his fate and points to his destination. To talk of self-emancipation of mind and imagination in the West Indian states,
there was no Wilberforce to promote it. Think again of the women of this continent weaving toilet cushions for the day of death, without caring the least about their own fate! It seems that wasting time will not harm eternity
.
Human beings are living a life of quiet despair. The so-called resignation is definitely despair. You go from desperate cities
to desperate villages, comforting yourself with the bravery of mink and muskrat. Underneath the so-called games and pastimes of human beings, there is even a solidified, unconscious and unconscious despair.
There is no entertainment in either of them, because entertainment can only be done after work.
But not doing desperate things is a sign of wisdom.
When we use the catechism method to think about what is the purpose of life and what are the real necessities of life
It seems that people have also carefully engaged in earthly affairs. As if I had chosen this unique way of life rather than any other way
. In fact, they also know that there is no other way to choose. But all sober and healthy people know that the sun is always new. It is never too late to let go of our prejudices. No matter how ancient your thoughts and actions are,
you should not believe them unless there is solid evidence. The truth that everyone agrees with or thinks it is okay to acquiesce today may very well become an ethereal mist tomorrow, but there will still be people who think it is a dark cloud that can shed a burst of sweet rain on the earth. Try to do something that the old man thinks is impossible, and you will often succeed. The old people have their old ways, and the newcomers have their new ways.
The ancients did not know that adding fuel would keep the flame alive; but the newcomers put dry wood under the kettle: the proverb goes well: "The old man will be angry to death
", and today's people still It can circle the earth and fly as fast as a bird. The elderly, despite their age, may not
be able to guide the younger generation better, and they may not even be qualified to guide them; because although they have gained a lot,
But there have been great losses. We can doubt that even the smartest person can understand the absolute value of life after living a lifetime. In fact, older people don't have any vital advice to give young people. Their
experience is so fragmented, their lives have failed so miserably, they must know that their big mistakes
are all made by themselves; perhaps, they They still retain some confidence, which is inconsistent with their experience, but unfortunately they are no longer young enough. I have lived on this planet for more than thirty years, and I have never heard a word of valuable and enthusiastic advice from the elders.
They haven't told me anything. Maybe they can't give me any pertinent opinions. This is life, an experiment, most of which I have not experienced; old people have experienced it, but it is of no use to me. If I get any experience that I think is useful, I will definitely think like this. My teachers and elders have never mentioned this experience.
A farmer said to me: "You can't live just eating vegetables. Vegetables can't supply the nutrients your bones need."
In this way, he religiously divided his part of the time to obtain the nutrients that can supply his bones; while talking, he followed behind the plowing cow, allowing the plowing cow to feed its bones with vegetables. The oxen dragged him and
his wooden plow forward regardless of obstacles. Some things, in some cases, such as among the most helpless patients, are indeed necessary materials of life, but in other cases, they become only luxuries and something else. In certain situations, it may
be something unheard of.
Some people think that all of life, whether at the top or in the valley, has been traveled by pioneers, and everything has been noticed
. In the words of Evelyn: "The wise Solomon once decreed the distance between trees; Rome
The magistrate also decreed how many times you can go to your neighbor's land to pick up fallen things. not counting the acorns you trespass on,
and has stipulated how many acorns belong to your neighbours.
"Hippocrates even passed down the method of cutting nails. Don't cut them too short
or too long, but to the length of your fingers. There is no doubt that he thinks that the changes and joy of life will be eroded. The humility and sorrow of death are as old as Adam's. But man's strength has never been measured; we cannot rely on what he has accomplished. No matter how you have failed in the past, "don't be sentimental, my child."
Who can appoint you to do what you have not done yet? ? ”
We can measure our lives in a thousand simple ways; for example, this is the same sun that ripens the beans I plant and at the same time Illuminating an entire solar system like ours. If I remembered this, I would have prevented several mistakes. But I didn't think about it this way when I was hoeing. How amazing the stars are.
The trigonal spire! How many far-flung species are thinking about the same fact at the same time throughout the universe! Just like our various systems! , nature and life are also ever-changing. Who can predict the future of other people's lives? Is there any greater miracle than observing each other's eyes in a moment? Experienced all the eras of this world in one hour; yes, even experienced all the worlds of all eras
— I don't know of any other experience that can be as startling and detailed as this.
What my neighbor says is good, a large part of my soul considers bad. Yes, as for me, if I have any regrets, what I regret is my good character. What devil has captured me and made me so kind?
< p>O old man, you have said the wisest words, you have lived for seventy years, and lived gloriously, but I heardan irresistible voice, asking me not to listen Your words. The new generation discards the achievements of the previous generation as if they were stranded ships.
I think we can calmly believe more than we actually believe. Many things. As much care as we can give up on ourselves, we can faithfully give care to others. Nature can adapt to our strengths as well as to others. In response to our weaknesses. Some people's endless worry and anxiety become a disease that is almost incurable. We also have a natural love for boasting about the importance of our work; but how many. We did not do the work! What if we fell ill? How cautious we were! Determined not to live according to our faith, we avoided it as much as possible and were on guard from morning to night.
We are forced to live so thoughtfully and seriously, to worship our own lives and deny the possibility of change. We say that we can only live like this; but there are as many radii as we can draw from the center of the circle, and there are so many lifestyles. All changes are miracles worth thinking about.
What happens in every moment can be a miracle. Confucius once said: "Knowing is knowing, not knowing is not knowing. It is knowing." ”
When a man refines his imagined facts into his theory, I foresee that all men will eventually build their own on such a basis
Life comes.
Let us think about the worries and troubles of most people I mentioned earlier, and how many of them are necessary to worry about, at least they are worth it. What about treating it with care? Although we live in an outward civilization, it would still be beneficial if we could live a primitive, newly opened life, even if it is just to understand the basic necessities of life. What,
and how to get these necessities, and even look through the ancient journals in the store to see what is often sold in the store and what goods are stocked, that is Let’s take a look at what the most miscellaneous groceries are. Although the times are evolving,
it has not had much impact on the basic principles of human existence: such as our bones and the bones of our ancestors.
It is probably indistinguishable.
The so-called necessities of life, in my opinion, refer to the items that everyone can obtain with their own energy:
p>
Either it was very important from the beginning, or it has become so important to life due to long-term habits.
Even if some people try not to do it, the number of them is very small. They do it either out of barbarism, out of poverty, or just for the sake of a philosophy. For many people, it is a necessity of life with such meaning.
>Only one, food. Cattle in the wilderness need only a few inches of grass to chew and some cold water; unless you add the shade of forest or mountain they seek. . Wild animals only need food and shelter to survive.
But human beings, in
time, their necessities of life can be divided into: food, shelter, clothing and fuel; unless we have these, we cannot
be able to face it freely For real life problems, it is even less possible to foresee success. People not only invented houses, but also invented clothes
and cooked food; they may have accidentally discovered the heat of fire and later made use of it. At first it was still a luxury product,
< p>Nowadays, heating by fire is also a necessity. We see dogs and cats acquire this second nature in the same way. If you live appropriatelyand dress appropriately, you can properly maintain the heat in your body. If you live and dress too hot, or if you are too hot by the fire
the outside will The heat is higher than the heat in the body. Doesn’t it mean that human flesh is being roasted? The natural scientist Darwin talked about the residents of Tierra del Fuego. When he and his group were wearing clothes and warming themselves over the fire, but they did not feel the heat, the naked savages stood there.
They were far away, but people were shocked when they saw them. They were "baked by the flames and were sweating profusely." Likewise, it is said
that the New Dutchmen ran about naked and at ease, while the Europeans shivered even when clothed. Isn't the strength of these barbarians comparable to the wisdom of civilized people? According to Liebig, the human body is a furnace, and food is the fuel that keeps the lungs burning. We eat more in cold weather and less in hot weather. The animal's body temperature is the result of slow internal combustion, and disease and death occur when internal combustion is too vigorous; either because the fuel is gone, or because the ventilation device
Something goes wrong and the flame goes out. Naturally, we cannot confuse the body temperature of life with fire, and our metaphor ends here. Therefore, judging from the above statement, the term animal life can be used synonymously with animal body temperature: food is used as fuel for internal combustion - what cooks food is also fuel , cooked food swallowed from the outside
and put into the body is also to increase the heat in our body. In addition, shelter and clothing are also to maintain the production and absorption of this kind of heat. caloric.
So, for the human body, the greatest necessity is warmth and the heat to maintain our health. How we worked so hard
not only for food, clothing, and shelter, but also for our beds-those night clothes,
from the birds' nests and the birds' From the breast we plunder the feathers and make a shelter within a shelter, just as the mole dwells in a bed of grass blades at the end of its burrow! Poor people often complain that this is a cold world; physical diseases are the same as social diseases, and we mostly blame the cold. In some areas, summer gives people a paradise-like life. No other fuel is needed there than for cooking; the sun is his fire, and his rays cook the fruits; generally speaking, food There are many kinds of them and they are easy to get. Clothes and houses are completely useless, or half of them are
unnecessary. In the current era, in our country, based on my own experience, I feel that as long as there are a few tools, it is enough to live. A knife, an axe, a shovel, a wheelbarrow, etc. That's all. For those who are studious, they still need lights and stationery, plus a few books. These are secondary necessities and can be purchased for a small fee. However
Some people are too unsmart and run to another hemisphere, to a wild and unsanitary area, and do business for ten or twenty years
for the sake of To keep them alive, that is, to keep them comfortable and warm, and finally return to New England, only to die. Luxurious people are not only comfortable and warm, but also unnaturally hot; as I have said before, they are baked, naturally and fashionably.
Most of the luxuries and most of the so-called comforts of life are not only unnecessary, but also a great hindrance to human progress.
So regarding luxury and comfort, the wisest live even more simply and plainly than the poor. The ancient philosophers of China, India, Persia and Greece were all the same type of characters. No matter how poor they were on the outside, they could be rich on the inside. We don't understand them enough. But the surprising thing is that we actually know quite a lot about them. The same is true for the reformers and saviors of all nations in recent times. Only from the vantage point of what we call poverty and joy can we become a selfless and intelligent observer. Whether in agriculture, commerce, literature, or art, the fruits of a luxurious life are luxury. There are so many philosophy professors these days, but not a single philosopher. However, professors are enviable because their lives are enviable. However, to be a philosopher, you must not only have exquisite thoughts and establish a school of thought, but also love wisdom so much that you can live a life in accordance with the instructions of wisdom. A life of simplicity, independence,
generosity and trust. Solving some problems in life must not only be theoretical but also practical.
The success of great scholars and thinkers is usually not the success of an emperor or a hero, but the success of a courtier. They
deal with life by trying to conform to customs, just like their parents, so they cannot become the ancestors of better human beings
at all. But why are humans always degenerating? What caused the decline of those families? What is the nature of the extravagance that brings down a country?
In our lives, can we be sure that we are not doing this? Philosophers are ahead of their time even in the appearance of life. He did not eat, drink, live, clothe, or stay warm like his contemporaries.
Since a person is a philosopher, how can he not have a better way to maintain body temperature than others?
People have been warmed by the several methods I have described. What should they do next? Of course it won't be the same or more warmth. He will not ask for more and richer food, bigger and brighter houses, richer and finer clothes, more and more lasting and hotter furnaces, etc. After he has obtained these things necessary for life, he will not want leftovers but something else; that is to say, his holiday from menial work has begun, and now he wants to live with life. Made progress.
The soil seems to be suitable for the seed, because the soil allows its radicle to extend downwards, and then it can confidently send the stem
upward. Why can't people follow the example and stretch toward the sky after taking root in the soil? ——Because the value of those more noble plants is judged by the fruits that are far away from the ground and finally formed in the air and sunlight, rather than by the fruits that are treated as
Like humble vegetables. Even if vegetables are biennial plants, they are only cultivated until they take root, and their top branches are often removed, making many people unrecognizable during the flowering season.
I don’t want to set any rules for people with strong personalities. No matter they are in heaven or hell, they will focus on their own careers.
They even build grander buildings than the richest people. , squandering even more, but they will not be impoverished. We don’t know how they live - if such people really exist as people dream; besides, I don’t know.
Give rules to the other type of person, who gets encouragement and inspiration from the way things are, passionately like a lover
Cherish reality - I think I do too Those who belong to this kind of people: There are also those who can live and work in peace and contentment under any circumstances, whether they know whether they live and work in peace and contentment or not. Those people, I am not talking to them. I speak mainly to those dissatisfied people who, when they should be able to improve their lives, just lazily tell them about their misery and their times. of misery. Some people complain endlessly about everything and complain endlessly, because according to them, they have done their duty. But there is another kind of people in my mind. This kind of people appear to be wealthy, but in fact they are the most horribly poor among all classes. Although they have saved some spare money, they don’t know how to use it< /p>
They don’t know how to get rid of it, so they cast themselves a pair of gold and silver shackles.
If I talk about how I hoped to spend my life in the past years, I will make many readers who are familiar with my actual situation feel strange, and it will also make me feel uncomfortable. Those familiar with it were greatly surprised. I will just outline a few things that are on my mind.
In any climate and at any time, I hope to improve my current situation in time and carve a mark on my cane;
The intersection of the past and the future is now, and I will Stand at this starting point. Please forgive me for speaking obscurely. My kind of profession
has more secrets than most people's. It’s not that I want to keep it secret on purpose, but it’s a characteristic of my profession. I would very much like
to tell you all I know. There is no "No Entry" sign at my door.
A long time ago I lost a hound, a hound. A sorrel horse and a turtle dove, which I still track to this day. I have described their condition, their tracks, and the calls they respond to to many travelers. I have met one or two who
/p>
They heard the barking of hounds, the sound of galloping horses, and even saw turtle doves disappearing into the clouds. They were eager to track them back, as if they had lost them themselves. p>
Not only to watch the sunrise and dawn, but, if possible, to admire nature itself! How many winter and summer dawns have I gone out to do before any
neighbors have gone about their business? It's my business! No doubt many citizens have seen me after finishing my work. The farmers who came to Boston early in the morning, or the woodcutter who went to work, all met me. There is no specific help
to help the sunrise, but there is no doubt that appearing before the sunrise is the most important thing.
How many autumn, eh, and winter days are spent outside the city, listening to the wind, and spreading it around
! I invested almost all my money in it, and facing the cold wind for this business made me breathless.
If there is information about bipartisan politics in the rumor, it must have been published first in some party organs. At other times, watch
from an observation platform on a high hill or in a treetop, and use telecommunications to announce the arrival of any new guests, or wait at dusk on the top of a mountain, waiting
Night falls, so that I can catch something. I never catch much, but this small amount seems to be "heavenly food", which will dissolve in the sun.
For a long time, I was a reporter for a newspaper. The newspaper was not widely sold, and the editor never felt that a lot of what I wrote was usable, so, Writers all feel the same way. I endured a lot of pain and all I got in return was my labor.
In this case, however, pain is its own reward.
For many years I appointed myself a faithful and competent inspector of blizzards and storms, and also a surveyor,
not measuring roads but forest paths and shortcuts. And to keep them open, I also measured rock bridges that are passable at all times of the year
The public's footsteps have proven their convenience.
I have also guarded the wild beasts in the city, and encountered many difficulties when the loyal shepherds had to jump over the fence; I
for the corners of the inaccessible farms Also pay special attention: I don’t know very well which field Jonas or Solomon are working on today
; because this is no longer my job. I watered the red huckleberries, the cherry trees and nettles on the sand, the red and black pine trees, the white vines and the yellow violets, which otherwise would have been too dry in the dry season. It may
wither.
To put it simply, he said, I have been doing this for a long time (I am not boasting at all), and I have managed my affairs faithfully.
Until later, I became more and more aware that citizens They are unwilling to include me in the list of public officials, nor are they willing to give me a small salary to have a nominal position. I can swear that the accounts I keep are very careful. They have never been checked, let alone approved, let alone paid and settled. Fortunately, I have no worries. Don’t put it here
Go west.
This is thirty paragraphs, there should be many more, this is impossible to beat. . . . Let me give you the website! I'm not sure if it's what you're looking for either.