nǐ néng bǎ nǐ de xīn 'ān jìng xià lái má？ rú guǒ nǐ de xīn bìng méi yòu 'ān jìng xià lái， wǒ shuō， nǐ yě xǔ zuì hǎo shì xiān bǎ nǐ de xīn 'ān jìng xià lái， rán hòu nǐ zài dǎ kāi zhè běn shū， fǒu zé nǐ yě xǔ huì dú bù xià qù， rèn wéi tā tài nóng suō， nán dú， jiān shēn， shèn zhì huì jué dé tā mò míng qí miào， mò zhī suǒ yún。
　　 zhè gè zhōng yì běn de dì yī bǎn shì 1949 nián zài shàng hǎi chū bǎn de。 nà shí zhèng hǎo jǔ guó shàng xià， rè qì téng téng。 jiě fàng quán zhōng guó de wěi dà zhàn zhēng qǔ dé liǎo huī huáng shèng lì， yīn cǐ zhù yì zhè běn shū de rén hěn shǎo。
　　 dàn dào liǎo wǔ shí nián dài， zài xiāng gǎng què yòu guò yī běn shāo shāo xiū dìng liǎo tā de yì wén de， shǔ míng wú míng shí（ wú míng shì） de dào yìn běn， hái yī zài zài bǎn， zài bǎn dá liù bǎn zhī duō。
　　 zhè gè zhōng yì běn de zài guó nèi zài bǎn， zé shì zài chū bǎn zhī hòu sān shí 'èr nián de 1982 nián， hái shì zài shàng hǎi， jīng yì zhě xì jiā xiū dìng zhī hòu， yóu yì wén chū bǎn shè chū dì 'èr bǎn de。 zhè cì yìn shù yī wàn sān qiān cè。 jǐ nián qián，《 wài guó gǔ diǎn wén xué míng zhù cóng shū》 biān wěi huì jué dìng， jiāng tā shōu rù zhè tào cóng shū， yào wǒ xiě yī piān xīn xù。 nà shí wǒ zhèng hǎo yào qù měi guó， cān jiā yī gè“ guó jì xiě zuò jìhuà”， yòu liǎo kě néng qù fǎng wèn mǎ sà dǔsè zhōu de kāng kē dé chéng hé wǎ 'ěr dēng hú liǎo。 zài měi guó shí， wǒ hé hǎo jǐ gè dà xué de zhōng wài jiào shòu jìn xíng liǎo guān yú zhè běn shū de jiāo tán， tā men gěi liǎo wǒ hěn duō de bāng zhù。 yú jīn huí xiǎng qǐ lái， shì shí fēn gǎn xiè tā men de。
　　 duì zhè dì 'èr bǎn de yì wén wǒ yòu zuò liǎo xiē gǎi jìn， bìng dìng zhèng liǎo yī liǎng chù wù yì， zhǐ shì zhè yī piān xīn xù què zǒng shì xiě bù qǐ lái。 1985 nián xiě liǎo yī gǎo， yīn bù mǎn yì， shōu huí zhòng xiě。 rán yī lián jǐ nián， rén shì kōng zǒng， xīn xù yī zhí dōuméi yòu xiě chū lái。 wèishénme ní？ zuì jìn zhǎo chū liǎo yuán yīn lái， hái shì wǒ de xīn méi yòu 'ān jìng xià lái。 jiù shì guó wéi zhè gè liǎo， zhè huí kě zhǎo dào liǎo yuán yīn， jiù hǎo bàn liǎo。 xīn zhēn zhèng dì 'ān jìng liǎo xià lái， zhè zǒng shì kě yǐ zuò dào de。 jiù kàn nǐ zì jǐ zěn me 'ān pái liǎo。 wèihé yī dìng yào zhè yàng zuò？ yīn wéi zhè běn《 wǎ 'ěr dēng hú》 shì běn jìng jìng de shū， jí jìng jí jìng de shū， bìng bù shì rè rè nào nào de shū。 tā shì yī běn jì mò de shū， yī běn gū dú de shū。 tā zhǐ shì yī běn yī gè rén de shū。 rú guǒ nǐ de xīn méi yòu 'ān jìng xià lái， kǒng pà nǐ hěn nán jìn rù dào zhè běn shū lǐ qù。 wǒ yào gào sù nǐ de shì， zài nǐ de xīn jìng xià lái yǐ hòu， nǐ jiù huì sī kǎo yī xiē shénme。 zài nǐ sī kǎo yī xiē shénme wèn tí shí， nǐ cái yòu kě néng hé zhè wèi hēng lì， dài wéi · suō luó xiān shēng yī qǐ， sī kǎo yī xià zì jǐ， gèng sī kǎo yī xià gèng gāo de yuán zé。
　　 zhè wèi suō luó xiān shēng shì yǔ gū dú jié bàn de。 tā cháng cháng zhǐ shì yī gè rén。 tā rèn wéi méi yòu bǐ gū dú zhè gè bàn 'ér gèng hǎo de bàn 'ér liǎo。 tā de shēng píng shí fēn jiǎn dān， shí fēn 'ān jìng。 1817 nián 7 yuè 12 rì suō luó shēng yú kāng kē dé chéng； jiù xué bìng bì yè yú hā fó dà xué（ 1833-1837 nián）； huí dào jiā xiāng， zhí jiào liǎng nián（ 1838-1840 nián）。 rán hòu tā zhù dào liǎo dà zuò jiā、 sī xiǎng jiā lā 'ěr fū · wò 'ěr duō · ài mò shēng jiā lǐ（ 1841-1843 nián）， dāng mén tú， yòu dāng zhù shǒu， bìng kāi shǐ cháng shì xiě zuò。 dào 1845 nián， tā jiù dān shēn zhǐ yǐng， ná liǎo yī bǐng fǔ tóu， páo jìn liǎo wú rén jū zhù de wǎ 'ěr dēng hú biān de shān lín zhōng， dú jū dào 1847 nián cái huí dào kāng chéng。 1848 nián tā yòu zhù zài 'ài mò shēng jiā lǐ； 1849 nián， tā wán chéng liǎo yī běn jiào zuò《 kāng kē dé hé hé méi lǐ mài kè hé shàng de yī xīng qī》 de shū。 chàbù duō tóng shí， tā fā biǎo liǎo yī piān míng wéi《 xiāo jí fǎn kàng》（ OnCivilDisobedience） de jí wéi zhù míng de、 hěn yòu yǐng xiǎng de lùn wén， àn zì miàn yì yì， zhè yě kě yǐ yì wéi“ mín de bù fú cóng quán lì”。 hòu miàn wǒ men hái yào jiǎng dào tā。 rán hòu， dào liǎo 1854 nián， wǒ men de zhè běn wén xué míng zhù《 wǎ 'ěr dēng hú》 chū bǎn liǎo。 běn shū yòu liǎo yī xiē fǎn xiǎng， dàn kāi shǐ de shí hòu bìng bù dà。 suí shí jiān de tuī yí， tā de yǐng xiǎng yuè lái yuè dà。 1859 nián， tā zhī chí liǎo fǎn duì měi guó xù nú zhì dù de yùn dòng； dāng zhè gè yùn dòng de lǐng dǎo rén yuē hàn · bù lǎng jìng bèi dài bǔ， qiě bèi pàn jiǎo xíng chǔsǐ shí， tā fā biǎo liǎo wéi bù lǎng biàn hù hé hūyù de yǎn jiǎng， bìng dào jiào táng qiāo xiǎng zhōng shēng， jǔ xíng liǎo dào niàn huó dòng。 cǐ hòu tā huàn liǎo fèi bìng， yī zhì wú xiào， yú 1862 nián bìng shì yú kāng chéng， zhōng nián jǐn 44 suì。 tā liú xià liǎo《 rì jì》 39 juàn， zì yòu rén gěi tā zhěng lǐ， lù xù chū bǎn， yǐ chū bǎn yòu duō zhǒng bǎn běn hé duō zhǒng xuǎn běn wèn shì。
　　 tā de yī shēng shì rú cǐ zhī jiǎn dān 'ér fù yù， yòu rú cǐ zhī gū dú 'ér fēn fāng。 yě kě yǐ shuō， tā de yī shēng shí fēn bù jiǎn dān， yě háo bù gū dú。 tā de dú zhě jiāng huì fā xiàn， tā de jīng shén shēng huó shí fēn fēng fù， ér qiě shì jīng měi jué lún， shì shàng hǎn jiàn， hé tā jiāo wǎng de rén bù duō， ér shén jiāo de rén kě jiù duō dé duō liǎo。
　　 tā duì zì jǐ de chū shēng dì， jí mǎ shěng de kāng chéng， shēn gǎn zì háo。 kāng chéng shì bào fā liǎo měi guó dú lì zhàn zhēng de shǒu yì zhī chéng。 tā shuō guò， yǒng yuǎn shǐ tā jīng xǐ de shì tā“ chū shēng yú quán shì jiè zuì kě zūn jìng de dì diǎn” zhī yī， ér qiě“ shí jiān yě zhèng hǎo hé shì”， shì féng měi guó zhī shí jiè yìng yùn 'ér shēng de、 zuì huó yuè de nián dài。 zài měi zhōu dà lù shàng， zuì zǎo de 'ōu zhōu yí mín céng jū zhù de“ xīn yīng gé lán” liù zhōu， zhèng shì měi guó wén huà de fā xiáng zhī dì。 ér zhèng shì zài mǎ shěng de kāng chéng， diǎn rán qǐ lái liǎo měi guó jīng shén shēng huó de huī yào huǒ jù。 xiǎo xiǎo de kāng chéng， fēng guāng rú huà。 yī xià zǐ， nà lǐ chū xiàn liǎo sì wèi dà zuò jiā： ài mò shēng， huò sāng， ā 'ěr kǎo tè， hé tā， suō luó。 1834 nián， ài mò shēng dìng jū yú kāng chéng， céng dào hā fó dà xué zuò liǎo yǐ《 měi guó xué zhě》 wéi tí de yǎn jiǎng。 ài mò shēng yǎn jiǎng， zhuàn wén， chū shū， xuān yáng yòu diǎn xíng xìng de xiān zhī xiān jué de zhuó yuè de rén， chū guò yī běn《 zhuó yuè de rén》， shì tā de dài biǎo zuò。 tā yǐ xiān qū zhě shēn fèn suǒ fā chū de hào zhào， gěi liǎo suō luó yǐ shēn kè de yǐng xiǎng。
　　 suō luó dà xué bì yè hòu huí dào kāng chéng， zhèng hǎo shì tā 'èr shí suì zhī shí。 1837 nián 10 yuè 22 rì， nà tiān tā jì xià liǎo tā de dì yī piān rì jì：
　　“ ‘ nǐ xiàn zài zài yú shénme？ ’ tā wèn。‘ nǐ jì rì jì má？’ hǎo bā， wǒ jīn tiān kāi shǐ， jì xià liǎo zhè dì yī tiáo。
　　“ rú guǒ yào gū dú， wǒ bì xū yào táo bì xiàn zài héng héng wǒ yào wǒ zì jǐ dāng xīn。 zài luó mǎ huáng dì de míng jìng dà diàn lǐ wǒ zěn me néng gū dú dé qǐ lái ní？ wǒ nìngkě zhǎo yī gè gé lóu。 zài nà lǐ shì lián zhī zhū yě bù shòu gān rǎo de， gèng bù yòng dǎ sǎo dì bǎn liǎo， yě yòng bù dào yī duī yī duī dì duī fàng chái huǒ。”
　　 nà gè tiáo wén lǐ miàn de“ tā”， nà gè fā wèn de rén jiù shì 'ài mò shēng， zhè zhēn shì yī chuí dìng liǎo yīn de。 cǐ hòu， suō luó yī zhí yòng rì jì huò rì zhì de xíng shì lái jì lù sī xiǎng。 rì jì chí xù liǎo 'èr shí wǔ nián bù duàn。 zhèng xiàng lú suō xiě de《 yī gè gū dú de sàn bù zhě de sī xiǎng》 yī yàng， tā xiě de yě shì yī gè gū dú zhě de rì jì。 ér tā zhī yào gū dú， shì yīn wéi tā yào sī xiǎng， tā 'ài sī xiǎng。
　　 shāo hòu， zài 1838 nián 2 yuè 7 rì， tā yòu jì xià liǎo zhè yàng yī tiáo：
　　“ zhè gè sī duō gá zhù yì zhě（ jìn yù zhù yì zhě） de zhī nuò（ xī là zhé rén） gēn tā de shì jiè de guān xì， hé wǒ jīn tiān de qíng kuàng chàbù duō。 shuō qǐ lái， tā chū shēn yú yī gè shāng rén zhī jiā héng héng yòu hǎo duō zhè yàng de rén jiā hē！ héng héng huì zuò shēng yì， huì jiǎng jià qián， yě xǔ hái huì chǎo chǎo rǎng rǎng， rán 'ér tā yě yù dào guò fēng làng， fān liǎo chuán， chuán pò liǎo， tā piào liú dào liǎo pí lā wū sī hǎi 'àn， jiù xiàng shénme yuē hàn， shénme tānɡ mài sī zhī lèi de píng cháng rén zhōng jiān de yī gè rén shìde。
　　“ tā zǒu jìn liǎo yī jiā diàn pū zǐ， ér bèi sè nuò fēn（ xī là jūn rén jiān zuò jiā） de yī běn shū（《 cháng zhēng jì》） mí zhù liǎo。 cóng cǐ yǐ hòu tā jiù chéng liǎo yī gè zhé xué jiā。 yī gè xīn wǒ de rì zǐ zài tā de miàn qián shēng liǎo qǐ lái …… jìn guǎn zhī nuò de xuè ròu zhī qū hái shì yào qù háng hǎi hē， qù fān chuán hē， qù shòu fèng chuī làng dǎ de kǔ hē， rán 'ér zhī nuò zhè gè zhēn
　　 zhèng de rén， què cóng cǐ yǐ hòu， yǒng yuǎn háng xíng zài yī gè 'ān 'ān jìng jìng de hǎi yáng shàng liǎo。”
　　 zhè lǐ suō luó shì yǐ zhī nuò lái bǐ nǐ tā zì jǐ de， bìng yě bǎ 'ài mò shēng bǐ fāng wéi sè nuò fēn liǎo。 suō luó suī bù shì chū shēng yú yī gè shāng rén zhī jiā， tā què shì chū shēn yú yī gè shāng rén de shí dài， zhì shǎo tā yě dé shì yìng yú dāng shí měi guó de shāng yè huà jīng shén， suō luó de xuè ròu zhī qū yě shì yào qù háng hǎi de， tā de chuán yě shì yào fān de， tā de yī shēng zhōng yě yào yù dào fēng chuī hé làng dǎ de jīng lì de， rán 'ér zhēn zhèng de suō luó què yǐ zài yī gè 'ān 'ān jìng jìng de hǎi yáng shàng， tā xiàng wǎng yú nà xiē gèng gāo de yuán zé hé zhuó yuè de rén， tā shì xiàng wǎng yú zhé xué jiā hé zhé xué liǎo。
　　 jiù zài zhè piān rì jì zhī hòu de dì sì tiān， ài mò shēng zài tā zì jǐ de rì jì shàng yě jì zhe：“ wǒ fēi cháng xǐ huān zhè gè nián qīng de péng yǒu liǎo。 fǎng fó tā yǐ jù yòu yī zhǒng zì yóu de hé zhèng zhí de xīn zhì， shì wǒ cóng lái hái wèi yù dào guò de。” guò liǎo jǐ tiān， ài mò shēng yòu zài zì jǐ de rì jì lǐ xiě：“ wǒ de hēng lì · suō luó kě hǎo ní， yǐ tā de dān chún hé míng xī de zhì lì shǐ yòu yī gè gū dú de xià wǔ wēn xù 'ér chōng mǎn liǎo yáng guāng，” sì yuè zhōng， ài mò shēng hái jì zhe：“ zuó tiān xià wǔ wǒ hé hēng lì · suō luó qù pá shān， wù méng méng de qì hòu wēn nuǎn 'ér qiě yú kuài， fǎng fó zhè dà shān rú yī zuò bàn yuán xíng de dà jù chǎng， huān yǐn xià liǎo měi jiǔ yī yàng，” zài 'ài mò shēng de tuī dòng zhī xià， suō luó kāi shǐ gěi《 rì guǐ》 zá zhì jì shī xiě gǎo liǎo。 dàn yī wèi yào qiú yán gé de biān ji hái duō cì tuì liǎo tā de gǎo jiàn。 suō luó yě zài kāng chéng xué yuàn lǐ zuò liǎo yī cì tí wéi《 shè huì》 de yǎn jiǎng， ér shāo shāo yǐn qǐ liǎo shì mín de zhù yì。 dào 1841 nián， ài mò shēng jiù yāo qǐng liǎo suō luó zhù dào tā jiā lǐ qù。 dāng shí 'ài mò shēng dà shì xuān yáng tā de wéi xīn zhù yì xiān yàn lùn， jù jí liǎo yī bān tóng rén， jiù xiàng bàn liǎo gè xiān yàn zhù yì jù lè bù shìde。 dàn suō luó bìng bù rèn wéi zì jǐ shì yī gè xiān yàn zhù yì zhě。 zài yī duàn rì jì zhōng tā xiě zhe：“ rén men cháng zài wǒ 'ěr biān dīng níng， yòng tā men de měi miào lǐ lùn hé jiě jué yǔ zhòu wèn tí de gè zhǒng huā yán qiǎo yǔ， kě shì duì wǒ bìng méi yòu bāng zhù。 wǒ hái shì huí dào nà wú biān wú jì， yì wú dǎo wú yǔ de wāng yáng dà hǎi shàng qù， yī kè bù tíng dì tàn cè zhe、 xún zhǎo zhe kě yǐ xià máo， jǐn jǐn dì zhuā zhù bù fàng de yī chù dǐ céng de hǎo。”
　　 běn lái suō luó de jiā jìng bǐ jiào kùn nán， dàn hái shì gěi tā shàng liǎo dà xué， bìng niàn wán liǎo dà xué。 rán hòu tā jiā lǐ de rén rèn wéi tā yīnggāi chū qù chuǎng tiān xià liǎo。 kě shì tā què nìngkě guó jiā xiāng， zài kāng chéng de yī suǒ sī lì zhōng xué jiào jiāoshū。 zhī hòu bù jiǔ， zhǐ dà tā yī suì de gē gē yuē hàn yě páo lái liǎo。 liǎng rén yī qǐ jiāoshū。 gē gē jiào yīng yǔ hé shù xué， dì dì jiào gǔ diǎn míng zhù、 kē xué hé zì rán shǐ。 xué shēng men hěn 'ài dài tā men liǎ。 hēng lì hái dài xué shēng dào hé shàng lǚ xíng， zài hù wài shàng kè、 yě cān， ràng xué shēng shòu dào yǐ dà zì rán wéi kè táng， yǐ wàn wù wéi jiào cái de shēng huó jiào yù。 yī wèi péng yǒu céng chēng luó suō wéi“ shī rén hé bó wù xué jiā”， bìng fēi guò yù。 tā de shēng huó zhī shí shì fēng fù， ér qiě shì yuān bó de。 dāng tā gū dú shí， zhěng gè dà zì rán chéng liǎo tā de bàn lǚ。 jù 'ài mò shēng de dì dì de huí yì， suō luó de xué shēng gào sù guò tā： dāng suō luó jiǎng kè shí， xué shēng men jìng jìng dì tīng zhe， jìng dé lián jiào shì lǐ diào xià yī zhī zhēn yě néng tīng dé qīng chǔ。
　　1839 nián 7 yuè， yī gè shí qī suì de shàonǚ 'ài lún · xī huá 'ěr lái dào kāng chéng， bìng qiě fǎng wèn liǎo suō luó zhè yī jiā zǐ。 tā dào lái de dāng tiān， hēng lì jiù xiě liǎo yī shǒu shī。 wǔ tiān hòu de rì jì zhōng hái yòu liǎo zhè me yī jù：“ ài qíng shì méi yòu fǎ zǐ zhì liáo de， wéi yòu 'ài zhī mí shèn zhī yī fǎ 'ěr。” zhè dà yuē jiù shì wèile 'ài lún de yuán gù xiě de。 bù liào yuē hàn yě yī yàng 'ài shàng liǎo tā， zhè jiù shǐ shì qíng fù zá huà liǎo。 sān rén jīng cháng zài yī qǐ sàn bù， zài hé shàng huá chuán。 dēng shān guān kàn fēng jǐng， jìn rù sēn lín tàn xiǎn， tā men hái zài shù shàng kè xià liǎo tā men de xìng shì de shǒu zì。 tán huà shì jīhū méi wán méi liǎo de， dàn shì zhè gè xìng fú de shí jiān bìng bù cháng jiǔ。
　　 zhè nián chūn tiān， gē 'ér liǎ céng zào qǐ liǎo yī tiáo chuán。 bā yuè dǐ， tā men chéng chuán yán zhe kāng kē dé hé hé méi lǐ mài kè hé shàng zuò liǎo yī cì háng xíng。 zài lǚ tú shàng， yī qiēdōu hěn hǎo， zhǐ shì liǎng rén zhī jiān yǐ yòu zhe yī xiē wēi miào de liè wén， bǐ cǐ dū wèi yán míng， shí jì shàng tā men yǐ chéng liǎo qíng dí。 hòu lái yuē hàn céng xiàng tā qiú hūn 'ér bèi tā jù jué liǎo。 zài hòu lái， hēng lì yě gěi guò tā yī fēng rè qíng de xìn， ér tā huí liǎo tā yī fēng lěng dàn de xìn。 bù jiǔ hòu， ài lún jiù jià gěi liǎo yī gè mù shī。 zhè duàn chāqǔ zài hēng lì xīn tóu liú xià liǎo chuāngshāng。 dàn jiē zhe fā shēng liǎo yī jiàn jué duì yì xiǎng bù dào de shì， 1842 nián de yuán dàn， yuē hàn zài yī tiáo pí zǐ shàng mó lì tā de tì dāo piàn dāo rèn shí， bù xiǎo xīn huá pò liǎo tā de zuǒ shǒu zhōng zhǐ yī tā yòng bù tiáo bāozā liǎo， méi yòu xiǎng dào liǎng sān tiān hòu huà nóng liǎo， quán shēn téng tòng bù kān。 gǎn jǐn jiù yī， yǐ lái bù jí， tā dé liǎo yá guān jǐn bì zhèng， bài xuè bìng zhōng zhī yī zhǒng。 tā hěn kuài jìn rù liǎo mí liú zhuàng tài。 shí tiān zhī hòu， yuē hàn jìng cǐ kè rán cháng shì liǎo。
　　 tū rán de shì biàn gěi liǎo hēng lì yī gè zuì chén zhòng de dǎ jī。 tā suī rán jié lì bǎo chí píng jìng， huí dào jiā zhōng què bù yán bù yǔ。 yī xīng qī hòu， tā yě bìng dǎo liǎo， sì hū yě shì dé liǎo yá guān jǐn bì zhèng。 xìng 'ér tā dé de bìng bù shì zhè zhǒng bìng， shì dé liǎo yóu yú xīn lǐ tòng kǔ yǐn qǐ lái de xīn shēn bìng zhuàng tài。 zhěng zhěng sān gè yuè， tādōu zài zhè gè bìng zhōng， dào sì yuè zhōng tā yòu chū xiàn zài yuán zǐ lǐ liǎo， cái jiàn jiàn dì huī fù guò lái。
　　 nà nián hēng lì xiě liǎo hǎo xiē dào niàn yuē hàn de shī。 zài《 gē gē， nǐ zài nǎ lǐ》 zhè shī zhōng， tā wèn dào：“ wǒ yīngdāng dào nǎ lǐ qù ／ xún zhǎo nǐ de shēn yǐng？／ yán zhe lín jìn de nà tiáo xiǎo hé，／ wǒ hái néng fǒu tīng dào nǐ de shēng yīn？” dá fù shì tā de xiōng cháng jiān yǒu rén， yuē hàn， yǐ jīng hé dà zì rán róng wéi yī tǐ liǎo。 tā men jié liǎo chóu móu， tā yǐ yǐ dà zì rán de róng yán wèitā zì jǐ de róng yán liǎo， yǐ dà zì rán de biǎo qíng biǎo dá liǎo tā zì jǐ de yì niàn…… dà zì rán yǐ qǔ zǒu liǎo tā de gē gē， yuē hàn yǐ chéng wéi dà zì rán de yī bù fēn。
　　 cóng zhè lǐ kāi shǐ， hēng lì cái huī fù liǎo xìn xīn hé huān lè。 tā zài rì jì zhōng xiě zhe：“ yǎn qián de tòng kǔ zhī chén zhòng yě shuō míng guò qù de jīng lì de gān měi。 bēi shāng de shí hòu， duō me de róng yì xiǎng qǐ kuài lè！ dōng tiān， mì fēng bù néng niàng mì， tā jiù xiāo hào yǐ niàng hǎo de mì。” zhè yī duàn shí jiān lǐ， tā shì zài yǎng bìng， yòu yǎng shāng； zài zhé jū zhī zhōng， wéi wèi lái zuò zhǔn bèi， zài xù shì， xù shuǐ yǐ dài kāi zhá liǎo fàng shuǐ， biàn kě yǐ guàn gài dà dì。
　　 zài lìng yī piān rì jì zhōng， tā shuō：“ wǒ bì xū chéng rèn， ruò wèn wǒ duì yú shè huì wǒ yòu liǎo shénme zuò wéi， duì yú rén lèi wǒ yǐ zhì sòng liǎo shénme jiā yīn， wǒ shí zài hán suān dé hěn。 wú yí wǒ de hán suān bù shì méi yòu yuán yīn de， wǒ de wú suǒ jiàn shù yě bìng fēi méi yòu lǐ yóu de。 wǒ jiù zài xiǎng wàng zhe bǎ wǒ de shēng mìng de cái fù xiàn gěi rén men， zhēn zhèng dì gěi tā men zuì zhēn guì de lǐ wù。 wǒ yào zài bèi ké zhōng péi yǎng chū zhēn zhū lái， wèitā men niàng zhì shēng mìng zhī mì， wǒ yào yáng guāng zhuǎn shè dào gōng gòng fú lì shàng lái。 yào méi yòu cái fù yào yǐn cáng。 wǒ méi yòu sī rén de dōng xī。 wǒ de tè yì gōng néng jiù shì yào wéi gōng zhòng fú wù。 wéi yòu zhè gè gōng néng shì wǒ de sī yòu cái chǎn。 rèn hé réndōu shì kě yǐ tiān zhēn de， yīn 'ér shì fù yòu de。
　　 wǒ hán yùn zhe， bìng yǎng yù zhe zhēn zhū， zhí dào tā de wán měi zhī shí。
　　 huī fù jiàn kāng yǐ hòu de suō luó yòu zhù dào liǎo 'ài mò shēng jiā lǐ。 shāo hòu， tā dào liǎo niǔ yuē， zhù zài shì lǐ de sī dān dùn dǎo shàng， zài 'ài mò shēng dì dì de jiā lǐ。 tā xī wàng néng kāi shǐ jiàn lì qǐ tā de wén xué shēng yá lái。 qià qià yīn wéi tā nà zhǒng dú tè de fēng gé， bìng bù shì néng bèi rén， bèi shì sú shè huì suǒ xǐ huān de， xiǎng kào xiě zuò lái wéi chí shēng huó yě hěn bù róng yì， bù jiǔ zhī hòu， tā yòu huí dào liǎo jiā xiāng。 yòu yī duàn shí jiān， tā bāng zhù tā fù qīn zhì zào qiān bǐ， dàn hěn kuài tā yòu fàng qì liǎo zhè zhǒng shàng néng yíng lì de yíng shēng。
　　 yú shì dào liǎo 1844 nián de qiū tiān， ài mò shēng zài wǎ 'ěr dēng hú shàng mǎi liǎo yī kuài dì。 dāng zhè nián guò qù liǎo zhī hòu， suō luó dé dào liǎo zhè kuài tǔ dì de zhù rén de yǔn xǔ， kě yǐ ràng tā“ jū zhù zài hú biān”。 zhōng yú tā kuà chū liǎo yǒng gǎn de yī bù， yòng tā zì jǐ de huà lái shuō：
　　“ 1845 nián 3 yuè wěi， wǒ jiè lái yī bǐng fǔ tóu， zǒu dào wǎ 'ěr dēng hú biān de sēn lín lǐ， dào dá wǒ yù bèi zào fáng zǐ de dì fāng， kāi shǐ kǎn fá yī xiē jiàn shǐ shìde， gāo sǒng rù yún 'ér hái nián yòu de bái sōng， lái zuò wǒ de jiàn zhù cái liào…… nà shì yú kuài de chūn rì、 rén men gǎn dào nán guò de dōng tiān zhèng gēn dòng tǔ yī yàng dì xiāo róng， ér zhé jū de shēng mìng kāi shǐ shū shēn liǎo。”
　　7 yuè 4 rì， qià hǎo nà yī tiān shì dú lì rì， měi guó de guó qìng， tā zhù jìn liǎo zì jǐ gài qǐ lái de hú biān de mù wū。 zài zhè mù wū lǐ， zhè hú bīn de shān lín lǐ， guān chá zhe， qīng tīng zhe， gǎn shòu zhe， chén sī zhe， bìng qiě mèng xiǎng zhe， tā dú lì dì shēng huó liǎo liǎng nián yòu duō yī diǎn shí jiān。 tā jì lù liǎo tā de guān chá tǐ huì， tā fēn xī yán jiū liǎo tā cóng zì rán jiè lǐ dé lái de yīn xùn、 yuè lì hé jīng yàn。 jué bù néng bǎ tā de dú jū hú pàn kàn zuò shì shénme yǐn shì shēng yá。 tā shì yòu mùdì dì tàn suǒ rén shēng， pī pàn rén shēng， zhèn fèn rén shēng， chǎn shù rén shēng de gèng gāo guī lǜ。 bìng bù shì xiāo jí de， tā shì jī jí de。 bìng bù shì táo bì rén shēng， tā shì zǒu xiàng rén shēng， bìng qiě jiù zài zhè zhōng jiān， tā yě céng yòng tā zì jǐ de dú tè fāng shì， tóu shēn yú dāng shí de dǒu zhēng。
　　 nà fā shēng yú yī gè wǎn shàng， dāng tā jìn chéng qù dào yī gè xié jiàng jiā zhōng， yào bǔ yī shuāng xié， hū rán bèi bǔ， bìng bèi jiān jìn zài kāng chéng jiān yù zhōng。 yuán yīn shì tā jù jué jiāo fù rén tóu shuì。 tā zhī jù fù cǐ zhǒng shuì kuǎn yǐ jīng yòu liù nián zhī jiǔ。 tā zài yù zhōng zhù liǎo yī yè， háo bù zài yì。 dì 'èr tiān， yīn yòu rén gěi tā fù qīng liǎo rén tóu shuì， jiù bèi shì fàng， chū lái zhī hòu， tā hái shì qù dào xié jiàng jiā lǐ， děng bǔ hǎo liǎo tā de xié， rán hòu chuān shàng tā， yòu hé yī qún péng yǒu páo dào jǐ lǐ wài de yī zuò gāo shān shàng， màn yóu zài nà 'ér de shénme zhōu zhèng fǔ yě kàn bù dào de yuè jié cóng zhōng héng héng zhè biàn shì tā de yòu míng de rù yù shì jiàn。
　　 zài 1849 nián chū bǎn de《 měi xué》 zá zhì dì yī qī shàng， tā fā biǎo liǎo yī piān lùn wén， yòng de tí mù shì《 duì shì zhèng fǔ de dǐ kàng》。 zài 1866 nián（ tā qù shì yǐ sì nián） chū bǎn de《 yī gè zài jiā ná dà de měi guó rén， jí qí fǎn duì nú lì zhì hé gǎi gé de lùn wén jí》 shōu rù zhè piān wén zhāng shí， tí mù gǎi wéi《 mín de bù fú cóng quán lì》。 cǐ wén tí mù jiū jìng yīnggāi yòng nǎ yī gè， dú shū jiè pō yòu zhēng lùn， bìng yòu rén zhuān mén yán jiū zhè wèn tí。 wǒ guó yī bān dì guàn yòng liǎo zhè gè《 xiāo jí fǎn kàng》 de tí míng， jīn chéng qí jiù， bù zài gǎi biàn。 wén zhōng， suō luó bìng méi yòu fā chū shénme xíng dòng de hào zhào， zhè wú níng shuō zhèng shì tā yī guàn chàng dǎo de suǒ wèi“ gèng gāo de yuán zé” zhōng zhī yī xiàng。 tā rèn wéi zhèng fǔ zì rán yào zuò yòu lì yú rén mín de shì， tā bù yìng gāi qù gān rǎo rén mín。 dàn shì suǒ yòu de zhèng fǔ dōuméi yòu zuò dào zhè yī diǎn， gèng bù yòng shuō zhè gè bǎo cún liǎo nú lì zhì dù de měi guó zhèng fǔ liǎo， yīn cǐ tā yào hé dǐ kàng zhè yī gè zhèng fǔ， bù fú cóng zhè yī gè zhèng fǔ。 tā rèn wéi， rú guǒ zhèng fǔ yào qiáng pò rén mín qù zuò wéi bèi liáng xīn de shì， rén mín jiù yīngdāng yòu xiāo jí dǐ kàng de quán lì， yǐ dǐ zhì tā hé dǐ kàng tā。 zhè piān《 xiāo jí dǐ kàng》 de lùn wén， shǒu xiān shì gěi liǎo yīng guó gōng dǎng hé fèi biān zhù yì zhě yǐ yǐng xiǎng， hòu lái yòu duì yú yǐ jué shí fāng shì fǎn duì yīng dì guó zhù yì de yìn dù shèng xióng gān dì de“ bù hé zuò yùn dòng” yǔ“ fēi bào lì zhù yì” yòu hěn dà de zuò yòng， duì yú 1960 nián mǎ dīng · lù dé · jīn， zài fēi zhōu zhēng qǔ mín quán yùn dòng yě yòu hěn dà de zuò yòng， duì tuō 'ěr sī tài de“ wù yǐ bào kàng bào” de sī xiǎng yě yòu yǐng xiǎng， yǐ jí duì luó màn · luó lán yě yòu yī xiē yǐng xiǎng。
　　 suō luó shì yī shēng dū fǎn duì xù nú zhì dù de， bù zhǐ yī cì bāng zhù nán fāng de hēi nú táo wáng dào zì yóu de běi fāng。 zài 1845 nián de xiāo jí fǎn kàng zhī hòu， tā hái xiě guò《 mǎ shěng de nú lì zhì》（ 1854 nián） yī wén， tā hé 'ài mò shēng yī qǐ zhī chí guò yuē hàn · bù lǎng。 1859 nián 10 yuè， bù lǎng qǐ tú xí jī hā pō sī dù kǒu shī bài 'ér bèi bǔ， 11 yuè xíng tíng pàn chù bù lǎng yǐ jiǎo xíng， suō luó zài shì huì táng lǐ fā biǎo liǎo《 wéi yuē hàn · bù lǎng qǐng yuàn》 de yǎn shuō。 bù lǎng sǐ hòu， dāng dì bù yǔn xǔ gěi bù lǎng kāi zhuī dào huì shí， tā dào shì huì táng qiāo xiǎng dà zhōng， zhào jí qún zhòng jǔ xíng liǎo zhuī dào huì。 suō luó guān yú bù lǎng de yī xì liè wén zhāng hé xíng dòng dōushì qiáng liè de yán xíng。
　　 zhè qī jiān， suō luó huàn shàng liǎo fèi jié hé zhèng， jiàn kāng míng xiǎn dì biàn huài。 suī rán qù míng ní sū dá zuò liǎo yī cì yī liáo xìng de lǚ xíng， dàn bìng qíng bìng wú hǎo zhuǎn。 tā zì zhī yǐ bù jiǔ rén shì liǎo。 zài zuì hòu de liǎng nián lǐ， tā píng jìng dì zhěng lǐ rì jì shǒu gǎo， cóng zhōng xuǎn chū yī xiē duàn luò lái xiě chéng wén zhāng， fā biǎo zài《 dà xī yáng yuè kān》 shàng。 tā píng jìng 'ān xiáng dì jié shù liǎo tā de yī shēng， sǐ yú 1862 nián 5 yuè 6 rì， wèi mǎn sì shí wǔ suì。
　　 suō luó shēng qián， zhǐ chū bǎn liǎo liǎng běn shū。 1849 nián zì fèi chū bǎn liǎo《 kāng kē dé hé hé méi lǐ mài kè hé shàng de yī xīng qī》， zhè shū shì tā zài wǎ 'ěr dēng hú biān de mù wū lǐ zhù xiě de， nèi róng shì gē 'ér liǎ zài liǎng tiáo hé shàng lǚ xíng de yī xīng qī zhōng， dà duàn dà duàn yì lùn wén shǐ zhé hé zōng jiào děng děng。 suī jīng diāo xì kè， què huì sè nán dǒng， méi yòu yǐn qǐ shénme fǎn xiǎng。 yìn xíng yī qiān cè， zhǐ shòu chū yī bǎi duō cè， sòng diào qī shí wǔ cè， cún xià qī bǎi duō cè， zài shū diàn cāng kù lǐ fàng dào 1853 nián， quán bù tuì gěi zuò zhě liǎo。 suō luó céng huī xié tā shuō， wǒ jiā lǐ dà yuē cáng shū jiǔ bǎi cè， zì jǐ zhù de shū qī bǎi duō cè。
　　 tā de dì 'èr běn shū jiù shì《 wǎ 'ěr dēng hú》 liǎo， yú 1854 nián chū bǎn。 yě méi yòu shòu dào yīngyǒu de zhù yì， shèn zhì hái shòu dào zhān mǔ sī · luò 'è 'ěr yǐ jí luó bó tè · lù yì sī · sī dì wén shēng de jī fěng hé pī píng。 dàn qiáo zhì · ài lüè tè zài 1856 nián yuán yuè， què zài《 xī mǐn sì zhōu bào》 shàng gěi tā yǐ“ shēn chén 'ér mǐn gǎn de shū qíng” hé“ chāo fán rù shèng” de hǎo píng。 nà xiē zì yǐ wéi shì de， zhǐ zhī dào yào 'àn zhào tā men de guī fàn， lái guī guīju jǔ dì shēng huó de rén， wǎng wǎng shòu bù liǎo tā men háo bù lǐ jiě de shì wù de jià zhí， zì rán yào bǎ suō luó de nà zhǒng yòu lì shǐ yì yì de xíng wéi， kàn zuò bùqiè shí jì de huàn mèng xū wàng liǎo。
　　 suí zhe shí guāng de liú shì， zhè běn shū de yǐng xiǎng shì yuè lái yuè dà， yè yǐ chéng wéi měi guó wén xué zhōng de yī běn dú tè de， zhuó yuè de míng zhù。 tā yī shēng suǒ xiě de 39 juàn shǒu gǎo， shì tā de rì jì huò rì zhì， qí zhōng jì lù zhe tā de guān chá、 sī wéi、 lǐ xiǎng hé xìn niàn。 tā zài shì shí de， zài bào kān shàng fā biǎo guò de wén zhāng， tā qù shì hòu jǐ shōu jí、 zhěng lǐ hǎo， chū bǎn liǎo de jì yòu《 lǚ xíng sǎnjì》（ 1863 nián）、《 miǎn yīn sēn lín》（ 1864 nián）、《 kē dé jiǎo》（ 1865 nián） sān zhǒng。 tā de quán jí chū bǎn yòu《 suō luó wén jí》， yòu 1906 nián de hé 1971 nián de liǎng zhǒng bǎn běn。 cǐ wài shì tā de rì jì， yòu《 suō luó： yī gè zuò jiā de rì jì》、《 suō luó rì jì》 liǎng juàn běn、《 suō luó rì jì zhī xīn》 de jīng xuǎn běn děng。 yǐ shàng zhǐ shì suō luó shēng píng de yī gè jiǎn dān de jiè shào。 xià miàn zài shuō yī diǎn tā de zhè běn shū。
　　 duì yú《 wǎ 'ěr dēng hú》， bù xū duō shuō shénme， zhǐ shì hái yào chóngfù yī xià， zhè shì yī běn jì mò、 tián jìng、 zhì huì de shū。 qí fēn xī shēng huó， pī pàn xí sú， yòu dú dào chù。 zì rán pō yòu yī xiē nán dǒng de dì fāng， zuò zhě zì jǐ yě shuō guò，“ qǐng yuán liàng wǒ shuō huà huì sè，” lì rú nà shī qù de liè quǎn， sù sè mǎ hé bān jiū de yù yán， ài mò shēng de dì dì 'ài dé huá wèn guò tā shì shénme yì sī。 tā fǎn wèn：“ nǐ méi yòu shī qù má？” què zài yě méi yòu huí dá liǎo。 yòu de píng lùn jiā shuō， suō luó shī qù guò yī gè 'ài lún（ bān jiū）， yī gè yuē hàn（ liè quǎn）， kě néng hái shī qù liǎo yī gè lā 'ěr fū（ lì sè mǎ）。 shuí gè yòu néng bù shī què shénme ní？
　　 běn shū nèi yě yòu xǔ duō piān yè shì xíng xiàng miáo huì， yōu měi xì zhì， xiàng hú shuǐ de chún jié tòu míng， xiàng shān lín de mào mì cuì lǜ； yòu yī xiē piān yè shuō lǐ tòu chè， shí fēn jīng bì， yòu qǐ fā xìng。 zhè shì yī bǎi duō nián yǐ qián de shū， zhì jīn hái wèi shī qù tā de yì yì。 zài zì zhòu de fán máng shēng huó zhōng， wǒ yòu shí dú tā hái dú bù jìn qù， sì hū wǒ yì cháng xǐ huān de zhè běn shū hū rán yòu bù nà me kě 'ài kě xǐ liǎo， sì hū jué dé tā shénme hǎo chù yě méi yòu， shèn zhì nòng dé jiāng xìn jiāng yí qǐ lái。 kě shì huáng hūn yǐ hòu， xīn qíng jiàn jiàn de jì mò hé tián jìng xià lái， zài dú cǐ shū， zé hū rán yòu pō yòu wèi， ér kàn de jiù shì bái tiān kàn bù chū hǎo chù biàn bù chū wèi dào de zhāng jié， yǔ yǔ jīng rén， zì zì shǎn guāng， qìn rén xīn fèi， dòng wǒ zhōng cháng。 dào liǎo yè shēn rén jìng， wàn lái wú shēng zhī shí， zhè《 wǎ 'ěr dēng hú》 háo bù huì sè， qīng chéng jiàn dǐ， yín sòng zhī xià， bù jìn wéi zhī shén wǎng liǎo。
　　 yīngdāng zhǐ chū， zhè běn shū shì yī běn jiàn kāng de shū， duì yú chūn tiān， duì yú lí míng， zuò liǎo jí qí dòng rén de miáo xiě。 dú zhe tā， zì rán huì tǐ huì dào， yī gǔ xiàng shàng de jīng shén bù duàn dì jiāng dú zhě tí shēng、 tí gāo。 shū yǐ jīng bǎi zài dú zhě miàn qián liǎo， wǒ bù bì duō shuō shénme liǎo， yīn wéi shuō dé zài hǎo， yě bǐ bù shàng dú zhě zhí jiē qù dú liǎo。
　　 rén men cháng shuō， zuò jiā yīngdāng zhǎo yī gè pì jìng yōu yǎ de qù chù， qù jìn xíng chuàng zuò： xìn rán， rán 'ér wèi bì jìn rán。 wǒ fǎn 'ér rèn wéi， dú shū què hū zài xū yào yī gè yōu jìng liáng hǎo de huán jìng， yóu qí dú hǎo shū， xū yào de shì néng gāo dù jí zhōng de jīng shén tiáo jiàn。 dú zhě zuì xū yào yòu yī gè pǔ sù dàn bó de xīn dì。 dú《 wǎ 'ěr dēng hú》 rú guǒ yòu néng yǐn qǐ dú zhě páo dào yī gè shān míng shuǐ xiù de、 wèi shòu wū rǎn de dì fāng qù de xīng qù， jiù zài nà yàng de dì fāng dú tā， jiù gèng shì xiāng yí liǎo。
　　 suō luó de zhè běn shū jìn nián zài xī fāng shì jiè gèng huò dé zhòng shì。 yán zhòng wū rǎn shǐ rén men yòu xiàng wǎng wǎ 'ěr dēng hú hé shān lín de chéng jìng de qīng xīn kōng qì。 suō luó néng cóng shí wù、 zhù zhái、 yī fú hé rán liào， zhè xiē shēng huó zhī bì xū chū fā， yǐ jīng jì zuò wéi běn shū de kāi piān， tā chóng shàng shí jiàn， hán yòu pǔ sù de wéi wù zhù yì sī xiǎng。
　　 yì zhě céng dé měi guó hàn xué jiā fèi zhèng qīng xiān shēng jì fū rén gǔ lì； yì chū hòu céng biān rù《 měi guó wén xué cóng shū》， 1949 nián chū liǎo dì yī bǎn。 1982 nián zài bǎn shí， cān kǎo liǎo xiāng gǎng wú míng shí de bǎn běn。 yì wén chū bǎn shè zài dì 'èr bǎn de biān shěn guò chéng zhōng， duì yì wén jìn xíng liǎo yī cì quán miàn de jiàodìng gōng zuò。 duì suǒ yòu zhè xiē gěi guò wǒ bāng zhù de rén men， jiù zài zhè lǐ， shēn zhì gǎn xiè。
　　 yì zhě

　　When I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, and earned my living by the labor of my hands only. I lived there two years and two months. At present I am a sojourner in civilized life again.
　　 I should not obtrude my affairs so much on the notice of my readers if very particular inquiries had not been made by my townsmen concerning my mode of life, which some would call impertinent, though they do not appear to me at all impertinent, but, considering the circumstances, very natural and pertinent. Some have asked what I got to eat; if I did not feel lonesome; if I was not afraid; and the like. Others have been curious to learn what portion of my income I devoted to charitable purposes; and some, who have large families, how many poor children I maintained. I will therefore ask those of my readers who feel no particular interest in me to pardon me if I undertake to answer some of these questions in this book. In most books, the I, or first person, is omitted; in this it will be retained; that, in respect to egotism, is the main difference. We commonly do not remember that it is, after all, always the first person that is speaking. I should not talk so much about myself if there were anybody else whom I knew as well. Unfortunately, I am confined to this theme by the narrowness of my experience. Moreover, I, on my side, require of every writer, first or last, a simple and sincere account of his own life, and not merely what he has heard of other men's lives; some such account as he would send to his kindred from a distant land; for if he has lived sincerely, it must have been in a distant land to me. Perhaps these pages are more particularly addressed to poor students. As for the rest of my readers, they will accept such portions as apply to them. I trust that none will stretch the seams in putting on the coat, for it may do good service to him whom it fits.
　　 I would fain say something, not so much concerning the Chinese and Sandwich Islanders as you who read these pages, who are said to live in New England; something about your condition, especially your outward condition or circumstances in this world, in this town, what it is, whether it is necessary that it be as bad as it is, whether it cannot be improved as well as not. I have travelled a good deal in Concord; and everywhere, in shops, and offices, and fields, the inhabitants have appeared to me to be doing penance in a thousand remarkable ways. What I have heard of Bramins sitting exposed to four fires and looking in the face of the sun; or hanging suspended, with their heads downward, over flames; or looking at the heavens over their shoulders "until it becomes impossible for them to resume their natural position, while from the twist of the neck nothing but liquids can pass into the stomach"; or dwelling, chained for life, at the foot of a tree; or measuring with their bodies, like caterpillars, the breadth of vast empires; or standing on one leg on the tops of pillars -- even these forms of conscious penance are hardly more incredible and astonishing than the scenes which I daily witness. The twelve labors of Hercules were trifling in comparison with those which my neighbors have undertaken; for they were only twelve, and had an end; but I could never see that these men slew or captured any monster or finished any labor. They have no friend Iolaus to burn with a hot iron the root of the hydra's head, but as soon as one head is crushed, two spring up.
　　 I see young men, my townsmen, whose misfortune it is to have inherited farms, houses, barns, cattle, and farming tools; for these are more easily acquired than got rid of. Better if they had been born in the open pasture and suckled by a wolf, that they might have seen with clearer eyes what field they were called to labor in. Who made them serfs of the soil? Why should they eat their sixty acres, when man is condemned to eat only his peck of dirt? Why should they begin digging their graves as soon as they are born? They have got to live a man's life, pushing all these things before them, and get on as well as they can. How many a poor immortal soul have I met well-nigh crushed and smothered under its load, creeping down the road of life, pushing before it a barn seventy-five feet by forty, its Augean stables never cleansed, and one hundred acres of land, tillage, mowing, pasture, and woodlot! The portionless, who struggle with no such unnecessary inherited encumbrances, find it labor enough to subdue and cultivate a few cubic feet of flesh.
　　 But men labor under a mistake. The better part of the man is soon plowed into the soil for compost. By a seeming fate, commonly called necessity, they are employed, as it says in an old book, laying up treasures which moth and rust will corrupt and thieves break through and steal. It is a fool's life, as they will find when they get to the end of it, if not before. It is said that Deucalion and Pyrrha created men by throwing stones over their heads behind them:--
　　 Inde genus durum sumus, experiensque laborum,
　　 Et documenta damus qua simus origine nati.
　　 Or, as Raleigh rhymes it in his sonorous way,--
　　 "From thence our kind hard-hearted is, enduring pain and care, Approving that our bodies of a stony nature are."
　　 So much for a blind obedience to a blundering oracle, throwing the stones over their heads behind them, and not seeing where they fell.
　　 Most men, even in this comparatively free country, through mere ignorance and mistake, are so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labors of life that its finer fruits cannot be plucked by them. Their fingers, from excessive toil, are too clumsy and tremble too much for that. Actually, the laboring man has not leisure for a true integrity day by day; he cannot afford to sustain the manliest relations to men; his labor would be depreciated in the market. He has no time to be anything but a machine. How can he remember well his ignorance -- which his growth requires -- who has so often to use his knowledge? We should feed and clothe him gratuitously sometimes, and recruit him with our cordials, before we judge of him. The finest qualities of our nature, like the bloom on fruits, can be preserved only by the most delicate handling. Yet we do not treat ourselves nor one another thus tenderly.
　　 Some of you, we all know, are poor, find it hard to live, are sometimes, as it were, gasping for breath. I have no doubt that some of you who read this book are unable to pay for all the dinners which you have actually eaten, or for the coats and shoes which are fast wearing or are already worn out, and have come to this page to spend borrowed or stolen time, robbing your creditors of an hour. It is very evident what mean and sneaking lives many of you live, for my sight has been whetted by experience; always on the limits, trying to get into business and trying to get out of debt, a very ancient slough, called by the Latins aes alienum, another's brass, for some of their coins were made of brass; still living, and dying, and buried by this other's brass; always promising to pay, promising to pay, tomorrow, and dying today, insolvent; seeking to curry favor, to get custom, by how many modes, only not state-prison offenses; lying, flattering, voting, contracting yourselves into a nutshell of civility or dilating into an atmosphere of thin and vaporous generosity, that you may persuade your neighbor to let you make his shoes, or his hat, or his coat, or his carriage, or import his groceries for him; making yourselves sick, that you may lay up something against a sick day, something to be tucked away in an old chest, or in a stocking behind the plastering, or, more safely, in the brick bank; no matter where, no matter how much or how little.
　　 I sometimes wonder that we can be so frivolous, I may almost say, as to attend to the gross but somewhat foreign form of servitude called Negro Slavery, there are so many keen and subtle masters that enslave both North and South. It is hard to have a Southern overseer; it is worse to have a Northern one; but worst of all when you are the slave-driver of yourself. Talk of a divinity in man! Look at the teamster on the highway, wending to market by day or night; does any divinity stir within him? His highest duty to fodder and water his horses! What is his destiny to him compared with the shipping interests? Does not he drive for Squire Make-a-stir? How godlike, how immortal, is he? See how he cowers and sneaks, how vaguely all the day he fears, not being immortal nor divine, but the slave and prisoner of his own opinion of himself, a fame won by his own deeds. Public opinion is a weak tyrant compared with our own private opinion. What a man thinks of himself, that it is which determines, or rather indicates, his fate. Self-emancipation even in the West Indian provinces of the fancy and imagination -- what Wilberforce is there to bring that about? Think, also, of the ladies of the land weaving toilet cushions against the last day, not to betray too green an interest in their fates! As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.
　　 The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the desperate country, and have to console yourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats. A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind. There is no play in them, for this comes after work. But it is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things.
　　 When we consider what, to use the words of the catechism, is the chief end of man, and what are the true necessaries and means of life, it appears as if men had deliberately chosen the common mode of living because they preferred it to any other. Yet they honestly think there is no choice left. But alert and healthy natures remember that the sun rose clear. It is never too late to give up our prejudices. No way of thinking or doing, however ancient, can be trusted without proof. What everybody echoes or in silence passes by as true to-day may turn out to be falsehood to-morrow, mere smoke of opinion, which some had trusted for a cloud that would sprinkle fertilizing rain on their fields. What old people say you cannot do, you try and find that you can. Old deeds for old people, and new deeds for new. Old people did not know enough once, perchance, to fetch fresh fuel to keep the fire a-going; new people put a little dry wood under a pot, and are whirled round the globe with the speed of birds, in a way to kill old people, as the phrase is. Age is no better, hardly so well, qualified for an instructor as youth, for it has not profited so much as it has lost. One may almost doubt if the wisest man has learned anything of absolute value by living. Practically, the old have no very important advice to give the young, their own experience has been so partial, and their lives have been such miserable failures, for private reasons, as they must believe; and it may be that they have some faith left which belies that experience, and they are only less young than they were. I have lived some thirty years on this planet, and I have yet to hear the first syllable of valuable or even earnest advice from my seniors. They have told me nothing, and probably cannot tell me anything to the purpose. Here is life, an experiment to a great extent untried by me; but it does not avail me that they have tried it. If I have any experience which I think valuable, I am sure to reflect that this my Mentors said nothing about.
　　 One farmer says to me, "You cannot live on vegetable food solely, for it furnishes nothing to make bones with"; and so he religiously devotes a part of his day to supplying his system with the raw material of bones; walking all the while he talks behind his oxen, which, with vegetable-made bones, jerk him and his lumbering plow along in spite of every obstacle. Some things are really necessaries of life in some circles, the most helpless and diseased, which in others are luxuries merely, and in others still are entirely unknown.
　　 The whole ground of human life seems to some to have been gone over by their predecessors, both the heights and the valleys, and all things to have been cared for. According to Evelyn, "the wise Solomon prescribed ordinances for the very distances of trees; and the Roman praetors have decided how often you may go into your neighbor's land to gather the acorns which fall on it without trespass, and what share belongs to that neighbor." Hippocrates has even left directions how we should cut our nails; that is, even with the ends of the fingers, neither shorter nor longer. Undoubtedly the very tedium and ennui which presume to have exhausted the variety and the joys of life are as old as Adam. But man's capacities have never been measured; nor are we to judge of what he can do by any precedents, so little has been tried. Whatever have been thy failures hitherto, "be not afflicted, my child, for who shall assign to thee what thou hast left undone?"
　　 We might try our lives by a thousand simple tests; as, for instance, that the same sun which ripens my beans illumines at once a system of earths like ours. If I had remembered this it would have prevented some mistakes. This was not the light in which I hoed them. The stars are the apexes of what wonderful triangles! What distant and different beings in the various mansions of the universe are contemplating the same one at the same moment! Nature and human life are as various as our several constitutions. Who shall say what prospect life offers to another? Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant? We should live in all the ages of the world in an hour; ay, in all the worlds of the ages. History, Poetry, Mythology! -- I know of no reading of another's experience so startling and informing as this would be.
　　 The greater part of what my neighbors call good I believe in my soul to be bad, and if I repent of anything, it is very likely to be my good behavior. What demon possessed me that I behaved so well? You may say the wisest thing you can, old man -- you who have lived seventy years, not without honor of a kind -- I hear an irresistible voice which invites me away from all that. One generation abandons the enterprises of another like stranded vessels.
　　 I think that we may safely trust a good deal more than we do. We may waive just so much care of ourselves as we honestly bestow elsewhere. Nature is as well adapted to our weakness as to our strength. The incessant anxiety and strain of some is a well-nigh incurable form of disease. We are made to exaggerate the importance of what work we do; and yet how much is not done by us! or, what if we had been taken sick? How vigilant we are! determined not to live by faith if we can avoid it; all the day long on the alert, at night we unwillingly say our prayers and commit ourselves to uncertainties. So thoroughly and sincerely are we compelled to live, reverencing our life, and denying the possibility of change. This is the only way, we say; but there are as many ways as there can be drawn radii from one centre. All change is a miracle to contemplate; but it is a miracle which is taking place every instant. Confucius said, "To know that we know what we know, and that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge." When one man has reduced a fact of the imagination to be a fact to his understanding, I foresee that all men at length establish their lives on that basis.
　　 Let us consider for a moment what most of the trouble and anxiety which I have referred to is about, and how much it is necessary that we be troubled, or at least careful. It would be some advantage to live a primitive and frontier life, though in the midst of an outward civilization, if only to learn what are the gross necessaries of life and what methods have been taken to obtain them; or even to look over the old day-books of the merchants, to see what it was that men most commonly bought at the stores, what they stored, that is, what are the grossest groceries. For the improvements of ages have had but little influence on the essential laws of man's existence; as our skeletons, probably, are not to be distinguished from those of our ancestors.
　　 By the words, necessary of life, I mean whatever, of all that man obtains by his own exertions, has been from the first, or from long use has become, so important to human life that few, if any, whether from savageness, or poverty, or philosophy, ever attempt to do without it. To many creatures there is in this sense but one necessary of life, Food. To the bison of the prairie it is a few inches of palatable grass, with water to drink; unless he seeks the Shelter of the forest or the mountain's shadow. None of the brute creation requires more than Food and Shelter. The necessaries of life for man in this climate may, accurately enough, be distributed under the several heads of Food, Shelter, Clothing, and Fuel; for not till we have secured these are we prepared to entertain the true problems of life with freedom and a prospect of success. Man has invented, not only houses, but clothes and cooked food; and possibly from the accidental discovery of the warmth of fire, and the consequent use of it, at first a luxury, arose the present necessity to sit by it. We observe cats and dogs acquiring the same second nature. By proper Shelter and Clothing we legitimately retain our own internal heat; but with an excess of these, or of Fuel, that is, with an external heat greater than our own internal, may not cookery properly be said to begin? Darwin, the naturalist, says of the inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego, that while his own party, who were well clothed and sitting close to a fire, were far from too warm, these naked savages, who were farther off, were observed, to his great surprise, "to be streaming with perspiration at undergoing such a roasting." So, we are told, the New Hollander goes naked with impunity, while the European shivers in his clothes. Is it impossible to combine the hardiness of these savages with the intellectualness of the civilized man? According to Liebig, man's body is a stove, and food the fuel which keeps up the internal combustion in the lungs. In cold weather we eat more, in warm less. The animal heat is the result of a slow combustion, and disease and death take place when this is too rapid; or for want of fuel, or from some defect in the draught, the fire goes out. Of course the vital heat is not to be confounded with fire; but so much for analogy. It appears, therefore, from the above list, that the expression, animal life, is nearly synonymous with the expression, animal heat; for while Food may be regarded as the Fuel which keeps up the fire within us -- and Fuel serves only to prepare that Food or to increase the warmth of our bodies by addition from without -- Shelter and Clothing also serve only to retain the heat thus generated and absorbed.