Chapter 24 3. Emile is 20 years old: the age of love

Sooner or later, the real moment of nature will come, and no one can avoid it.People are mortal, but with death comes life.After generations of reproduction, the human race can continue, and the human order can also be passed down. If you foresee this moment approaching by the signs I have described, you will have to change your tone.He's still your student, but he's grown up.You should treat him as your friend and stop treating him like you would a child. Self-love is his first natural desire, which will drive him to accept your discipline willingly, and his habits will demand it.

If you interfere with his desires, and kill his new needs as sins, I can assure you that he will never obey you again.It is up to you to play your part and always be on the side of nature, not against it. When it comes to how to act, many people find it difficult.I think there are only two choices: either indulge his desires, or curb his desires.Both options have downsides, though, so make sure you make a decision after careful consideration. Of course, there is also a way to avoid the choice, and that is to get him married as soon as possible.This method sounds reasonable and in line with the laws of nature, but it may not be the best or most satisfactory method.I admit that young people have to marry when they reach a certain age, but I do not approve of them marrying before their bodies and minds are fully developed.

Since nature has no fixed age for marriage, I may suppose that, under my education, Emile has preserved the innocence and innocence of childhood, but I know that this will not last long. There are more and more temptations around him, and I know that no matter how hard I try, I can't change the fact that he wants to escape from my control.I couldn't do much more than tell him to be on the lookout for dangers lurking around him, and to protect him from unconscious mistakes, because he already has the capacity to take responsibility for his actions. Before, I educated him by maintaining his ignorance, and now it is time to discipline him by his wisdom.Always remember that the method of educating adults is the opposite of the method of educating children.

Now you're going to tell him the mysterious things he longed to know but never knew.Since he will know sooner or later, it is much better for you to tell him than for him to learn it from someone else or himself. Some readers, including those who hold the same point of view as me, may think this way: If this is the case, wouldn’t it be enough to find a time to tell him these things together?Things are not as simple as you say!This method is not the fundamental way to solve the problem. What's more, if the timing of the conversation is wrong, it will be useless or even counterproductive.

Just as the soil must be sorted before sowing, there must be a long-term preparation process before moral education is given to him, otherwise, it will be difficult for the moral seeds to take root in his heart. Everyone has their own special features, and if they are preached in the same way, it will not have the slightest effect at all.Everyone has different temperaments, thoughts, dispositions, ages, occupations, etc., so we should teach students in accordance with their aptitude. Not to mention that speaking the same words to different people will produce different results, even if the same words are spoken to the same person at different times, the results will be different, because human emotions are very unstable, and there will be changes at any time. Subject to change.

Can you imagine that when the fiery emotions dispel all reason and completely occupy your mind, would you have the heart to listen to those wise but long-winded lessons?Don't think that he will patiently listen to you when he reaches the age of reason, so before you start your long speech, you'd better make sure he is willing to sit down and listen to you. Reading, laziness, solitude, immobility, and association with women and youth are all activities that can be harmful to young people of this age. I try to expose him to things that stimulate his other senses so that he can take his attention away from his current sense.It is only by curbing his imagination that he can be prevented from going astray, and the best way is to put him in manual labor.

Once his limbs are busy, he has no mind to think about other things; once his body is in a state of exhaustion, his heart will not be restless.Stay away from the city, also stay away from danger and temptation. But it's not enough just to leave the city, as fertile soil for the imagination can be found everywhere.If I cannot completely rid him of dangerous things or erase his memory of dangerous things, no matter how I try to educate him, I will fail in the end. It was necessary for Emile to master a trade, but it was not enough to satisfy all his needs.He has learned how to grow crops, but doing farm work is only a physical activity that does not require the use of the brain, so he can think about other things while working, and the activities of the body and brain do not conflict.

I want him to engage in an activity that will occupy his whole mind, immerse him completely in it.I think hunting is the best way to go. Hunting is a highly recreational and well-suited activity for adults, but I would never allow Emile to spend his entire adolescence hunting, because killing animals is a cruel act. The reason why I let him go hunting is just to curb the emergence of another more harmful desire in him, so that he can calm down and listen carefully to my teachings. One of the greatest ills of our time is the over-advocacy of rationality, as if there should be no other thinking activity except for rational people.

Reason cannot function alone, and even if it can, it mainly prevents us from doing something, instead of giving us the passion to do something, let alone create a great mind. Only those narrow-minded people always bring out a bunch of big truths, so, especially in front of young people, please put away your inscrutable. Let me repeat: Reason can only control our ideas, but it cannot change our behavior.A person may think in a rational way, but may not act in a rational way. If this statement applies to all adults, it is even more so to young people, because their behavior is now dominated by the senses, and it can be said that their knowledge of things comes entirely from their imagination.

I try to have enthusiasm in my eyes, in my voice, and in my movements before I speak to him, otherwise I won't speak and he will listen. I use all kinds of arguments in a soft tone to make my point more convincing, never say a dry and dogmatic discourse.I impressed him deeply with my full enthusiasm, so he listened to me attentively.I never mention his interests lest he become a mercenary. On the contrary, all my topics are based on my own interests, but he listens with gusto.I talked to him about gratitude, kindness and generosity.I held him tightly in my arms, and the tears couldn't stop streaming down and dripping on his body.

I want to say to him: "You are not only my child, but also my wealth and career. I can only be happy if you are happy. If you always let me down, then I have wasted 20 years life, and my old age is doomed to suffering." Talk to him in this way, and he will regard you as a person who can talk to you. Only when you win his trust, will he listen to your teachings. As a person in society, Emile could not live a celibate life forever, but had to assume responsibility for others.Before living with a person, he must first know this person. Emile already has a clear concept of human beings, besides, he still needs to learn how to understand individual people.He knows how the world works, but he still doesn't know how the people in this world live. He's been behind the scenes of society long enough, and now it's time for him to step forward.He no longer looks enviously at the society, because he has got rid of the state of ignorance and has become a young man who can use reason to distinguish foreign objects. There is a certain period in man's life devoted to the study of science.Likewise, there is a period of life devoted to the study of social customs. If he is exposed to these customs at an unreasonable age, he will accept them as a whole, and even be swayed by them throughout his life. On the contrary, if he is allowed to come into contact with these customs after having independent judgment ability, he will use a critical eye to choose which ones should be abandoned and which ones should be followed. If you give me a 12-year-old child, and then I educate him until he is 15 and return it to you, I can guarantee that he may not learn more knowledge than when he followed you, but his judgment will definitely be obtained. Improvement by leaps and bounds. My approach to education is also applicable to 20-year-olds.Give him the right guidance, and in a year he'll be a perfect gentleman, far more generous and refined than the man you've spent twenty years cultivating. "You need a woman's company," I told him.Let's find this ideal partner together.There are very few people with real sentiment. Maybe it is difficult for us to find her, but as long as we keep looking, she will definitely appear. Even if she doesn't appear, there will be someone similar to her.With this beautiful belief, I decided to let him know more people.So I introduced him into society. The woman I have described was a complete picture of a perfect lover, with all the qualities he liked, tender, genial, agreeable, and free from those tendencies that would tempt him into error.Of course, I won't stop him from developing his lust for this woman. Perhaps, the woman I described does not exist in reality, but it doesn't matter. Who doesn't have an ideal lover in their hearts?The fictional version of her is much cuter than the real one, and I dare say that if we knew the true nature of the person we love, we would never expect anything from love again. Eros cannot descend without a solemn veil. It was not my intention to deceive him with the image of a lover who did not exist, so I allowed some flaws in this woman, but these shortcomings were not enough to affect his liking for her, and they also helped him reflect on his own. shortcoming. After listening to my description, if he is satisfied, he can't wait to find a corresponding person in reality.I even thought of her name. I would tell him with a smile on my face: "'Sophie' is a name with a good meaning. Your future lover should be called 'Sophie'. Even if she is not called 'Sophie', she must have the name good quality." As long as the goal is clear, the rest will be easy to handle.I will take him to various social occasions, because we come with a purpose, so I will not worry about him being tempted by evil.His heart is pure, we just need to ensure that his senses are not stimulated. Let us see what happened to Emile after entering society.The reason why he attends such occasions is not to show off or show his individuality, but just to find a suitable partner. He never grandstanding, nor affectation.No matter what kind of environment he is in or what class he enters, he always maintains a consistent simplicity and authenticity.He doesn't have an instantly recognizable quality, and he doesn't want to have one. He never cared about others' evaluation of him, let alone be swayed by other people's prejudices.He doesn't take it seriously if someone offends him who doesn't know him at all.He is neither timid nor arrogant, neither restrained nor pretentious. Whether in a group or alone, he maintains a consistent simplicity and naturalness. He never talked too much in order to attract people's attention.On the contrary, he always keeps silent, unless he encounters something that needs to be discussed, otherwise he will not have much words. Emile's insight is very strong, but he will never say some rhetoric.He's more than happy to follow other people's manners, but that doesn't mean he's showing off that he knows them, or putting on an air of politeness.His purpose of doing this is just not to draw attention to him. When other people's eyes fall on him, he will feel uncomfortable.He stands firm but never stubborn; he takes his time but never becomes arrogant. Insolence is the quality of a slave, and pretentiousness is not of an independent man.A person of high moral character will not proclaim his nobility everywhere, and those who brag everywhere must be mediocre and empty people, because they have no capital to show off except for oral enjoyment. When we read history, we judge people based on their desires. After entering society, we have to judge people based on moral concepts.He was always interested in factors that affect the human mind, for better or for worse, and it was high time that he began to philosophize on aesthetic taste. We don't have to understand the definition of aesthetic taste, it just refers to the ability to make your own judgments about what most people like or don't like.But this does not mean that most people have high aesthetic taste, because they can only judge some things, but not all things. Just as there are few people who have all the standards of beauty in one body, there are also few people who have all the aesthetic tastes in one body. We don't pay attention to certain things because they are good or bad for us.What can cultivate our aesthetic taste is not necessarily the necessities of life, most of them are things that have no practical use but can entertain us. We don't need to look at those necessities of life with aesthetic eyes, as long as they can meet our certain needs.It is easy for us to grasp our own needs, but the aesthetics seem to be very random, without a clear standard.We can only judge whether something is beautiful or ugly according to our instincts, and there is no other basis for it. What needs to be emphasized is that there are strong local differences in aesthetics, which vary with different religious beliefs or political systems in different places.In addition, age, personality and gender will all have an impact on people's aesthetics, so it is meaningless to argue about the standards of aesthetics. People's aesthetics are innate, but this does not mean that all people's aesthetics are the same. It will show different degrees of development with different growth environments.The level of aesthetic ability does not depend on the natural ability to feel, but the degree of its development is mainly affected by the living environment. First of all, in order to compare aesthetic tastes, it is necessary to ensure that the living environment must be diverse. Secondly, those who only care about useful things focus on profit, not taste, so there must be a group whose life is centered on entertainment and leisure. Finally, there needs to be a social occasion that is centered on aesthetic taste.All vanity, prejudice, and injustice do not exist in this social setting.Aesthetics cannot be swayed by fashion, otherwise, what people pursue is no longer interesting, but outstanding or popular. The cultivation of aesthetic taste is already a problem that Emile cannot avoid, so I put forward the above points.As his teacher, in order to be helpful to him, he must have a clear understanding of those things that make people happy or distressed.If you want to help him accomplish something, you must first cultivate his interest in it. If I had to choose between a country that has not yet formed an independent aesthetic view and a country that has distorted aesthetic views, considering the cultivation of Emile, I would put the second country first, Then consider the first country. I came from this consideration: The reason why the aesthetics of the second country is distorted is because the objects of aesthetics are too delicate, and what is too delicate is definitely not something that most people can notice. Moreover, the finer the distinction between things, the more places to distinguish and the more disputes there will be.In this way, people will have their own opinions, and there will be as many aesthetic views as there are people. Debate can expand the scope of philosophy and knowledge, so that people can think more deeply.Living in such an environment for a long time, our intuition will become more and more acute, and our ability to feel nuances will become stronger and stronger. In today's civilized society we cannot find a place where aesthetic taste is worse than Paris, but here is the birthplace of good fashion, and almost all famous writers in Europe were educated in Paris . But if you think that just reading the works of these writers is enough, then you are very wrong. You must know that the effect of communicating with the author himself is much better than reading his words, not to mention, let us It's not just these writers who benefit. If a person wants to broaden his horizons and deepen his thoughts, he must study the spirit of society.If you think you have a bit of talent, then go to Paris to develop, within a year, you will be able to emerge, otherwise, you are likely to waste your talent. Living in a place with poor taste, we quickly learn to use our minds.Although this is hard to avoid, we still have to work hard to keep ourselves from the influence of those bad habits.We cannot imitate their practices, but we can transform their thinking and use it as a tool to assist us in making judgments. I will take Emile to Paris.I would focus on protecting his judgment from any damage to it.After his aesthetic ability has reached a certain level, and he is able to make judgments on people's tastes, whether good or bad, I will start to guide him to regard relatively simple things as the objects of aesthetics. In order to keep his aesthetic taste healthy and pure, I have to take a further step.I want to stay away from the noisy and dissolute crowd, and find a quiet environment to have a beneficial conversation with him.The topics we discuss must be of interest to him, and only then will our conversations be interesting and meaningful. Now is the time to read him some interesting books and teach him to appreciate eloquence and the beauty of diction.We can't learn a language just to speak, the role of language is far less powerful than we imagined, but if we want to really master a language, we cannot avoid the study of grammar. Language and language are interlinked. If you don't know Latin, you will definitely not be able to learn French well.Only through comparison can we grasp the law of language art. The simple language style can easily touch people's hearts, but except for the works of the ancients, this style is rarely seen.Emile found that, like history, the poems, apologias, and other literary works of the ancients were rich in content and never easily judged. Look at those contemporary people, their books are empty, but they are good at commenting on everything.They force readers to accept their point of view and take away the right of readers to express their own opinions. These two different writing styles are also reflected on the tombstones.We know that people today are always happy to write a long paragraph of praise on the tombstone, but the tombstones of the ancients are written to record deeds. People passing by, please stop your steps and think about this hero. When I saw this sentence on the tombstone of an ancient person, my first reaction was that this epitaph must have been added by the current people. In today's society, "hero" seems to be something that blooms everywhere, but in ancient times, the title "hero" could not be used casually.They don't call someone a hero, they just say what he did. The ancients described people's true colors, so we can see that he is indeed a person.During the retreat of tens of thousands of people, several soldiers lost their lives due to the betrayal of spies.When mourning them, Xenophon said: "They died, but they did not stain war and friendship." What a short tribute, but anyone can read the deep affection contained in it. Inscribed on the stone tablet of Thermopylae are these words: Tell the Spartans, passers-by, that we are buried here in accordance with their holy decrees. It is clear at a glance that this sentence is definitely not from the mouth of modern scholars who are engaged in the study of inscriptions. Although my student's attainments in diction are not deep, he still pays attention to this difference and has the ability to distinguish those books.Otherwise, it shows that I am doing something wrong. When he heard the eloquence of Demosthenes, he knew at once that the man was an orator.When he read Cicero, he could immediately guess that the man was a lawyer. Compared with the works of modern people, Emile prefers to read the works of the ancients. The reason is very simple, because the life of the ancients is closer to nature.From ancient times to the present, human rationality has not achieved much development, and what is gained must be lost. All people are the same. We spend our time learning other people's ideas, but we don't have time to cultivate our own.In this way, we learn more and more knowledge, but have less and less rationality. I took him to the theater not to let him learn much from the theater, but to cultivate his aesthetic taste.The aesthetic taste of all the characters in the play cannot escape a thinking eye. I want to tell him: "What we need to learn is not the so-called allegories and proverbs in the drama." Drama is not used to teach people the truth, but to entertain the public. An art form that touches the soul while having fun. To study drama is to study poetry.If he was interested in poetry, he would love to learn its languages: Latin, Greek, and Italian.Studying these languages ​​is not only a very enjoyable thing, but also will benefit him throughout his life. With his current age and environment, any beautiful thing can make him intoxicated.So, for him, the study of these languages ​​will be a wonderful journey. How much would Emile feel if he and a child at school were to read "Aniit (Book 4)" at the same time, or the poems of Tibulus, or Plato's "Symposium" difference!The child was indifferent to those contents that made Emile feel emotional. Put down your books, poor boy!I hope you find joy in learning the language instead of burying your head in it.In addition to being an emotional person, you also need to be a wise person. Besides, I don't care whether he can make achievements in the study of language, literature or poetry, and even if he fails to achieve anything, I will not accuse him.The point of my education for him is not to make him understand how deeply these things are used for entertainment. My chief object was to let him, while feeling beautiful things, invest his affections in them, lest his natural inclinations should be perverted to make money a means of happiness. As I mentioned earlier, the so-called aesthetics is nothing more than the art of appreciating some trivial gadgets. Since these gadgets can increase the joy of our life, we might as well pay more attention to it.Appreciation of these gadgets can allow us to develop the ability to discover the beauty of the things around us, and then use this beauty to enrich our lives. Moral goodness comes from the depths of the human heart, so what I am talking about is not this kind of goodness, but a perceptual beauty that casts aside personal prejudices and can bring people real sensory enjoyment. Time passed day by day, and we still hadn't found Sophie.It was precisely because I didn't want him to find this woman prematurely, so I took him there to find her even though I knew she wasn't there. If she doesn't show up now, Emile will regard another woman as her, and when he finds out that he is wrong, it will be too late. The time had come for Emile to leave Paris.Farewell, Paris, this world-famous but smoky, bustling city, this city that deprives women of their virginity and corrupts the virtues of men!I'm going to take him to find true love and happiness.The farther we are from the city, the faster we can reach our goal.