Chapter 30 6. Emile on Travel: Expanding the Inner Vision of the Soul

Emile has not seen Sophie for two days.That morning, I walked into his room with a letter and said to him solemnly: "What would you do if someone informed you that Sophie was dead?" Together, they looked at me silently, eyes full of blankness. Seeing his nervousness, I said to him gently: "Don't worry, Sophie is living a good life. We will visit her tonight. Now, let's go for a walk and chat by the way." Happiness, Emile, is the state of life that all sentient beings desire.This is the first desire that nature gave us, and the only one that lasts a lifetime.But where is happiness?No one knows the answer.Some people have been looking for it all their lives, but they never found it until they died.

If you indulge your desires, sooner or later you will become a slave to them. What a pitiful situation this is!The more you focus on satisfying your desires, the harder it will be for your desires to come true.You also want to maintain inner peace, but you don't know how.You will not be a good person if you are always giving in to your desires. Assuming a situation, no matter whether Sophie is married or not, whether you are married or not, whether her parents are willing to betroth her to you or not, and whether she loves or hates you, you have to stick to her , forcibly took her as his own.

If this is the case, please tell me, if a person can do whatever he wants without controlling his greed, what evil things can he not do? Emile, you can't be happy until you have courage to fight for it; you can't have virtue until a hard struggle.Strength is the foundation and source of virtue.We often say that God is kind, but no one says that God is virtuous, because it is easy for God to do good deeds without struggle. Our need for virtue comes with desire, and the time has come for you to recognize virtue. A virtuous person knows how to use his conscience and reason to control his emotions. Only in this way can he abide by his duty as a human being and never cross the moral bottom line no matter what the situation is.Your current freedom is not real freedom, just like a slave who has not received orders from his master for the time being, your freedom is just an illusion.

Such freedom is very dangerous, and now is the time for you to fight for total freedom.You must learn to be your own master, let your actions obey your heart, Emile, only in this way can you become a virtuous person. Now your first desire has arisen, and it is the only one you have right now.If you can take your manliness and control it firmly, it will not breed any more desires, so it will be your last desire.With no desire, you can devote yourself wholeheartedly to the pursuit of virtue. Only by concentrating on things of eternal beauty can one live a happy life while remaining wise.Choose your desires, and let the fulfillment of your calling take precedence over the fulfillment of your desires.

The law of need should be introduced into moral behavior. You should know that what you gain is what you lose, and face what you lose or what you can't get, and don't let the changes in life disturb your thinking. Only in this way can you face the teasing of fate calmly and enjoy a happy life; only then can you maintain a sensible mind in the midst of all kinds of desires.If you have to give up the things you love, you don't feel pain because you know that you rule them, not be ruled by them. Life is so unpredictable, nothing is ours forever.Realize this, and you will not be overjoyed at the gain of false things, nor weep and sad at the loss of those false things.Once you make this shift in your thinking, you will benefit greatly.

Pain is the eternal theme of life, it is so real and long-lasting, and happiness is just the miserly charity of fate, it is so illusory and short-lived.You can see through superficial prejudices or claims of great value to life at a glance. You can enjoy life without worry, and you can face death without fear.For others, death means the end of life, so they are full of fear of death.Your view is completely opposite to theirs. You are deeply aware of the nothingness of life and feel that death is a more real existence than life. "To the wicked, death means the end of life; to the good, death means the beginning of life."

Emile listened to me carefully, her expression becoming more and more disturbed.He has already expected that I will put him into more rigorous training. "What should I do?" he said with his head down. "What should I do?" I said firmly, "The best choice is to leave Sophie." You and Sophie are 20 years old and 18 years old.Your current age is only suitable for dating, but not yet for marriage.Think about it, you are still children yourself, how can you bear the responsibility of raising children? You should know that too many women have damaged their health and shortened their lives by marrying and having children too early.Due to their frail health, their children are also sick.When a mother is pregnant, the child in her womb will deprive her of some of the nutrients in her body, and in the end both mother and child will suffer from malnutrition.

Tell me about yourself.Do you know what your responsibilities are as a husband and father?After getting married, you have to take on the responsibility of a family, and subsequently, you will also become a member of the country, but do you know how to be a citizen? "Do you know what government, law, and country are? Do you know what it takes to live? Do you know what you have to defend with your life? You think you know everything, but you know nothing .Before stepping into society, you should first determine what kind of status you are suitable for." After listening to my words, he fell silent.After that, he looked up, looked at me firmly and said, "When are we going?"

"A week from now," I replied. I also gave Sophie some comfort.I assured her that Emile, her lover, or rather her husband, was absolutely faithful to her, and that he was only leaving her temporarily.As long as her feelings for him are also single-minded, I promise her that they will get married in two years. Do young people really need to travel?There is so much debate about this issue.Or, we can put it another way: Is it enough for a truly educated person to know his own country?I have always insisted that understanding a country does not mean understanding all mankind. I admit that traveling is good for young people, but I am not saying that all young people are suitable for traveling.Only those with a strong will are fit to travel, and there are very few of them.They are not tempted by evil things or evil people, but learn from their evil.

Traveling allows a person to develop according to his nature, and based on this, he can judge people as good or bad.A person who has traveled the world, the appearance he has just returned will be his appearance in the future, and he will not change much in his life. If after the tour, not only did he not improve at all, but he became even worse than before, it meant that he learned to do bad things during the tour. Those young men who are not well behaved or have received good education are easily infected by the bad customs of the countries they travel, and turn a blind eye to the good customs.

Young people who grew up in a good family atmosphere are inherently kind, coupled with acquired training, they travel with the purpose of improving themselves, and when they come back, they will become wiser and smarter than before .My Emile was, of course, one of such young men. Everything that must be done through reason has its own laws.As one of the means of education, traveling also has rules.If the purpose of traveling is to play, then traveling is no different from running around; if the purpose of traveling is to receive education, then this statement is too illusory and broad. Traveling is worthless without a clear purpose.I hope that young people can set a clear and specific goal for themselves when traveling, and then work towards this goal, so that they can learn everything related to it. Emile has already studied the material relationship between people and things and the moral relationship between people, and now he will start to study the civil relationship between him and his compatriots. He will first study the various governments and their natures, then study the government where he lives, and decide whether he is fit to live under it. As a citizen, everyone has some inviolable rights.Emile is a person who can make independent judgments based on his own reason, so as long as he wants, he can cancel the contract with this society and live in other countries. The reason why Emile has always followed the contract made by his ancestors and society at the age of reason is because he has not left the place where he lives. Just as he has the right to refuse to inherit his father's property, so he has the right to refuse to live in this country.The place of birth is nothing more than a gift from nature, and he can choose not to accept this gift. However, according to the relationship between rights and obligations, it is impossible for everyone to enjoy freedom without any risk. If he wants to obtain the protection of a certain country, he must abide by the laws of that country. I said to Emile: You have grown up so much that you have never been out of my guidance. Now you have reached the age of making your own decisions.The law will protect you to deal with some things by yourself and let you be your own master. "You want to start your own family, this kind of idea is good, but before that, you must think clearly, what kind of person do you want to be? How will you spend your life? What will you rely on to support you family and yourself?" While we can't talk too much about things like how to make ends meet, it's a very real issue before us. "Are you willing to live by those who are morally corrupt? Are you willing to be bound by civil relations that make you a slave to others? Are you willing to be immersed in a moral system that can only be escaped from the persecution of gangsters by becoming a gangster?" Then, I told Emile how to deal with the assets.I told him that he can do business, manage money, or engage in politics, but these methods have great risks, which may make him dependent on others and adjust his behavior and concepts according to other people's wishes or prejudices. Of course, he can also choose to be a soldier and fight with those who have no grievances or enmities with him.But being a soldier will not only not make people independent, but will enhance people's dependence. It is conceivable that Emile was not interested in any of these professions.He said: Why should I do this?Have I completely forgotten all my previous skills? Have I lost my hands?Am I out of strength?Am I unable to work?What do the professions you mentioned have anything to do with me?And those people who are prejudiced, why do I have to contact them? "I only know that integrity and kindness are the greatest virtues of a person. I will guide my behavior based on this, and then live with my beloved and use my own labor to support my family. This is what I pursue. A happy life. No matter how big the world is, I only need a small piece of land, and then I can farm it with Sophie and live a carefree life.” Yes, my child, this is the life many people aspire to.A wise man can make a good living with a wife and a little land.Such wealth does not sound like much, but not everyone can get it.The wife is the rarest thing, luckily you have got it, now, let's focus on the land. Dear Emile, where shall we find such a land that belongs to us?The world is big, but we have no right to point to a piece of land and say: 'This land belongs to me. 'Perhaps, it is easy for us to find a good place to get rich, but it is difficult for us to find a place where we can survive without wealth. We don't know where we can live a free life that is not dependent on others and will not be violated by others.Still, I'm glad you have such a plan, let's work as hard as we can towards that goal. Let me give you a suggestion: From now on, take two years to travel with me. After the tour, you can choose a suitable place in Europe and live with your family, so as to avoid Get into those troubles I just mentioned. "If we succeed, you can live a happy life, and this wonderful time can also color your memory; if we fail, you can also dispel those unrealistic fantasies, and know that setbacks are This principle is inevitable, so that I can act in accordance with the laws of nature in the future." We finally came back from our travels, and now, Emile has returned to Sophie's side.His heart was as gentle as before, but his mind was wiser than before.His country draws on, and is well informed by, his analysis of the pros and cons of government and his studies of morality. In the course of his travels he made acquaintance with virtuous men of various countries, with whom he could continue to correspond if he wished.I wouldn't disagree with him, after all, keeping in touch with people in distant countries is a good way to avoid breeding prejudice. During the two years of traveling, we visited several large countries in Europe and some small countries around them.During this period, Emile learned two or three new languages, and visited the natural scenery, political system, art form and characters of various countries.Afterwards, Emile began to grow impatient, and clamored to go home, saying that the time limit for his travels had come. I said to him: "Emile, don't forget the purpose of our trip. You have come into contact with so many people and things, and you have also conducted research on them, but what is the result of your research? What do you have after you go back?" What are you going to do?" Unless my method is wrong, otherwise, he will definitely give this answer: I will strictly abide by your teachings, and never submit to anyone or anything except the laws of nature and the authority of the law.After such a long period of research, I feel more and more that the more people pursue independence, the farther away they are from freedom, and finally become slaves instead. In order to avoid being hurt, people integrate themselves into various groups and dare not go beyond the threshold.Gradually, they found that their desire to pursue freedom became weaker and weaker, but their desire to rely on others became stronger and stronger. In my opinion, there is no need for people to deliberately pursue freedom, because we are already free, as long as we defend our freedom from being violated. My teacher, you told me to follow the law of need, I have been doing according to your teaching, and I live very freely and happily.I don't feel depressed when fate doesn't give me what I need, and I can maintain my life without depending on anyone. During this period of traveling, I also thought about this question. There really is such a place in this world where we can live freely without being controlled by our own greed and bound by other people's prejudices. Do you want the life you want? After researching for such a long time, I found that my own thinking is itself contradictory.Even if we can live without relying on anyone, we have to rely on the ground under our feet.Our dependence on the land is as unalterable a fact as that of the satyrs on the forest.The two concepts of domination and freedom are diametrically opposed. I don't make too many demands on what my parents left me.I don't want to have anything to do with the property. If I can inherit it, I won't move a cent. If I can't inherit it, I will feel relaxed. I don't think too much about how to preserve my property, I only follow the instructions of my heart, whether poor or rich, I will not lose my freedom.My freedom is not restricted by any region, no matter which corner of the world I go to, I can always maintain my freedom. Nothing, prejudice or restraint can control my actions, because I only act according to the law of need.From the day I was born, I have been practicing this law, until the day I die, I will not abandon this law. What kind of social status do you have, what kind of environment do you live in, what does it matter?No matter where I live, if there are people, I will stay in my family's home as if I am alone.As long as I am an independent being and capable of earning a living, I can keep myself alive. But I will never allow myself to be enslaved by money, otherwise I would rather throw it all away.As long as my hands are still there, I will not starve to death; if my hands are no longer able to work, I can only rely on other people's support; if no one supports me, I can only choose to die. Even if someone would help me, I would rather die, because death is only a law of nature, not a punishment of nature for the poor.Whenever death comes, I can take it easy. My father, this is the life I planned for myself.I will no longer have any desires, so I will live independently like God.I am very satisfied with my current situation, and I don't have to fight against fate anymore. "There is only one chain that binds me now, but I am willing to be bound by it, and I am proud of this chain. However, now that I have Sophie, I am a completely free person." Emile, I am very happy to hear such words from your mouth. Your thinking is completely grown up, and I have learned about your character and sentiment from it.Unexpectedly, you are already such a selfless person at such an age. In fact, before we started our tour, I had already thought that such a result would be achieved.I know that after you have examined so many social institutions, you cannot trust them blindly, they do not deserve your trust at all. Don't try to find freedom under the protection of the law.You can see, where is there any law at all?Who will respect the authority of the law?There are people everywhere who use the banner of the law to seek their own interests.There are, however, laws of nature and laws of order, which men take to heart by their conscience and reason. Some wise minds have suggested that these laws should be substituted for the laws, and that by obeying them man would be truly free.Freedom is not given by the government, but comes from the heart of people.A free man is free wherever he goes.A villain, no matter where he goes, he is bound. A bad man will feel enslaved even in unassuming Geneva; a free man will not feel bound even in luxurious Paris. When I talk to you about civic duty, you ask me where is my country?Maybe I will be stumped by you as soon as I hear this question, but after a little thought, I can give the answer.Even if you don't live in a certain country, you have to live in one place.It is impossible for a man to get rid of the phantom of the government and the law to live an unfettered life. As long as individual interests can give him the same protection as the public will, as long as social violence can protect him from private violence, as long as those evil things make him understand that he should do more good things, as long as the existing social system can cause him to hate Unfair resentment, so what does it matter if people don't keep the social contract? Emile, no matter where a person lives, he will more or less get the favor bestowed on him by the place where he lives.No matter what kind of social environment a person lives in, he can feel the most precious thing of human beings-virtue. A person who lives in the forest can act completely according to his own nature, he has no need to fight, and he doesn't need to contain any emotions.He may do good, but he will never be a virtuous person, because he has not fought his desires. For a person living in society, as long as he recognizes the appearance of order, it is enough to make him yearn for social life.Although many people do things for themselves under the banner of serving the public welfare, he is definitely not such a person.He has learned how to overcome his own desires and to serve the public good at the expense of his own. Therefore, it is wrong to say that the law has not brought him any benefits, at least now he has the determination and courage to uphold justice when facing bad people; it is also wrong to say that the law has not brought him the slightest freedom, at least now he understands How to control your emotions. So, Emile, it is irresponsible for you to say, 'It doesn't matter where I live', and loving the place where you were born and raised is one of the tasks you must fulfill. Everyone around you helped you when you were very young, so when you grow up, give back as much as you can.The best state is that you live in the same place as them, if not, you should at least let them know where you live so that they can find you when they need it. I am not encouraging you to live in a big city.On the contrary, I prefer that you can go to the countryside and be with the countryside, where people's consciences have not been corrupted, and their lives are the most peaceful, simple, and natural among all human lives. A kind-hearted man does not necessarily do good when he is in the city, because fighting liars and treacherous people will take up most of his thoughts.The city never excludes those idlers. These people have only one purpose in the city, and that is to pursue wealth. I think the population should flow in the opposite direction, from the city to the countryside.Actively leaving the city and retiring to the countryside is making a contribution to the city, because there are too many people in the city, and the large number of people is the cause of various ills in the city. If they can bring the rich life, colorful civilization and love of nature in the city to the countryside, their contribution will be even greater.Thinking of this, my heart surged: After you and Sophie go to the countryside, how much fun will be added to the life of the villagers! "I seem to see such a scene: lively streets, fertile fields, laughter everywhere, people's faces are full of joy of harvest. The villagers will send you the most sincere blessings, because without you If they joined, they would not have the good life they have now."