Chapter 35 Emile (Volume Five) Section Eight

Yu built the two cities of Tars and Angqier with one day's work, and now Yu died. According to you, which tombstone is meaningful?Our inscriptions, although there are a lot of eloquent inscriptions, are actually only suitable for flattering villains.People in ancient times described people according to their original features, so it can be seen that they were indeed human beings.When Xenophon recalled the few soldiers who were betrayed and sacrificed by spies during the mass retreat of ten thousand people, he praised them and said: "They died, but they left no stain in war and friendship." This is what he said.However, please think about it, in such a brief sentence of praise, what kind of emotion is filled in the author's heart.He who does not see its beauty is so pitiful!

Inscribed on a stone tablet in Thermopylae are these words: Passerby, go and tell the Spartans that we lie here by his holy decree. It can be seen at a glance that this sentence did not come from the hand of a scholar studying the inscription. Although my student regards how to phrase and speak as a matter of indifference, if he does not notice these differences at once, if these differences have no effect on his choice of reading, it will show that I am doing something wrong here. up.When he was fascinated by the eloquence of Demosthenes, he would say "this man is an orator"; when reading Cicero, he would say "this man is a lawyer".

Generally speaking, the only reason why Emile prefers to read the works of the ancients to the works of our present is that the ancients were born earlier and were therefore closer to nature, and their genius was more excellent.In spite of what La Motte and Father Trasson may say, human reason has made no real progress, because what we gain in one respect we lose in another; Starting from the same point, we spend time learning other people's thinking, and have no time to exercise our own thinking. As a result, although we learn a lot of knowledge, we cultivate less intelligence.Like our arms, our minds are conditioned to use tools for everything instead of doing things by ourselves.According to Fontenelle, all the controversies between the ancients and the present boil down to this: whether the trees of the past were taller than the trees of the present.If the matter of farming has changed, it is not wrong to raise this issue.

After I had made Emile trace the sources of belles-lettres, I would tell him by what means modern compilers have accumulated their knowledge; newspapers, translations, dictionaries, he would look at them all, and then They are shelved.To amuse him, I also send him to the Academy to hear how people talk nonsense; I will make him see that each of them is more useful if he studies alone than with the whole group. Study better; and I leave him to draw his own conclusions, from the above points, of the usefulness of all those splendid institutions. I took him to the theatre, not to study the meaning of the play, but to study people's preferences; because it is in the theater that people's preferences are most nakedly displayed before a thinking man. .I will say to him, "Never mind the proverbs and allegories in the play; that is not what we are here to learn." The purpose of acting is not to express truth, but to amuse; It is impossible to learn how to please and move the heart so thoroughly as here.The study of drama necessarily leads to the further study of poetry; the ends of both are exactly the same.How gladly would he learn its languages: Greek, Latin, and Italian, if he had the slightest interest in poetry!The study of these languages ​​will give him infinite pleasure, and will do him nothing but good; and when he is at such an age and in such surroundings, and is so fascinated by all the beauty that touches his heart, he will You will find it enjoyable to study these languages.Please imagine that here is my Emile, and there is a playboy at school, and they both read the fourth book of "Aniit", or read the poems of Tibulus, or read Plato's "Banquet", please think about how different their feelings will be!What seemed so touching to Emile had no effect on the child at all! "Ah, dear young man! Wait a minute, put away your book, I see you are too excited; for, I hope, the language of love will delight you, not intoxicate you. Of course you want to be a person with feelings, but you also have to be a person with wisdom. If you can only be one of these two kinds of people, then you are nothing.”Besides, it does not seem to me to matter whether he succeeds in the study of dead languages ​​and of literature and poetry.If he doesn't know anything about these things, he can't do any harm because I don't teach him these things for the purpose of making him study these idle things.

My principal object is, while teaching him to recognize and love beauty in all its forms, to center his inclinations and interests in it, to prevent his natural taste from changing its Property as his means of seeking happiness, because this means is at his side.I have said before that the so-called aesthetics is nothing but the art of appreciating trivial things, and it is true; Thoughts are not useless; through them we can learn to enrich our lives with the true beauty of what is within our reach.I am not speaking here of moral beauty, which depends on the good dispositions of one's mind; I am speaking only of sensual beauty without prejudice, of true sensuality. .

In order to better express my thoughts, please allow me to leave aside Emile for a moment, because his pure and healthy heart cannot be used as a measure of others; let me therefore find a better one in my own heart. Obvious and more in keeping with the temperament of the reader. There are some social professions that seem to alter human nature, to recast those who practice them as good or bad.A coward in Navarre's regiment becomes a warrior.It is not only in the army that one develops this kind of community spirit, and the influence of community spirit on a person is not necessarily good.I have thought a hundred times with dread that if I had the misfortune to be in such a profession in any country today, I would almost inevitably become a tyrant tomorrow, a man of malpractice and murder. Man becomes a danger to kings, an exclusive enemy of humanity, justice, and virtue.

Similarly, if I am a rich man, I must have taken all the necessary means to become rich in order to become a rich man: I am arrogant, I only care about myself, and I am ruthless to everyone. I look on indifferently at the sufferings of the lower classes; and I call the poor lower classes because I want to make it impossible for others to understand that I was once of their class.In the end, I will use my wealth to enjoy myself to my liking; so far as I am, I am like everyone else. In terms of enjoyment, the difference between me and others is: I am sensual but not vain, and I want to focus on comfortable enjoyment without showing off flashy appearance.I am even ashamed to show my wealth to people, and I seem to hear people who are not as rich as me envious of me all the time, whispering to the people around them: "Look at that fellow, he is afraid that people will not see him." Very rich."

Of the many riches that cover the earth, I shall seek what I like best and can best possess.To this end, my wealth will be used first to buy leisure and liberty, and secondly to buy health, if health can be bought with money.Since temperance of desires is necessary in order to buy health, and without health there is no real joy in life, so I will temper my lusts. I want at all times to be as close to nature as possible, in order to comfort the senses that nature has given me, because I am deeply convinced that the more her pleasures are combined with mine, the more real my pleasures will be.When I choose an object to imitate, I will always use it as a model; in my hobby, I will first prefer it; in aesthetics, I must consult it; It adds flavor to food that can be served to the table with as little hands-on cooking as possible.Watch out for gimmicks, I'm going straight to the delicious pleasure.Even if I let go of my stomach and eat it, the restaurant owner can't make me rich. He can't use poison as yam to rip me off; Carrion from far lands is never placed; and no trouble is spared to gratify my carnal pleasures, for such trouble is a pleasure in itself, and can greatly increase the pleasure we expect.If I want to taste a dish that is far away, I will, like Apicius, go to the end of the world and taste it, and not have the dish brought to me, because even if it is brought It is the most delicious dish, but there is always a lack of seasoning, which we cannot serve together with the dish, and it is also impossible for any chef to mix: this seasoning is the product of that seasoning. The local flavor of growing vegetables.

For the same reason, I don't follow the example of those who always find other places more comfortable than where they are now, so they always dry against the seasons, making the terroir and seasons inconsistent; To spend summer, to spend winter in summer, to go to Italy to enjoy the cool, and to go to the north to keep warm.From their point of view, they thought they had escaped the harshness of the seasons, but they didn't know how to prepare for them when they went to those places, and they would feel even more uncomfortable with the harshness of the seasons.As for me, I will stay in one place, and do exactly the opposite of what they do: I will enjoy to the full all the pleasing beauties of a season, and the peculiar flavors of a place.My inclinations are many, my habits are different, yet they are always natural; I will spend the summer in Naples and the winter in Petersburg; sometimes I will lie on my side in the tower I breathe the fresh air in the inaccessible caves of Rand, and sometimes I am tired from dancing, so I go to see the bright Crystal Palace out of breath.

As to the furnishing of my table and room, I will express the changes of the seasons by the most modest ornaments, and I will enjoy all the beauty of a season; the season is not over, and I will never enjoy it in advance. The beauty of the next season.Disrupting the order of nature will only bring troubles instead of fun; when nature is unwilling to give us something, and we insist on asking for it, it will give it reluctantly and complain Yes, such things are of bad quality and tasteless, neither nourishing nor palatable, and there is nothing so bland as fruit that comes to market early; Stove and greenhouse cultivation, with the result that inferior vegetables and fruits are placed on their tables throughout the year.Though I have many cherries in the frost, or a few amber watermelons in the depths of winter, when my mouth needs neither moisture nor flavor, I eat cherries or watermelons, What's the point?Is it comfortable to eat hot fried chestnuts in the dog days?Could it be that the earth provided me with so many gooseberries, strawberries, and all kinds of fresh fruit without my effort, and instead of eating them, I chose to eat hot chestnuts just out of the pan?To fill the mantelpiece with cultivated greenery and dull, unscented flowers during the first month, instead of adorning winter, deprives spring of its beauty; The first-blooming violets did not allow themselves to peek at the growth of the germ, and cried out joyfully: "Men, don't be discouraged, nature is still alive!"

In order to manage my life well, I have only a few servants.I have said this before, but it is good to say it again now.A burgher is better served by one servant than a duke surrounded by ten servants.I've thought about it a hundred times: If a liar is next to me at dinner, I can drink as much as I want; on the other hand, if I'm ostentatious, twenty people will call "Pour the wine!" Then I can quench my thirst.If you want someone else to do everything for you, it will be done very badly.I don't ask others to go to the store to buy things for me, I want to do the shopping myself; I go by myself, so that my servants and merchants will not be hooked up, and I can choose better and cheaper prices; I can also relax by myself , to have a look at the scene outside; it is both interesting and sometimes informative to do so; finally, I can take the opportunity to go for a walk; in short, it is beneficial to do so.We are bored because we spend too much time in motion; if we move often, life will not be boring.A porter or footman can't always convey your meaning well; I don't like them to come between me and the others, and I don't like to be always tinkling about the streets in a buggy, as if As if afraid of being next to someone.A man's two legs are his two horses, and he can go outside at any time when he walks as a carriage; he knows better than anyone whether the two horses are tired or sick, and he is never afraid that the driver will use the excuse that the horses are sick in order to be lazy Even if you encounter thousands of obstacles on the road, you will not be in a hurry, nor will you have to stop because the horse cannot walk when you want to go fast.Finally, since we ourselves can do our own affairs better than anyone else, even if we surpassed Alexander in power and Crisus in riches, we should only do so when we really cannot do it ourselves. Ask others for help. I don't want to build a palace as my residence, because there are thousands of rooms in the building, and the night sleeps only eight feet, and the common room cannot be counted as a certain person; the room of each of my servants is like my neighbor's. Like the room, it has nothing to do with me.Although the Orientals are indulgent, their living rooms are very simple.They see life as a journey, and their home as a reverse journey.This principle, of course, does not work for those rich people who are trying to live forever; however, I have another reason that will lead me to adopt the approach of the Orientals.I think that if I put a lot of things in one place, it means that I am not allowed to go to other places, and it is tantamount to imprisoning me in what I call a palace.The world itself is a pretty palace: if a rich man wants to enjoy, can't he enjoy it everywhere? "Where there is good fortune is my hometown." He should take this sentence as his motto.Wherever money is omnipotent, that place is his home; wherever he can put his safe, that place is his country, as Philip said, no matter where, as long as his horse carries If a mule of silver can get in, it can be his home.Why do we shut ourselves in a few walls and a few doors, as if never going beyond the threshold!If a pestilence or war or insurrection should compel me to leave one place for another, I should find an inn ready for me before I reached that place.Since I have traveled all over the world and there are hostels prepared for me everywhere, why should I build a hostel myself?Why do I have to be so busy, let go of the blessings of the present, and insist on waiting until later?A person who can't live with himself everywhere can't live a happy life.Therefore, Empedocles reproaches Agrirento, saying that on the one hand they pile up pleasures, as if they had only one day to live, and on the other hand they build there, as if they were As if to live forever. Besides, although the house is large, there are not many people living in it, and there are not many things to store, so what use is it to me?My furniture is as simple as my hobbies. Even though I love reading and looking at pictures, I don't want to paint rooms or study rooms.I know that the collection of calligraphy and painting can never be finished. If it is incomplete, it will be more sad than having nothing.At this point, wealth is the source of pain, and there is no collector who does not have this experience.When you experience this, you stop collecting things.If you know how to use your treasure, you will not show it to others. Gambling isn't for the rich, it's for the idle; and my hobbies are so varied that I don't have time for such bad things.If I were a lonely poor man, I would never gamble, at most play an occasional game of chess, which is already too much.If I am rich, I gamble even more rarely, and when I do, I only play small bets lest I or others feel bad about winning or losing too much.A man has no motive to gamble when he is rich, and therefore would not take it seriously if his mind had not been corrupted.It is nothing for a rich man to win a little money, but he will be annoyed when he loses money; in the end, the money won in small bets will be lost in the end, and usually the loser wins less; therefore However, if he understands this truth well, he will never develop a strong interest in this kind of stuff that is unlucky nine times out of ten.Some people want to try their luck in vain, so they should try their luck in more exciting things; the bias of fate can be seen in small bets as well as in big ones.The reason why a person likes to gamble is because of his greed and the boredom of life; this hobby is only for those who are empty-hearted and useless; I feel that as long as I have a noble sentiment and a wealth of knowledge, I will never Will take such a thing to kill my time.A thinking person does not like to gamble, because if he likes to gamble, he will lose the habit of using his thoughts, or make him use his thoughts for meaningless things.One (perhaps the only) result of being absorbed in learning is that he can somewhat kill this greedy desire; and if he gambles, it is to experiment with the uses of gambling, not to be addicted to it.As for me, I want to fight against gambling among gamblers, and I enjoy seeing them lose more than I win their money myself. I am the same in my private life as in my intercourse with the world.I want my wealth to give me comfort in every way without making it appear that they are not my equal.Miscellaneous decorations are uncomfortable in every way.In order to maintain my freedom as much as possible in the crowd, I wear clothes that make people of all statuses seem to be suitable for my position, without being special, so that I can save myself from putting on a show, which can be done in a bar. Hanging out with ordinary people, you can also deal with nobles in the court.By doing so, I can better control my own actions, and thus enjoy the pleasures of people of all social ranks.It is said that there is a kind of woman who shuts the door of anyone in ordinary clothes, and they only entertain people with fine clothes; if this is the case, I should spend my time elsewhere; but if this kind of If the women are indeed young and handsome, I will occasionally dress up and go to them, but at most I will only hang out with them for one night. The only connection between me and the people I associate with is: mutual friendship, sympathy, and sympathy; I will associate with them as an adult and not as a rich person; Pleasure mixed with the poison of stakes.If my riches had kept me a little philanthropic, I would have served others extensively, and done them good; I would have surrounded myself with a company of companions and not followers, friends instead of patrons; I Hope they see me as a hospitable host rather than a benefactor.Independence and equality made my relations with them very sincere and frank; in this relation there was no element of obligation and interest, and the only laws governed by it were interest and friendship. We cannot buy a friend or a lover with money.As long as you are willing to spend money, it is easy to get a woman, but you cannot get a faithful woman in this way.Not only can love not be bought and sold, but money will inevitably kill love.Any man, even if he is the loveliest of mankind, if he loves with money, this alone is enough to prevent him from being loved by women for long.Before long, after spending a lot of time, he ends up raising a woman for someone else, or more precisely, another man will get his money; in this double relationship composed of money and adultery, neither Love, nor honor and true pleasure; as the greedy woman, who is both unfaithful and poor, was treated by the rascal he supported, she will treat the fool who gave her money, so she is very concerned about this Both of them have no love at all.Being generous to those we love is a fine thing, as long as it's not making a deal.I think there is only one way to satisfy this desire for a woman without injuring love, and that is: Give her all your estates, and she will support you.What needs to be considered is what kind of women we can't take this approach.Some people say: "I own Les, not Les owns me", this sentence is really meaningless.Possession, if it is not the mutual possession of the two parties, is equivalent to no possession, at most it is possession of her body, not her person.There is no morality in love, so why bother to make a fuss about possession or not?Finding a woman is the easiest thing.In this respect, a mule driver is much happier than a millionaire. well!If a man can see this evil, when he gets what he wants, he will find that it is very far from what he hoped for!Why be so eager to corrupt a person's innocence?A young man is worthy of our protection, and if he takes the first wrong step, he will inevitably fall into the abyss of misery, from which he cannot escape except death.So why should we make him a sacrifice?There is no other reason for it, but human animality, vanity, stupidity and fallacies are at work.Such a pleasure is in itself unnatural; it springs from human prejudices, from the basest prejudices that begin with a man's self-denial.When a man feels himself to be the worst, he is afraid of being compared with anyone, and he wants to be first in everything in order to lessen his hatefulness.Let's see if those who love this momentary pleasure are likable, if they are young people who can forgive even their obstinacy.No, a man with character and talent is not afraid that his mistress is a seasoned lover, and he will boldly say to her: "You know that pleasure is nothing, and my heart will tell you, You don't know what fun is." An old pervert whose body has been emptied by wine and sex is neither likable nor considerate to others, but also thick-skinned and shameless. Therefore, as long as any woman knows what kind of person is cute, she will not love His; this old womanizer knows how to make up for his shortcomings by making an ignorant young girl hot while she's inexperienced.His last resort was to take advantage of the novelty of the event to win the favor of the other party.This, no doubt, was the secret motive of this absurdity; but he was quite mistaken, for, just as he could excite the other's natural lust, he would arouse the other's natural terror.What had been neglected in this foolish attempt of his was that the other's natural terror would prompt her to assert her rights.A girl who betrays herself, even though she has committed herself to another, in committing herself to the man of her choice will make comparisons, and he is afraid that she will compare him with others.Therefore, the happiness he bought was in vain, and he had to be disgusted by the other party. As for me, although my wealth has changed me, there is one thing I will never change.Even if I change to the point where I lose all sense of benevolence, righteousness and morality, I can at least maintain some sense of aesthetics, conscience and prudence. With these, I can prevent myself from being fooled by others, and I will not be judged by others. my fortune to pursue an empty dream; and prevent me from wasting my money and energy in teaching children how to deceive and laugh at me.If I were young, I would seek the pleasures of youth; and since I want to enjoy as many physical pleasures as possible, I cannot pursue them as a rich man.If I were still what I am, it would be another matter, I would be careful to pursue only those pleasures befitting a man of my age, I would develop hobbies I can appreciate, and abandon all that must be given to me. I bring a hobby of pain.I will never allow my gray beard to be ridiculed by young girls, and I will never use my dull warmth to provoke their disgust and make myself a laughing stock. Saying obscenely that I was so obscenely sadistic to them.If my habits are not well corrected, so that my original lust becomes a need, I may also satisfy this need, but I will feel very ashamed in my heart.I want to eliminate lust from my needs, I want to choose the best lover I can and love her, I can't allow my weakness to develop, and above all, I can only let one person know I have this weakness.Even if we don't get pleasure in this aspect, human life has its pleasure in other aspects.In our vain pursuit of fleeting pleasures, we lose the pleasures that always accompany us.We must change our interests as we grow older, just as we cannot act contrary to the seasons of the four seasons, we also cannot act contrary to the size of our age; To seek pleasure too much will consume our life and keep us from enjoying it to the full. Ordinary people seldom feel depressed, their lives are very tense; their entertainment is not many, but it is very interesting; after many hard days, they feel very comfortable to spend a few days happily of.After a long labor, take a short break so that they feel that their work is very interesting.For rich people, the most annoying thing is that their life is dull.In spite of all the money spent in pleasures, in spite of the multitude of people vying to please their hearts, they are bored to death; they try to escape the boredom of life, yet they are always unhappy. , very uncomfortable; especially women, who neither know how to live nor how to find pleasure, live in melancholy; for them, the boredom of life has become a terrible disease, which sometimes makes them lose Rationality, and in the end, loss of life.In my opinion, there is no one more terrible than the fate of a beautiful Parisian lady; A sluggish woman, doubly deprived of her manhood, while he calls himself a lucky man, is actually living a long, miserable life that no one can bear. The reason why we pay attention to propriety, fashion, and propriety is to adore luxury and appearance, and the result is that our lives are always so lifeless and uniform.Trying to make it look like we're having fun is just useless: no fun in ourselves or in others.Ordinary people are most afraid of being laughed at by others, but instead they are laughed at everywhere, making them extremely distressed.The reason why a person is ridiculous is entirely because of his rigid approach; a person who is good at changing circumstances and interests will erase yesterday's impression today, and he seems to have no such person in the eyes of others; however, He is happy because he does his own thing every moment and in everything.I also want to adopt this method uniquely and permanently. When I get to one environment, I live the life of that environment without asking what other circumstances are like; As if irrelevant.Just as I am a common man among common men, so when I am in the field I am like a farmer, talking about crop work without making jokes in front of the peasants.I don't go to the country to live the life of the city, I don't build a Tillery gate in front of my provincial house.I want to build a small farm house with white walls and green windows on a tree-lined hillside; although the roof is covered with thatch, it is very comfortable to live in all seasons, but I want to make the roof more beautiful However, I don't use dull thin stone flakes for roofing, but tile roofs, because tile roofs look cleaner and brighter. At the same time, because the houses in my hometown are all roof tiles, when I see tile roofs, It will cause me to recall the happy life of my teenage years.I'm going to use my yard as a poultry farm, I'm not going to do a stable but a cowshed to get the milk I like so much.My vegetable garden is my garden, and my beautiful orchard is my park, which is the same as the orchard I shall speak of later on.The fruits on the tree are eaten by passers-by. My gardener neither counts them nor picks them; to move it.Although this little luxury cost little, I chose to live in remote provinces where money is scarce but food is plentiful, and rich and poor alike live in the same way. There I shall make a company, but when I make friends, I will be selective and not crowded; among them are friends who like to play and know how to play; there are also women who can go out of the room and go to the fields to do games, and sometimes lay down their weaving shuttles and cards to go fishing, to hunt birds, to gather wood and grapes.There I will forget all the habits of the city, and behave like a countryman in the country; we have all kinds of interesting things to do, and they are so varied that at night we don't know what tomorrow will be. Choose which one to play with.Exercise and an active life whet our appetites, and everything we eat has a fresh taste.Each of our meals is a feast, and we prefer abundance to taste.Pleasant mood, field labor, and lively games, these three are the first cooks in the world; to those who are out of breath when the sun rises, eating must be like that. It is ridiculous to pay attention to taste.When we eat, we don't care what we eat first, and we don't want the tableware to be exquisite; anywhere can be our dining room: in the garden, or in a boat, or under the shade; Still far away from the house, to the flowing springs, to the green meadows, to the alder and hazel bushes; is our table and chairs, and the stony bank of the fountain is our plate-stand; the after-dinner fruit hangs from the tree; You can save that rigidity.每一个人都大大方方地先给自己拿菜，同时也喜欢看到别人象他那样先拿给自己然后才拿给他。我们这样又亲切又随便，既不粗卤，也不虚伪和拘束，说说笑笑地争着吃，其乐趣反而比斯斯文文地讲礼貌还浓厚一百倍，而且更能融合大家的心。没有任何一个讨厌的仆人来偷听我们说些什么话，或者悄悄地批评我们的作法，以贪婪的目光数我们吃了多少东西，故意要我们等好一阵工夫才拿酒来给我们喝，而且还抱怨我们一餐饭要吃那样长久。我们自己做自己的仆人，以便成为自己的主人；每一个人都可以得到大家的侍候；究竟过了多少钟点，我们也不去管它；进餐的时间就是休息的时间，以便躲过一天的炎热。如果有一个农民干完了活儿，扛着锄头从我们旁边走过，我就向他说几句好听的话，敬几杯美好的酒，振奋他的心，使他更能快乐地忍受他的辛苦；而我自己也感到内心激动，十分愉快，我悄悄地对自己说：“我也是一个人。” 如果当地的乡亲们聚在一块儿过什么节日，我将跟我的同伴头一个赶去赴会；如果我的左邻右舍有人举行婚礼（他们的婚礼当然比城里人的婚礼更能得到上帝的祝福），他们将邀请我去参加，因为他们都知道我是喜欢看到人家的欢乐的。我将给这些善良的人带几件象他们那样朴朴实实的礼物去，增加他们的喜庆的乐趣，而他们转赠给我的，则是我的同辈们不能理解的无价的好东西：自由和真正的快乐。我坐在长桌子的一端，同他们高高兴兴地一块儿进餐；我将同他们再三再四地合唱一首乡间的老歌曲，我在他们的院子里跳舞，比在歌剧院跳舞还跳得高兴。 也许有人会向我说：“以上所说的都很好，可是打猎的事情又怎样呢？是不是在乡村中就不打猎了呢？”我的意思是：我只是希望有一块小牧场，不过我的说法是不对的。我假定我是一个富人，我需要有一些唯我独享的快乐，我要从伤害动物中取得乐趣；此外，我还需要许多其他的东西。我所需要的是：土地、树林、看守庄园的人、地租和绅士的荣誉，我尤其是需要人们的巴结和奉承。 好得很。不过，我们周围的邻居一方面是既要保护他们的权利，另一方面又是巴不得侵占别人的权利的；我们的园丁彼此之间会发生争执，也许主人之间也会发生争执；于是，就要吵嘴，就要闹架，就要互相仇恨，说不定还要打官司，这些事情是很不愉快的。我的佃户看见我的兔子吃他们的麦子，看见我的猪吃他们的蚕豆，是很不高兴的，他们眼看着这些东西糟踏他们的庄稼也不敢打死它们，只好把它们赶出他们的田地。他们白天种地而到了晚上还得看守，他们要用狗来看守，他们要敲鼓，要吹号角和摇动铃铛，所有这些乱七八糟的声音将打扰我的睡眠。我情不自禁地想到这些可怜的人的苦境，责备我给他们带来了许多麻烦。如果我贵为王侯的话，对这一切我就不在乎了；可是我，一个刚刚发迹的富翁，我的心还是同大家的心差不多的。 事情还没有完：野物一多，就会引诱很多的人来打猎。我要惩罚那些来偷着打猎的人，我要准备几间禁闭室和看守禁闭室的人，来看管他们和罚他们做苦工。这样做，我觉得是够残酷的了。这些可怜的人的妻子将围着我的大门，哭哭啼啼地闹得我很不安宁；要么就把她们赶走，否则就要用粗野的办法去对付她们。有些穷人并没有偷偷地来打猎，但因我的树林中的野禽野兽糟踏了他们的庄稼，是一定要来向我诉他们的苦的。前面那种人因为偷猎我的野禽野兽而要受处罚，后面这种人又因为没有来偷猎我的野禽野兽而遭到巨大的牺牲，来偷猎当然要倒霉，不来偷猎也要倒霉！我在我周围所见到的都是凄凉的景物，所听到的都是呻吟的声音，这简直是大煞风景，使人不能痛快地去猎取成群的松鸡和近在脚边的野兔。 如果你希望你的快乐中不带丝毫的苦味，那你就不要排除他人而独自一个人享受，你愈让大家来共享你的快乐，你就会愈觉得你的快乐完全不带一点儿苦味。因此，我决不会照我刚才在上面所讲的那样去做，我一方面既不改变我的爱好，另一方面又要在寻求乐趣的时候尽量地减少麻烦。我在乡间的住所要修建在任何人都可以自由打猎的地方，在那里，我可以高兴地玩而不遇到什么惹人烦恼的事情。可猎的野禽野兽也许不多，所以，在寻猎的时候就需要有更多的技巧，这样一来，在猎到它们的时候，便可以使人更感到高兴。我记得我父亲看见第一只松鸡飞起来的时候，心里真是高兴得蹦蹦地跳；当他发现那只他追寻了一个整天的野兔时，简直是乐得发狂。是的，我认为，当他单独一个人牵着狗，扛着枪，背着猎袋和杂七杂八的用具以及一只小小的猎获物，在黄昏时候精疲力竭地带着满身被荆棘刺破的伤痕回到家里，其喜悦的心情远远超过了一般对打猎很外行的人，因为他们尽管骑着骏马，有二十个人扛着装好了弹药的猎枪跟着他们，但只能用了一枝再换一枝，必须等野物跑到他们身边的时候才能开枪打它们，既没有技术，也不光彩，甚至连运动都谈不上。因此，当我们不需要看管土地，不需要处罚偷偷打猎的人和折磨穷人的时候，我们既未因此而减少我们的乐趣，而且还可免除一切的麻烦。我之所以宁可过这样的生活，其理由就在于此。不管你怎样做，你老是那样折磨别人，自己是不能不同时遭到某些麻烦的；大家常常诅咒你，早晚会使你的野味吃起来很苦的。 再说一下，排除他人而独享乐趣，反而会使乐趣化为乌有。只有同人家分享的快乐，才是真正的快乐；要想独自一个人乐，是乐不起来的。如果我在花园周围修建的墙使它变成一块凄凉的禁地，那么我花了很多的钱反而使自己失去了散步的乐趣，使我不得不到远处去散步。财产这个魔鬼，摸着什么东西就要败坏什么东西。一个有钱人到哪里都想做主人，但他一做了主人反而得不到快乐，只好时时刻刻地到处逃避。至于我，即使我发了财，我也要保持我贫穷时候的做法。现在我可以享用别人的财产，从而使我比只享用我自己的财产更加富有；在我的附近，我觉得哪块地方好，我就把它据为己有。任何一个征服者都没有我做事这样果断，甚至王室的土地我也要侵占；所有的空地，只要我喜欢，我就不加分别地把它们占领下来，并且给它们取一个地名；我把这块空地作为我的花园，把那块空地作为我的草坪，于是它们就归我所有了；从此以后我就可以在其中大摇大摆地走来走去了，我要经常去看一看，以便保持我的所有权；凡是我路过的地方，我爱怎样利用就怎样利用；如果有人说，我所侵占的这块土地的正式的主人用这块土地出产的作物卖得了金钱，所以他从这块土地上得到的益处比我得到的益处大，我认为是说得不对的。即使他们挖沟筑篱来阻挡我，那也没有关系，我把我的花园扛起来就走，我把它安放到别处去；在附近有的是地方，我要对我的邻居掠夺一个很长的时期之后，他们才不能容忍我。 以上是我试图指出在愉快的闲暇时候如何选择真正的有趣的消遣，我们要玩就得按这种精神去玩，其他的一切玩法都不过是胡闹妄为和愚蠢的无聊的事情。任何一个人，只要他脱离了这些原则，不论他多么有钱，多么会挥金如土，他也领略不到生活的意义。 毫无疑问，人们会反对我说，这样的娱乐法是谁都会的，照着这些办法去玩，就不一定非要有钱不可了。这句话，正是我要得出的结论。只要你想得到快乐，你就可以得到快乐；只因习俗的偏见，才使人觉得一切都很困难，把摆在我们眼前的快乐也全都赶走了；要得到真正的快乐，比在表面上假装快乐还容易一百倍。一个善于欣赏和真正懂得逸乐的人，是不需要有金钱的，只要他有自由和自己做自己的主人就行了。任何一个身体健康、无冻饿之虞的人，只要他抛弃了他心目中臆想的财富，他就可以说是一个相当富有的人了，这就是贺拉斯所说的“以中庸为贵”。金银满库的人啊，另外想一个使用你们财产的办法吧，因为在寻求快乐的时候，金钱是没有用的。爱弥儿所知道的东西并不比我所知道的东西多，但是，由于他有一颗更纯洁和健康的心，所以他在这方面的见解比我的见解还好些，全世界的人都不能不说他的种种看法是对的。 在这样消磨时间的过程中，我们一直在寻找苏菲，可是找不着她。正是由于不应该很快就把她找到，所以我们才到我明明知道没有她的地方去找她。 时间已经很紧迫了；现在是应该马上把她找到的时候了，以免他把另外一个女人当成是她，等到发现认错了人便后悔不及了。巴黎，你这驰名的城市，你这闹闹嚷嚷、充满了乌烟瘴气的城市，你这以妇女不爱体面、男子不爱美德而著称的城市，再见吧。巴黎，再见吧；我们现在要寻找爱情、幸福和天真；我们离开你是越远越好的。