Chapter 54 fifty-four

As I walked, I thought about what had become of him since he got here.I have heard a lot of anecdotes about Strickland in recent days, and I can't help thinking about the environment here.On this remote island, unlike in Europe, he seemed not at all disliked; on the contrary, people sympathized with him, and no one was surprised by his eccentricities.People here—whether Europeans or natives—of course saw him as a weirdo, but the people here were so used to so-called weirdos that they never looked at him differently.The world is full of eccentrics, who behave eccentrically; perhaps the inhabitants here understand better that people are not what they want to be, but what they have to be.Where in England or France Strickland might have been an anachronism, with "a square plug in a round hole," here there are holes of all shapes and sizes, and any kind of plug can fit in its place.I don't think he's any better tempered, less selfish, or more human since he's here;If he had lived here in the past, people would not have noticed his shortcomings.What he experienced here was what he dared not hope for, never asked for in his hometown - what he got here was sympathy.

All this astonished me; and I tried to talk my thoughts to Captain Bruno.He didn't answer me right away. "There is really nothing strange in my sympathy for him," he said at last, "for, though neither of us may know each other, we are looking for the same thing." "You and Strickland are quite different kinds of people. What could you both be looking for?" "beautiful." "You're looking too high," I grumbled. "Do you know that if a person falls in love, he may be deaf and blind to everything in the world? At that time, he will be like a slave locked in a wooden boat in ancient times, and his body and mind are not his own." .The passion that held Strickland captive, like love, gave him no freedom."

"Strange, how could you say that too?" I replied. "That's exactly what I thought a long time ago. I think he's the devil's got hold of him." "What fascinated Strickland was a creative urge to create beauty. This passion kept him from resting for a moment. It drove him about. He seemed to be a A pilgrim who travels all his life longs for a holy place forever. The devil who dwells in his heart has no mercy for him. There are people in the world who yearn to find the truth, and their demands are very strong. It would be worthwhile to overthrow the foundations of the world. Strickland was such a man; only he was looking after beauty, not truth. For a man like him, I feel pity from the bottom of my heart."

"That's a strange thing you say, too. A man he'd hurt told me the same thing, and said he was very sorry for Strickland." I was silent for a while. "I should like to know if you have found an answer to a character that has always puzzled me. How did you come up with it?" He smiled at me. "Didn't I tell you, from a certain point of view, am I also an artist? I also deeply feel the aspiration that inspired him. But his method is painting, and mine is life." Captain Bruno told me a story at this time, which I thought I should tell here.For even as a comparison, this story has something to say about my account of Strickland's life.Besides, I think the story itself is very beautiful.

Captain Bruneau was from Brittany, France, and had served in the French Navy when he was young.After his marriage, he retired from the military, settled down on a small estate near Quimper, and planned to spend the rest of his life in a quiet country life.But overnight he found himself penniless because of a mistake in one of his financial agents.He and his wife originally enjoyed a certain status in the eyes of the local people, and they absolutely did not want to live a miserable life in their original place.In his early years, he had been to the South Pacific Islands when he traveled far across the ocean; at this time, he made up his mind to go to the South China Sea to forge a new path.He first lived in Papeete for a few months, planning his future and accumulating some experience.A few months later he bought a small island in the Baumotus archipelago on a loan from a friend in France.It is a circular island surrounded by a lagoon; the island is full of shrubs and wild pomegranates, and has never been inhabited.His wife is a very brave woman, so he took his wife and several natives to the island.They started by building a house and clearing the bushes to plant coconuts.This was twenty years before I met him, and the deserted island is now a well-groomed plantation.

"The first few days were very hard work. The two of us worked like hell. I got up at dawn every day, weeded, planted trees, and built a house. When I fell into bed at night, I always looked like a dead dog. I slept through the night. My wife was just as generous with my strength as I was. Then we had kids, first a boy, then a daughter. My wife and I taught them to read. Something they knew Both of us taught our children knowledge. We asked someone to bring a piano from China. My wife taught them to play the piano and speak English, and I taught them Latin and mathematics; we read history together. The two children also learned to drive a boat , swimming skills are not inferior to the natives. They are proficient in everything on the island. Our coconut groves grow very well. In addition, our coral reefs are also rich in pearl mussels. This time I went to Tata Hitty came to buy a brig. I thought I'd get the money back for the shells I'd use to salvage the shells. Who's to say, I might catch some pearls. I did. Everything is self-made. I also create beauty. When I look at those tall and tall coconut trees and think that each one is cultivated by myself, you don’t know what I was then Mood."

"Let me ask you a question: you asked Strickland that question before. Have you never regretted leaving France and leaving your native Brittany behind?" "One day in the future, when my daughter is married and my son is married and able to take over my career on the island, I will go back with my wife and spend time in the old house where I was born. Our dying days." "When you look back at the past, you will feel that you have lived a very happy life." "Of course, life on our small island is relatively ordinary, and we are very far away from civilized society-you can imagine that it takes four days to travel to Tahiti, but we We are very happy. Only a few people in the world can finally achieve their ideals. Our lives are simple and simple. We are not ambitious, and if we have pride, it is because when we think of the fruits of labor obtained through our hands We have neither envy nor hatred for others. Alas, my dear sir, some people think that the happiness of labor is an empty phrase, but I do not. I feel deeply the significance of this statement. I He's a very happy man."

"I believe you are qualified to say so." "I wish I could think so. My wife is not only my close friend, but also my good assistant; not only a good wife, but also a good mother. I really don't deserve her." These words of the captain pictured a different kind of life in my mind, and made me ponder for a long time. "You've lived a life like this, and you've had a lot of success, obviously it takes not just a strong will, but a strong character," I said. "Perhaps you're right. But we can't do anything without another factor."

"what is that?" He stopped, and raised his arms somewhat as if in a play. "Faith in God. If we didn't believe in God we would be lost." Having said that, we have reached the door of Dr. Coutras.