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 any body 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 theChinese 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 every where， 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 Iolas to burn with a hot iron the root of the hydra's head， but as soon as one head is crushed， two spring up.

　　當我寫后面那些篇頁，或者后面那一大堆文字的時候，我是在孤獨地生活著，在森林中，在馬薩諸塞州的康科德城，瓦爾登湖的湖岸上，在我親手建筑的木屋里，距離任何鄰居一英里，只靠著我雙手勞動，養(yǎng)活我自己。在那里，我住了兩年又兩個月。目前，我又是文明生活中的過客了。

　　要不是市民們曾特別仔細地打聽我的生活方式，我本不會這般唐突，拿私事來讀請讀者注意的。有些人說我這個生活方式怪僻，雖然我根本不覺得怪僻，考慮到我那些境遇，我只覺得非常自然，而且合情合理呢。有些人則問我有什么吃的；我是否感到寂寞，我害怕嗎，等等。另下些人還好奇得很，想知道我的哪一部分收入捐給慈善事業(yè)了，還有一些人，家大口闊，想知道我贍養(yǎng)了多少個貧兒。所以這本書在答復這一類的問題時，請對我并無特殊興趣的讀者給以諒解。許多書，避而不用所謂第一人稱的“我”字；本書是用的；這本書的特點便是“我”字用得特別多。其實，無論什么書都是第一人稱在發(fā)言，我們卻常把這點忘掉了。如果我的知人之深，比得上我的自知之明，我就不會暢談自我，談那么多了。不幸我閱歷淺陋，我只得局限于這一個主題。但是，我對于每一個作家，都不僅僅要求他寫他聽來的別人的生活，還要求他遲早能簡單而誠懇地寫出自己的生活，寫得好像是他從遠方寄給親人似的；因為我覺得一個人若生活得誠懇，他一定是生活在一個遙遠的地方了。下面的這些文字，對于清寒的學生，或許特別地適宜。

　　至于其余的讀者，我想他們是會取其適用的。因為，沒有人會削足適履的；只有合乎尺寸的衣履，才能對一個人有用。

　　我樂意訴說的事物，未必是關于中國人和桑威奇島人，而是關于你們，這些文字的讀者，生活在新英格蘭的居民，關于諸君的遭遇的，特別是關于生逢此世的本地居民的身外之物或環(huán)境的，諸君生活在這個人世之間，度過了什么樣的生活哪；你們生活得如此糟糕是否必要呢；這種生活是否還能改善改善呢？我在康科德曾到過許多地區(qū)；無論在店鋪，在公事房，在田野，到處我都看到，這里的居民仿佛都在贖罪一樣，從事著成千種的驚人苦役。我曾經(jīng)聽說過婆羅門教的教徒，坐在四面火焰之中，眼盯著太陽，或在烈火的上面倒懸著身體；或側轉了頭望青天，“直到他們無法恢復原狀，更因為脖子是扭轉的，所以除了液體，別的食品都不能流入胃囊中”，或者，終生用一條鐵鏈，把自己鎖在一株樹下：或者，像毛毛蟲一樣，用他們的身體來丈量帝國的廣袤土地；或者，他們獨腳站立在柱子頂上――然而啊，便是這種有意識的贖罪苦行，也不見得比我天天看見的景象更不可信，更使人心驚肉跳。赫拉克勒斯從事的十二個苦役跟我的鄰居所從事的苦役一比較，簡直不算一回事，因為他一共也只有十二個，做完就完了，可是我從沒有看到過我的鄰人殺死或捕獲過任何怪獸，也沒有看到過他們做完過任何苦役。他們也沒有依俄拉斯這樣的赫拉克勒斯的忠仆，用一塊火紅的烙鐵，來烙印那九頭怪獸，它是被割去了一個頭，還會長出兩個頭來的。

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